The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-07-31

VIZ ~ 80 iufr,.i - - = =
of this hereafter. -..r tsa Ifr NJ
Congressional VS.. city FinancierlHg.
The Funding Bill has becomes law.
This will form an additional tie be-
tween the taxpayer and the bond
holder. It links the two with chains
of gold. 1t will take millions from
the purse of the one-it will put mil
lions into the parse of the other. By
the terms of this bill the $50 legal
tender bonds are to be exchanged
" for bonds whose principal as we'll as
interest is payable in gold. These
bonds will be fastened upon the peo-
pie for an average of 35 years be-
fore they can be redeemed and are
to be exempt from taxation. sta 55s.
This measure is based uron the
financial principles of the Chicago
Platform. Shall it stand d?-C0urier.
Our contemporary has committed
good many blunders recently, for
which it has received curses not
few on the part Of leading Democrats,
and the above paragraph is but add
ing to the number. Il r5 naif,.izf ,si ~
So the Congressional Funding Bill
forms an additional tie between the
tax payer aud the bondholder," does
it? We are to infer, then, that the
Courier is opposed to funding bills,
aud regards them as dangerous insti-
tutions. The Congressional Funding
Bill was for the purpose Of. convert
ing the present bonds of the Govern
ment into other bonds, at "a i1tyelg
reduced rate of Interest. The Five
twenties now draw six per cent. inter
est. PAYABLE semi-annually in gold.
By the funding bill these are to
be converted into bonds Of four
or four aud half per cent,
also payable in gold. To plain
man this looks like sensible
proceeding, for by it the Govern
ment saves annually nearly fifty
per cent. in interest alone. But this,
the Courier thinks. is all wrong, and
asks whether it shall stand. 9i4 aii
A Republican Congress legislates
to reduce the interest on the public
debt aud is roundly abused therefor, by
the organ of the Democratic party of
Evansville.
The City of Evansville has float
ing debt of two or three hundred
thousand dollars. At the rate at
which it has been accumulating re-
Gently. we presume the latter sum
will not more than cover it. Little
or none of this debt, as it now stands,
is drawing more than six per cent. in
terest. But last Spring, feeling rich
and somewhat reckless, the people
concluded to indulge in the luxury of
a Democratic administration, and ac-
cordingly elected Democratic Mayor
and a Democratic City Council.
These gentlemen were elected for
their well known financial abilities
and their avowed determination to
reduce the public expenses. the city
debt, and taxation as we'll. ~
But will it be believed, these good
Democrats have actually inaugurated
a funding policy, similar to that
adopted by Congress, with one very
marked difference. With the sagaci-
ty that always characterizes shrewd
financiers, the thing was done very
quietly. No fuss was made over it.
The plan was to fund the entire float
ing debt OF the cityAnow drawing
sic PER cent, interest, principal paya-
bic at pleasure bonds drawing ten
per cent, redeemable in three years,
and becoming due in ten years, inter
est payable semi-annually. These
bonds were made eexchangeable for city
orders at par. The whole thing was
done very quietly indeed. The Gour-
i;er-watch dog as it is on the tower
of liberty-did not raise so much as a
warning bark, or even whine. The
knowing ones slipped out slyly and
commenced taking In the city orders
at eighty and eighty-fiVe cents from
the poor laborIng men, VINO, at IhaG
time, could not get more for them.
But the eagerness of the aspiring
bondholders created an unusual de-
maud, and in spite of the precautions
Of those In the ring, orders began to
advance, and then we were boastingly
told that the advance was owing to the
economy and shrewdness Of the new
administration. Oh these bonds-oh
these bondholdersl ah .N3-as-
! We call the attention of the tax
payers to this specimen Of financier-
1 ing They are interested in it. II
promises to make them .Yeetingly in.
terested. None but a Democratic