Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-06-17
Mr.. pendie.on,. plan of relief.

Mr.. Pend1efon's Plan of Relief.
The following extract from Mr.. PENDLE-
roN's Milwaukee speech, shows how he
proposes to relieve the people. In brief, it
gives an idea what his Greenback policy is,
and the more it is studied the more ire
sistibly popular it becomes:
"And now 1 say not only that these
bonds are payable in legal tender. but that
they ought to be paid as soon as tits possi-
BILE to do so. do not know that 1t is pos
sible to pay these bonds as fast as they ma
ture, even in currency; but do know that
every possible effort ought to be made to
do il.
But at this point am met with the state
ment that this policy will issue an i'm
mense amount of paper, and thus so far In |
fate the currency as to destroy its value, |
and bring disaster upon the country
Now. gentlemen, let me examine this OBJ |
lection. Mr.. McCulloch in his last month
ly report stated that the public debt which
bears interest Is comprised in three kinds:
that three hundred millions of this debt
could not be redeemed before 1874; that
three hundred millions more could not be
redeemed before 1881 and that the rest of
the debt, amounting to nearly seventeen
hundred millions OF dollars, is com promised
in five-twenties and bonds, which bear in
| terest in currency.
! Seven hundred millions of five-twenties
and bonds which bear interest in currency
| will fall due within the next five years.
can not state To you the exact time nor the
exact proportions in which these bonds fall
due. L mean these tive-twenties. Their
very name implies that when five years
shall elapse after their issue, the Govern
| ment may pay them; but need not pay
them until twenty years have elapsed.
/ Now, gentlemen, maintain that these
five-twenty bonds should be paid as far as
it Is possible to do so without infiating the
currency beyond a safe and just point
And it is my business now to show you
how rapidly that can be done. The unli-
lquidated debt of the United States consists
of greenbacks, and claims which have not
been adjusted, and amounts to eight hum
dred millions of dollars. 1t pays no inter-
est.
Three hundred and thirty-eight millions
!. of these bonds are, by the report of the
Secretary of the Treasury, deposited TO-
, day as security in the vaults of the Treas
ury. Three hundred millions of bank pa
per is issued on the faith of these bonds
! Now. gentlemen, maintain that this cir
culation ought to be called in; that these
bonds ought to be redeemed with legal
/ tenders, which will take the place of that
: bank circulation. Applause.
What would be the effect or this? The
seventeen hundred millions of interest
bearing bonds would be reduced to four.
lions of dollars would be saved to the Gov.
ernment from the interest which is paid tC
}, the bankers for the bonds which they have
v deposited, [Cheers
Now, then, suppose you take twenty
millions of interest which Is saved and ado
it to the forty-eight millions of dollar
which these gentlemen say they can pay
from the current revenue, and you hav
sixty-eight millions of dollars, year b.
e year, aud if you convert. that sum int
greenbacks, at $l.40, you have hundre'
/. millions of dollars year, and If this
a appropriated as a sinking fund you can pa.
n off the whole debt in less than fifteen years
r without adding one dollar to your taxa
j., ton, or one dollar to the circulating medi
: um. TApplause.]
Bear III mind tnat am arguing propo
S sition that these bonds can be paid i
t greenbacks without initiating the currency
O Bear in mind this can be accomplished !
twelve or fourteen years without the add
s. tion of one dollar to your taxation, or on
: dollar to your circulating medium. An
now bear in mind. also, that l have nc
=, touched the revenues of the Government
which, in 1866, amounted to five hundre
e and sixty millions of dollars; nor have al
It tackled the expenditures OF that year {
/ Radical administration.
But now set the radical reformer
, work. Let him cut off every extravaganc
10 Let him reduce the current expenses OF II
j. Government to 150000,000 year, mea
:. expenses independent of the interest on th
'o public debt-though it ought to be reduce
se to $l0O,O00000; that would be $25 0000
5y more than Mr.. Buchanan expended; th
a would be as much in one year as Andre
jackson expended in any of the four yea
OF of his administration. But let the expel
D. diture be reduced to $3.50 100000, and VIII
,t do you have? $l50,000,000 Tor current e.
ts penses, $130,000000 for interest upon tf
IS public debt, and $100,000.000 of sinkir
u fund, as have described, and If you tai
o that from the revenue of 1866, whit
y amounted to $560,000,000, you have bs
nj ance of lS0,0O0000 which you may add
your. sinking fund, and thus bring it up
$2S0, 100000 annually. And with that "
+ can, in five years, pay every cent OF e
: fprincipal and interest upon your publ
d debt, without the addition of dollar to t.
no circulating medium of the country. La
IS plause.
- When five years shall have passed y,
'l0 can reduce $150,0OO,0O0 of your taxatio
TO- and be able to pay the $500, 100000 whi
'E, tails due in 1874. Then you can redu
wv your taxation 5000 100000 more, and by 7
10 firing your greenbacks as the great burd
" of taxation is reduced, you will be able
n pay the debt maturing in 1881, and at {
of same time to call in your greenbacks, a.
nd return to the constitutional currency OF
- country.
And yet you see that 1 have not propos
lat to increese the taxes or add one farthing
re the currency.
y Redeem the Greenbacks In Col
The COLUMBUS STATESMAN, defendi
en- the financial theory of Mr.. Pendleton, sa
he it contemplates the substitution of gree
nv backs for National Bank notes, and "Whe
Id not specifically stipulated to the contral
- he proposes to pay the Public Debt
at Greenbacks with as great rapidity as p'
Dg sible, so that the currency be not inf1at
Ie- detrimentally to the country" That
one debt, or promise to pay, is to be paid
another promise to pay, the only thing
ne be guarded against being the too rapid
las sue of greenbacks. If the STATESMAN "
as now inform us how Mr.. Pendleton propo
ro. to pay the greenbacks thus issued, It v
throw much needed light on the "Pend
las ton plan."-Cleueland Herald.