The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1868-09-04
A FEW PLAIN PROPOSITIONS ABOUT
THE PUBLIC DEBT.

From Hon. Benz. StantCn's speech in Wheeling.
wish to state one or two plain prop
ositions about the payment Of bonds in
greenbacks-
Every man understands perfectly that
when a government bOrrows money
and gives its bond, it creates the rela-
ton of debtor and creditor between the
borrower and lender, and that the same
principles of honesty that regulates the
dealings between two individuals regu-
lates the rights of the borrower and of
the lender, although one be govern
ment.
The government of the United States
has borrowed money and given its
bonds. The question is, in what shall
the bonds be paid? You say in "green-
backs" What is a greenback? Apron
Use to pay. That is, you propose now,
when your creditor comes to you, to
Certainly, 1 am ready to pay my
bond"
"What will you pay it in?"
81 Will give you new note"
"Well, what will you pay the note in
When that comes due will You give me
another note? What is it ultimately to
be paid in 2"
Now, if this government owes two
thousand millions of bonds, and re-
deems them with two thousand millions
of greenbacks, will it owe any loss
1t will have given two millions of new
notes for precisely the same amount of
other notes. And how are the new
notes to be paid? 1 do not see that
you have reduced your debt any. You
have delayed the day of payment, that's
all.
90, but" says the party, 1--WE will get
rid of the interest"
Now, will that do among honest men q?
have Capt. McClure's note for thous-
and dollars, bearing interest at six per
cent. He comes to me and says: 81
want to pay you. will give you n new
note, payable in twenty years, without
interest" NOw,ff he has power to COM
pei me to take it, and does compel me,
is not he scoundrel? Applause.
If you propose to redeem your green
backs by the accumulated and surplus
products of the country, you may be able
to redeem them at the end of twenty
years, and in the meantime you pay 10
interest. The result is that you propose
to the public creditor, instead of paying
his bonds in money, you will pay him
by giving him a new note, payable at the
end of twenty years. Now, what is n
note of 500 worth, payable in twenty
Years WITHOUT Interest! IL IS worth pre-
ciscly that sum which in twenty years,
at compound interest, will amount to
500, and that is about S25. Then, if !
understand it, the proposition is that
you will redeem these bonds by giving
S25 for 500 bond, and COM
pelling the creditor to take it. Now,
between man and man, and between
government and its creditors, is that
honest?
When these gentlemen talk to you
about paying these bsnds in greenbacks
they stop just there. 1t never occurs
to them that greeubacks have to be paid
some day-that they are mere govern
ment credits, and that substituting them
for bonds is merely changing the form
of the debt, and not changing the amo cunt
of it at all, unless you intend to repudi-
ate portion of the debt, to-wit the in
terest. For take it, if give my bond
payable with interest, it is just as much
a reputation to repudiate the interest
as to repudiate the principal. 1t is par
tial reputation, and on long obligations
much the largest portion, for the inter-
est on a note running at six per cent. is
equal to the principal every sixteen and
a fraction years.