The Waynesburg Republican. [volume] (Waynesburg, Pa.) 1867-18??, 1868-03-04
NO. S6.

-
large. At least one-eighti, and pro-
badly one-sixth, Of all the pubi;e.
debts contracted during the War
have since been paid. We would
prefer to go on paying, so as 10 have
paid off the last cent before 1880.
But the clamor for reduced taxation
prevails, and we submit.
VI. Since it is settled that our
National Debt is not TO be paid of
directly, our first care should be to
fund It at tie lOlcest possible rate Of
interest. The difference between six
per cent. and four per cent. interest, if
employed as sinking fund, would
pay off the principal within the next
thirty years--certainly, inside of forty.
Great Britain could readily fund her
entire Debt Tomorrow at four per
cent, and hers is larger than ours,
We ought to be able to fund ours at
four per cent. if it were perfectly Ger
tain that it would be paid. Hence,
we earnestly protest against all taxing
and repudiating devices, because they
tend inevitably to prevent oar fund
ing the Debt at the lowest possible
rate.
VII. The Debt is now mainly
funded in Give Iwcntics"--that is,
bonds which pay six per cent interest
in coin, and which the Government
may pay off when they have run five
years respectively, but need not pay
off till they shall have run twenty
years. The five years is now begin
ming to expire; so that the Govern
ment may pay oil these bonds so fast
as ii can borrow the money at lower
rates Whenever il can borrow at 3, at
4 }, or at per cent, it can say, in
perfect good faith, to every holder of
a give Twenty" which has run more
than five years, Surrender your
bonds, and take instead new ones at
the lower rate of interest we offer, or
we will borrow Of others and pay you
off" And, so long as the new bonds
are above par, every holder Of Five
Twentics will necessarily take these
new bonds rather than be paid oil,
because, if he does not choose to hold
them, he can sell them and pocket The
premium. And the process of fund
ing may thus go on, so fast as he five
years expire, until, within three or
four years at turthest, our cntire
National Debt will be drawing
Twenty, Thirty, or Forty Millions
less interest than now, according as it
shall be funded at 4, 4, Or 5 per cent.
VIII. The dodge Of paying oil the
Debt in Greenbacks will, Of course,
crush out all hope of this. Nobody
will lend us money if they see that we
are bent on cheating our present Gre
ditors. Some Five to Eight Hundred
Millions Of our Debt are now held in
Europe,by capitalists who never saw a
greenbacii, cannot use greenback,
and took our promise to pay SO many
dollars in the sense which the words
bear throughout the civilized world.
True, some OF them bought our bonds
at heavy discount; but they did so
when we were struggling obviously,
desperately for National existence,
and when orr prospects were gloomy
indeed. They took the risk Of our
success, when nine-tenths of their daily
associates believed and predicted that
we should 90 down, and that our
Debt would never be paid. Let US
treat them now with good faith, and
we can borrow at favorable rates
should we ever again be in need.
Nothing contributed so much to blast
the credit ofthe Conlederacy as the
fact that its President had helped
repudiate the Public Debt Of Missis-
sippi.
TX. Thousands are now winking
at the greenback dodge, who would
not like to be caught with stolen sheep
on their backs. They think they
mean to be honest after fashion but
they know it is sorry fashion. They
have a notion that they can stop WHEN
halfway down Niagara and float up
again if they will. But, in fact, if we
entepupon a career of Republication, we
shall not stop halfway. The National
Debt will either be wholly repudiated
or honestly paid. We insist that it
will have to be paid, even though we
should cover ourselves with disgrace
by attempting to rcpadiate it. .
y. Finally, whenever the Ameri-
can People decide to repudiate, they
will intrust the job to the Democratic
party, as they should. Any Repub-
lican who coquctts with this form OF
villainy will find when too late that
he is helping the Sham Democracy
Into power.-1ribupe.
Soldiers fun.
Among the "wild Irishmen" in the
Union regiment known as the Ma