The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1868-09-26
The Atkinson Eumbug.

The Atkinson Eumbug.
A fellow by the name of Atkinson, III Bos-
ton, has been humbugging the people with
the pretense that the Republican party have
paid, since the LIST of April 1865, Eight Hun
dred million more of the public debt, than the
books of the Secretary of the treasury, give
them credit for. If the pretense was true, it
ought to damn the Republican party for God
knows the debt on the 1st of April 1865. and
ever since, was, and is twice as great as they
can honestly answer for. And besides that.
his prete makes it necessary for you to be-
ieve that all this eight hundred millions was
paid without Congress knowing it, or, if they
did know it, that they kept still about it.
Through what agency did they pay it! Who
were the officers Did they run treas
ury department outside of the regular treas
ury department, and the people know moth
ing about it More than that, where did
they get tho money. Did the Secretary receive
eight hundred millions more than the books
show, and pay out eight hundred millions
more than the books show, and claim no
credit for it ! Were the members of Congress
such consummate fools that the revenues and
payments of the government should be go
millions year received, and 2,0 millions q
year paid, greater than the records showed.
year after year. for three years and vet never
mothers son of them, republican or demo-
crat, find out or suspect anything about it
Can credulity farther 90 than to believe sao..
stuff as this What are the fellows figures
Here they are ought they to puzzle anybodyl
Amount of the public debt as
stated by the Secrertay of the
Treasury April 1st 1865, s2.367 900 600
Add unliquidated claims for
back pay of the Army and
Navy. &c, 1921 900 600
Total debt April 1st, 1865, $3.2ss. 900, 900
Total debt August 1st, 1868, S2G33 900 600
Reduction, according to Akin
son, $685., 100000
This is without deductinr cash in tbo
T.easury in either case. Atkinson deducts it
in one case and does not in the other. and that
is transparent fraud. 1t isin that way that
he makes up his 100000. Now what do
the Secretary's books show
Public debt April LIST, 1865,
as above, %2.3e7 0OO 600
Public debt August 31st, 1865, s.. SAG. 900 900
Increase ofpublic debt in five
months, S479 COO ono
Which sum deducted from the above 1865. &
100000, leaves $176,00O,0oO of the public
debt more than the Secretary has thus far stat
ed, to be accounted for, and only that much
more; for the increase of public debt for the
five months from April 1st to August Dist
1865, was created by the issue of bonds. GER
tificates of Indebtedness, and greenbacks, in
liquidation Of claims of the army and navy for
past services, as the books of the Treasury
show. 1t was precisely during that period
that the army and navy were being paid off.
and the army disbandcd. 1t was precisely
that four hundred and seventy-nine millions
which paid, that much of Atkinson's six hun
dred and titty-fve millions
Atkinson lies if he means to be understood
as he evidently does, that this $176, OoO. OJO
formed part of the public debt which exist
ed, either liquidated or unliquidated, previous
to the list of April, 1866, as his own figures
show; but that lying doesn't help him any :;
for the Secretarys books show, that the pub
lie debt was reduced between Aug. 3lst, 1865
and Nov. list, 1867, from $2,s4G, 900, to
$2,625, 100000, or by the sum of 1921 100000,
and the Sccretary's books further show. that
every item composing the above $175 100000
that can be proved, was absotbed in that re
duction, no matter when it accrued For, on
the 31st day of Aug. 1865, the treasury be
came for the first time master Of the situation.
and after that time was able to pay not only
all current claims against it, but to reduce
the public debt at the rate of eleven million
dollars month besides, and but for the waste
ful extravaganza of congress, might and
ought to have kept on doing so to this day.
| 50 much for Atkinson and his humbug-both
utterly unworthy of notice, were it not for the
, fact, that republicans, being willing. have