The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1868-10-01
The NATIONAL UEBT.
IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING FACTS

Gentlemen; In a short address [ pro-
pose to justify not to defend, the fiscal
policy Of the Republican party As the
honored chairman of our State Central
Committee has well said, its fiscal record
needs no defence: it is a record which
we may well be proud Of
IF there is any merit in the following
analysis of the expenditures of the last
three years, [ can only clai III the plan
and method upon which it is placed
before you. Ali the data have been fur
nished to me by Hon. David A. Wells
| long since perceived that the statement
commonly accepted as that of the maxi
mum debt Of the United States was not
one which covered the liability of the
government on the lst of August 1865
by many millions of dollars
TIE DEBT IN 1865.
knew this from the fact that the man
ufacturing corporations with which [ am
myself connected held at that date sever
al millions of dollars of claims upon the
government through the contractors to
whom we had sold material for the tents
and clothing for the army, for which they
had then had no settlement. These ac-
counts were soon afterward allowed and
We took our pay In 7 $40 notes, most of
which we sold to the various savings
banks Of Massachusetts from whom we
had borrowed the money to enable us to
do the work and furnish the goods.
These notes were OF course converted
into fvet twenty bonds By the savings
banks, and now form portion of the
debt which the democratic party proposes
to repudiate by issuing green backs, or. in
other words substituting failed paper
bearing no interest for debt not YET due
the avowed purpose of the southern wing
of the party, who at least may claim the
need of praise for their bold avowal,
being to render the green back valueless
and then to repudlate 1t:
In this scheme they are led by Geo.
II. Pendleton and covertly supported by
Horatlo Seymour, it being now asserted
by his supporters that he has retracted
his previous views, and that there is a
substantial agreement between himself
and Pendleton as to what should be the
fiscal policy Of the country.
HIS STATEMENTS ARE OFFICIAL.
have said that | have been able to
make the statements which are included
in this address by the aid Of my friend
David A. Wells special commissioner of
the revenue, to whom | have applied in
order that might have the force of an
official statement to prove my position.
OF the value of his official statement
you are well aware. No man stands
higher in the confidence of the people
and no man deserves that confidence
more.
With single eye to the truth he gives
to his work the force of an enthusiasm
rarely to be found, and hence the power
and value of every document that comes
from his hand
For the use [ have made of the figures
he has gwen to me In answer to my
questions, | aloneiam responsible, land /
desire that he shall have the credit of all
the facts here stated and l invite the
blame of those who will charge me with
preventing them to party purpose.
The democratic party fears the truth
and will make this charge. | trust this
may not long be SO. The name of the
democrat in its true significance, is one
which | honor and cherish, and | hope
that the day is not far off when i. shall
no longer be prostituted to the purposes
of a party which denies every principle
indicated by its name, and which has
been the party of despotism and oppres-
sion ever since | came to mans estate
a party which now rests its chance of
success upon the ignorance OF Its follow
era and proposes to inaugurate war, fraud
and violence, under the lead of Seymour
and Blair.
We demand peace and an honest admin
istrstion and under the wise control of
Grant these we will have.
WHAT DID WE OWE IN 1865.
The ascertained debt of the United
States on the first day of April 1865, as
entered upon the books of the Treasury
Department, amounted to So, 366, 1855, OFT.
-Four months later, on the lst of August
1869, the debt represented upon the
books amounted to So, ISL, $3.50. 81 and
OF me latter sum has been assumed oflate
g nave been the maximum debt of the
''A.s5i'aE At any ore time
,';o s.'S very Far FROM being the
BOOKS me treasury De;.arr,nent. b,,t there
existed at that time a liability since ras
ogni1ed and since paid. 0 'e'