The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1868-01-03

suddenly pulling him away tho limbs
of their own favorte children should
he torn Off in his tightened coils. He
may perhaps give another hiss, before
he glidcs away fanglcss into betriend-
ing obscurity.
MIR. pENDLETON'S FINANCIAL
VIEW S.
TN the quotations which we shall make
from his speeches, there are some of
those obvious errors which we attribute
to slips of the tongue in the warmth OF
cxtemporaneous speaking, or to the
haste and carelcSsness of reporters. The
following passage expresses Mr.. Pendle-
tons sense of loyalty to the national en-
gagements;
"The public debt Of the United States
as stated to you before "amounts to
| 81, ,OOO, 900, 900. 81, ,200, ,OO0, 900 or more is
in liuuidated form, and bears interest.
| $500 600, 600 more are in grCcnbacks and
| unliquidated claims and bear no inter
| est This Is an enormous amount, and
| yet, gentlemen, believe, and l think
| the Democratic party believes, that ii
should be paid, every dollar OF it, prin-
cipal and interest, at the time IL comes
| due, exactly in accordance with the
| terms of the contract under which the
loans were made" Loud applause.
We shall reproduce no part of Mr..
Pendlcton's reasoning on the main
question, hoping to dispose of that here
after. The subjoined exposition of his
plan for paying the debt proves that he
is no infationist:
"And now / say not only that these
bonds are payable in legal tender, but
that they ought to be paid as soon as
it il possible to do 50. | do not know
that it is possible to pay these bonds as
fast as they mature, even in currency; (;
hut | do know that every possible effort
ought to be made to do it.
But at this point | am met with the
statement that this policy will issue an
immense amount of paper, and thus so
far initiate the currency as to destroy
its value, and bring disaster upon the
country. Now, gentlemen, let me eX-
anime this objection. Mr.. M'Culloch
in his last report stated that the public
debt which bears interest is comprised
in three kinds, that three hundred mil
lions of this debt could not be redeemed
until 1874: 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 comprised in tive-twenties
and bonds, which bear interest in cur
rency.
Seventeen hundred millions of FIVE
twenties and bonds which bear interest
in currency, will fall due within the
next five years. l cannot state to you
this exact time nor the exact proper
tions in which these bonds fall due. l
mean these five-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 tive-tWenty bonds should be paid
rs far as it is possible to do so without in
tlating the currency beyonda Il safe point.
And it is my business now to show you
how rapidly that can be done. The en-
liquidated debt of the United States con-
sists of greenbacks, and claims which
have been adjusted, and amounts to
eight hundred millions of dollars. Ii
pays no interest.
Three hundred and thirty-eight mill
ions of these bonds are, by the report
of the Secretary of the Treasury, depOsi-
lcd to-day as security in the vaults Oi
the treasury. Three hundred millions
of bank paper is issued on the faith O.
these bonds. Now, gentlemen, l main
tain tnat this circulation ought To b,
called in that these bonds ought to be
redeemed with legal tenders, which viii
take the place of that bank circulation
Applause.
What would be the effect of this .
: The seventeen hundred millions of in,
terest bearing bonds would be reauced
to fourteen hundred millions; and
twenty millions of dollars weuld bt
saved to the government from the in
: terest which Is paid to the bankers fol
the bonds which they have deposited
Cheers.
Now, then, suppose you take these
twenty millions of interest which i.
saved and add tito the forty-eight mill
ions of dollars which these gentlemen
say they can pay from the current reve
nue., and you have siXty-eight millions
of dollars, year by year, and if YOU con
vert that sum into grecnbacks, at 140
you have hundred millions of dollar,
a year, and if this is appropriated as {
sinking fund, you can pay off the whole
debt in less than fifteen years, without
adding one dollar to your taxation OF
one dollar to the circulating medium
Applause,
Bear in mind that / am arguing &
proposition that these bonds can bepaid
in greenbacks without initiating the cur.
; rency. Bear in mind this can be ac
complished in twelve or fourteen years
without the addition Of one dollar tC
your taxation, or one dollar to YOU
circulating medium. And now bear il
: mind, also, that have not touched .hI
revenues Of the government, which il
f 1867 amounted to five hundred and six
ty millions of dollars; nor have / Mt
tackled the expenditures of that year o
Radical administration.
But now set the Radical gelOrmer t.
work. Let him reduce TIE current cX
penses of government to sl5O,0OO ,OO
a year-l mean expenses independen
Of the interest on the public debt
though it ought to ke reduced to $lCJ,
OOO,0OO; that would be twenty-five mil
lion more than Ma. Buchanan eXpcnd
eel; that would DC as much in one yea
as Andrew Johnson expended in any
: of the four years of his administration
But let the expenditure be reduced t
+ $lj0,000, 200, and what do you have
Sl50,O00,00O for current expenses Sl30
100000 for interest upon the debt, ant
: SlOO,OO0,000 of q sinking fund.- anC
) you have the aggregate of $3.50, 900, 900
| and if you take that from the revenue o
, 1866, which amounted to $685. 900
you have a balance ofSlS0, 900 900, whicl
you may add to your sinking fund, ant
thus bring il up to $23O,0OO,0 900 annual
! ly. And with that you can in five year
, pay every cent of the principal and in
tcrest on the public debt, without tn,
: addition of dollar TO the circulating
7 medium of the country. Applause.
! When five years shah have passed yol
, can reduce Sl5OO000 600 of your taxation
aud yet be a'lc to pay the S}000O0 OU
5 which falls due in 1874, Then you car
/ relupn Nnnr lnN Nnlinn a1Mn nnn nIN mnrn