Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-08-15
). a.. COLUMBUS q. !, SATURDAY MORNING. AUGU
a5rI III,ln, IanoiInL ItaIl.1 9n1 no11 "a
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proposition was supported by every
Democrat, but defeated by the uhadi.
nous vote Of the. Radical majority
cry State Under, Radical, control presents
2 similar history. How astonishing then
iSdthe inconsistency" the assurance
which claims that the national bonds not
issued for gold Or its equivalent, but exT
changed for deprecated paper money,
dollar ofor dollar, and payable by the
terms of the law in the same money can
be paid only in. gold. The Democratic
platform repels this monstrous absurdity,
andndenounces it as a great wrong to the
taxpayers and the people, 81 hi aglasia'g glt ,
INFLATIoN OF THE ouRRENCY.,c-
1t has been most inconsiderateIy. and
falsely assumed that !, the Democratic
policy requires vast imitation and con-
sequentlyI further ltdepreciationnof the
currency, I'm order to otake the place of
the national bonds which we propose to
PaY,of IN fhatmedium. The gsestionis
ignorantly Put.j How can we pay sew
enteen hundred millions of fye1twenty
bonds in greenback without increasing
them to that anepntl We answer If
you say the debt is payable in gold, how
can you pay itewithout increasing gold
farlbeyond the limits of possibility2 The
debt ismany times onore than all the
gold coin ever in the country at any one
time. opri theory. o Radical sophistl
encounters .thedyery difficulty which
you suggest. saos Remove bit hout uof
your own PATH and you. have
answered -, your !. own - armument.-
But the difficulty is altogether imagin-
ary, because the debt falls due at differ.
eht periods of time; and, moreover, the
question is not what medium Of payment
shall be actually delivered to the cred
itor, ut.what is the measure of STANDARD
by which the amount and value of the
obligation ne holds is to be estimated.
Is ii gold, orrisCit a currency and daw-
full money standard 2 That being deter
mined, duties and taxation on The re-
sources of the government, and all the
gold, all /, the greenbacks, and all the
bank notes in the country which it can
command; become available as instru-
mentalities for payment of the debt. The
currency can always be increased at the
pleasure of ngress,whether the nation
al debt is measured by gold or a law
full money standard. The exact and fun
damental difference between the oppos-
ing policies is this :pdWe affirm without
hesitatic that thefve-twenty bond Of the
government for one thousand dollars, can
bepaid at its maturity with that amount
of lawful money of the United States
Radical policy and craftsmanship affirm
on the other hand that forty or fifty per
cent. premium on gold must be added,
and thus increase by more than one
thousand millions the admitted sum of
the national debt. You, Radicals fool
isbly contend that to pay the debt ac-
eording to a currency standard, a corre-
spending volume of the currency will be
required. Do you not see, then, by your
own argument, that to pay it according
to a gold standard still larger amount
Of greenbacks will berequired4 4because
the very addition you make to the debt,
is ten times more than-all the coin in the
United States This issue is made d.
rectly before the people. II know the
skulking and shutting character of the
Chicago Radical Platform, which prates
about'H thei1 letter oands spirit of the
law and the contract. We affirm, in
exact and explicit terms. that according
to the letter land spirit botheof the law
and the contract, more than three-fourths
of the bonded debt is payable in the le-
galized currency of the country, and for
this we are denounced in the press and
on the restrum as repudiators. The peo-1
pie must decide between us, and their
decision now made will be irreversible.
They can, if they will, fasten upon their
neeks the iseryitude of vastly greater.
debt than they ever contracted. A mis-
taken decision carries it to more alarm
ing heights; and with continuance of
wicked and reckless government, the
national credit will sink lower and
lower, while the debt, !, BY consequence
rises higher and higher. Intil bank
ruptcy and repudiation will begin
to cast their 5lengtheningi shadows
over the land. With Just decision Of
this question, with economy in the di-
rectionf of public affairs, with govern
rhentl limited to constitutional objects
and expenditures, the people will luncom-
Plainingly,i if not cheerfully, put their
shoulders to the burden,o because they
can bear it. r. The credit of the nation
will rise again. THE margin 5between
gold and paper will disappear, and the
bonds themselves will rise in the mar
kets of the world. Then the bondhold.
er andlthe taxpayerwill have one cur
rency Candsa common interest All5the
ranks of society will move in harmony,
animated with new hopes, and our coun-
try will resume its prosperous careen
sol. TAXATION OF THE BONDS ni9Z9 7
ButSsomething else is to be done, in
order to remove the fatal antagonism of
interests which the Radical policy has
planted between the public creditors and
their ldebtors-the people of the United
States. The bondholder pays no tax
either to the State or Federal Govern
ment. Holding an Investment of capital
which pays interest in gold holding a
security more productive than any 9TH
er known to our business and our laws,
he contributes absolutely nothing for the
relief of tax-ridden people. Here,
again, the National Democratic party
speaks with boldness and directness of
a wise and impartial craftsmanship. 1t
declares that all property, including
the bonds of the Government, should be
subject to equal taxation; & and
here, again, we 10 encounter decla-
nation and pretension without knowl-
edge or argument. We are told
that this is reputation and dishonor, be-
cause the bonds are, by law and con-
tract, exempt from all taxation. This
statement is false and il is mite time