New-York tribune., 1868-05-04
WASHB HBURNE-DONNELLY-NATIONAL


CREDIT
A rcciprOcatiOn of bitter personalities between
two Representatives in Congress OH Saturday
naturally attracts general attention. Without
at all justifying the letter written by Mr.. Wash
bune to one of Mr.. Donnelly's constituents,
which was the immediate incitement of this un-
seemly feud-without even condemnng that let
ter in simply saying that we know no facts that
sustain Mr.. Washbune's severe inculpatons-we
are impelled, while regretting that the House
should be made the scene of such unmeasured
invective and villiicatiOn as was INDUCED in by
! both parties to Saturdays feud, to insist that the
! graver and more important question concerns
the vital matter i'll dispute and that this must
not be Obscured and dwarfcd by the persOnali-
! ties which it has melted. Mr.. DOnnelly repre-
sents the principle of suctiOn-that which "gOes
" in for abstracting money from the Federal
Treasury for the promotion of local improve
ments, without considering or seeming to care
whether there is any to abstract, or how the
| public service can afford to spare it. Mr.. Wash
! burne stands up in the House the leading an
| tagOnst of that principle, not especially against
| Mr.. DOnnelly's pet scheme, but against all such
schemes whatever-and of course makes him
self exceedingly unpopular with large share
of the members and still larger proper
tion of the Lobby. Having had a little
experience akin to his, we know how
Mr.. w. must be hated and traduced, and we
| feel that he deserves public sympathy and sup
port. He may often err as to particular meas
ures-he may he wholly wrong in his personal in
culpations of Mr.. Donnelly-but his general posi-
tion is that of an uphoder of the right while it
is imperatlvely necessary that some one should
| fill it. And, if some one, why not the senior
member of the House, holding a most response
! bic post in the distribution and preparation of
its business, and well known to be the earliest
| powerful friend of Gen. Grant, whose election
to the Presidency he so long ago foreshadowed
and so earnestly desiresf
Popular impatienee of taxation has impeled
the present Congress to abolish the excise du-
ties hitherto charged on raw Cotton and on
! Domestic Manufactures, together amounting to
Eighty Millions per annum The cOnfederated
Whisky thieves in and out of Office are embez-
cling fully Fifty Millions per annum and,
even when caught at it, Johnson often quashes
the proceedings against them. If Impeachment
should by any chance miscarry. the revenue
| from Distilled Liquors is virtually confscated-
lOst-stOlen; and, even if johnson should
promptly receive his deserts much time and
able effort will be required TO recover this most
important resource. The National Debt calls
for at least One Hundred and Twenty Mil
| lions per annum for interest alone the
Pension List (anOther form of Public
Debit requires some Thirty Millions more Here
are One Hundred and Fifty Millions (mainly
in cOin) required for dead horse" in addition
to all the necessarily heavy cost of carrying on
the Government, fighting Indians where corn
is worth So to $40 per bushcl, paying them
annuites, &c, &c Let Congress retrench to
the utmost, and the cost of the Army, Navy,
Civil List, Diplomacy, &C. &c, (not including
the Post Office, which nearly supports tself,)
cannot be brought below One Hundred Mil
lions; so that, though we should pay no dollar
of the principal of our Debt, we must raise by
taxation of some sort over Two Hundred
and Fifty Millions per annum. But for PEN
dletOnism in high places, we might rapidly re-
duce this by funding our Debt, as the Five
Twenties become payable. at 4 to instead of
per cent; but that is not now practicable
and we must suffer accordingly.
Now there rush upon Congress the grantees
and advocates of all manner of projected Rail
roads and other Internal Improvements, clam
oring for Millions here, Millions there, as
though the Treasury were full and exhaustless,
the National Debt heabite, and our Public
Credit at high-water mark. 1t is in vain that
we entreat them to consider the critical state
of the Finances they will consider nothing but
their own schemes and the profits they san
guinely expect therefrOm. 1t is in vain that
we implore them to wait till Il healthy equilib
rum between Income and 0utgO can be firmly
established-yOu might as well preach to a
drove of hungry hogs in field of ripening
corn. They compel us to fight them or see
the Treasury bankrupt, the National Credit
ruined, and the Republican ascendancy over
thrown.
We are not opposed to National aid to Rail
roads Of National consequence. We undoubt-
ingly hold that at least three full lines of rail
way across our Federal territories-one of them
connecting Lake Superior with Pugets Sound,
while another links the Mississippi and the Ar
kansas with tic Gulf Of California and the
Pacific at San DiegO-Ought to be aided from
the Federal Treasury. and thus vigorously
pressed to completion We shall, at a proper
time, urge the extension of subsidies to these
roads as a means of reducing the public bur
dens and Fastening the payment of our Ma
tiOnal Debt The current talk of public
lands given away by millions on millions to
enrich railroad spectators is absuidy faa-
clous The Illinois Central was the pioneer,
and Is a fair sample of the class; and we have
not a doubt that the Government drove sharp
bargain with its stockholders-th it had en-
tirely the better end of that bargain. That
road made millions Of acres of prairie worth
$40 which were previously dear at 81; and so
with all, or nearly all, its successors. Sup
pose q company would run railroad straight |