Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1868-03-26

tenders 10 pay with and TO manu-
faciurc thcm would simply be 20 pay
big bonds by the issue Of great
many little ones--thc little ones being
Immediately dcmnndabIc IN gold,
leaving the Government in the atti-
tudc, day by day, of a disgraced debt
or; and nothing will more certainly
PROSTATE the industry Of the country
than a supcrabundance Of deprecated
currency. Its evil consequences fall
upon the innocent and the helpless /;
upon labor much more severely than
upon capital.
But the journal must not suppose
that we are discussing Mr.. Pendle-
toms plan, or his chances for the
Presidency; not at all. We have
great partiaIity for Mr.. P. for the
Presidency, aside from the greenback
question, and we are not willing to
have his chances supcrscribed by any
such complication. He entertains
his views on this subject, and he has
presented them frankly and freely to
the country. But they are not what
one would suppose by consulting
certain of his friends. They would
lead us 10 conclude that Mr. p had
proposed to manufacture legal-tenders
enough to pay off the public debt,
and to do so without delay. But he
has proposed TO do no such foolish
thing. He claims that by the term
of the law the fve-twenties may be
paid in lawful money, or legal-tender
notes, and that they should be so
paid as rapidly as the ability of the
country will permit ; but he express
ly objects to a large increase Of circu-
lation, recognizing in emphatic terms
the harmful influence such increase
would exercise upon the industry OF
the country. Indeed, there is but little
in Mr.. P's plan aside from the saving
of the interest on the bonds held by
the National Banks and the applica-
tion of the surplus revenue TO the
payment of the bonds. He shows
that the total revenue for the yea r
1866 amounted TO the enormous sum
Of FIVE hundred and sixty millions,
and that by proper economy there
should be saved out Of this sum, annu-
ally, at least one hundred and eighty
millions, to apply to the payment Of
the public debt, and that this sum in
greenbacks could be paid out for bonds
annually, and like sum taken up in
legal-tenders, and thus the debt would
be paid without increasing the circu-
lation. But the year 1865, instead of
showing surplus of one hundred and
eighty millions, will show fifty TO six
ty millions of deficit. and that will
end Mr.. Pendlelon's plan for the pres
ent.
There are several objections to this
whole scheme which have always
pressed themselves upon our mind ;
One is the assumption that the pres
ent onerous rate of taxation is to be
continued for FIVE or more years after
the Democracy comes into power,
whereas the very first effect should
be reduction of taxation. Another
is that the Democracy ought not TO
be pledged to the present paper sys-
TEN for an indefinite period.
In short, all that we have read on
this subject only goes to show that
no plan to pay the public debt can be
prcdicated upon the present condition
of the country. The hest we have
seen are mainly hypothetical. Every
conclusion or result is proceeded by
some overshadowing II. If the Army
and Navy were reduced i the South
ern States were in condition to pay
taxes # economy and honesty could
prevail in the disbursement Of the
public money, then we should have
surplus revenue then we should pay
the bonds in greenbacks and take up
the greenbacks with that surplus and
pay off the public debt "without in
creasing your taxes or adding one
dollar TO the circulating medium"
But these villainous IFS ! they stand
in the way like mountains, and can
never be displaced until the real friends
Of the country get control of every
department of the Government. Let
us work to that eno, and that alone.
-e@e-
The loyal whites and negroes of
New Jersey held their convention last
week, and appointed delegates to the
Chicago Convention favorable to
Grant for the Presidency, but they
evidently don't intend to vote for
Vice President They ask that the
candidate for tb;s otf;a nko N ,,,or r.