Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-09-11
FINANCES.

FINANCES.
In the agitation now in progress over
our financial situation, two elements ap-
pear as well as two political parties
One of these elements is the money lend
er, and those who fawn at the knees of
wealth for the sake of smiles, whose
claims are championed by the Republi-
can party the other of these elements is
the Industrious man, a money borrower,
whose cause is ,espoused by the Demo
cratic party. .Eeefguyyz a. -a,sfH Es--s
Heretofore the legislation of this coun-
try has been controlled, chiefly, with ref
erence to its effect upon money in the
hands of the lender and in its anxiety
to guard and protect the interests of
those who had money, it lost sight, to a
great extent, of the millions who were
struggling to get money. And yet, so
infatuated have those millions been with
the glare and witchery of party slavery
that never even a protest went up
against this unjust distinction.
But the war has done more than
abolish slavery, and infanate fanaticism.
From beneath the burdens it imposed
new thoughts have arisen to these mil
lions and new ideas have sprung into
7 life. These millions, among whom are
/ classed the farmers, mechanics, labor
ers, and all those who live by toll and
create the wealth of the, country, insist
that no longer shall their interest be sa-
crifced to the grasping avarice of him
who lives by high rates of interest, but
+ that now, in dealingwith this great debt,
they must be cared for as well as those
who loaned their money to the govern
( ment. 1t is apparent to all. who get to
! the bottom of this controversy about
/ bond s and taxes, that it is all resolved
/ into the single and startling aspect Of
the money lender or bondholder fighting
with money against the demands of the
people-the borrowers, for justice and
/ right. And as every man is called upon
by the obligations of his citizenship to
take sides upon this question, my OBJ
ject tonight will be to present this
question in such manner as will eua-
! BILE you to see to which side your duty
and your interest lead you.
1--WE must not be rash in our judgments
upon question like this, which effects
every mans welfare; and yet such is its
magnitude, such will be the infuence il
will exert upon the entire lives of all Of
us, that no man should be satisfied with
anything less than a full and clear un'
derstanding of the difference between
the plans proposed by the two great
parties. aaH5 aH lrs Ifi
1t is the position of the Democratic
party, not only that the public debt must
be paid, and the national faith preserved
but in doing this we insist also that the
interests of the people must be cared fol
that the faith of the government mus
not be broken with them and against
them. a. 20 --iI.sa. or -e as5
Our opponents charge us with repudi
alton. There is no such word in oul
books, and whenever and by whomsoevel
made,.i is simply false. The charge is
made by sneaking hirelings at the dicta'
tionsof thesbondholder, with the view Of
arraying the people one against another
in hopes that during the confusion the
bond interests may prevail.
The public debt on the 1st of August
was in round numbers $2,523.000,O 900
Of this amount there was 1856, 100000
of greenbacks; 1921, 100000 of bonds
bearing per cent. interest, principal
and interest payable in coin; $2S3,000,.
900 6 per cent bonds, due in 1851
thirteen years hence; $1,6OO,0OO,00O OF
500 bonds, and the remainder of various
characters. ga rf -.s .sss.sr-- n se7v.
When the greater part of this debt
was contracted, we had circulation Of
OO,00O,O(O; and with this circulation
gold was $3.50 soon after the close oi
the war. During the last two years, the
Secretary of the Treasury, acting in the
interest of those who hold the bonds,
and manipulate the gold market,contract-
ed the currency to less than S7OO,OO0,-
900, and gold has gone up to Sl.46. 30
The first proposition of the Democratic
party with reference to this debt as evi-
denced in bonds, currency, &C., is that
it must all bear its equal proportion Of
whatever taxation is necessary to support
the Government. And 1 am pledged, il
elected. to vote to impose that tax, and
1 will do it. will do so on the ground
that exact Justice to all citizens demands
it; and that there is no principle of JUS
tice by which, nearly one-sixth of the
wealth of the people may go untaxed and
the taxation on the balance be thereby
increased. Besides this, there is paid on
these bonds larger interest than the
laws of Ohio will allow you to demand
for your money, and yet your Investment
is taxed for all purposes the same as
other property. 1t is, therefore, not only
unjust to the great mass of the people to
allow these bonds to- be exempt from
taxation, but it is an act of ungracious
favoritism ON the part Of the Government
toward the holders of its obligations
condemned alike by good morals and fail
dealing. -t-aa
The Republican party, on the other
hand, in all the organized and repre-