Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1868-12-18
THE NATIONAL DEBT.
The Presidents Financial Fol.
icy Sustained.
What the Press Have 10 sjay
About It.


The true figure as 70 the national debt
Is not seen in the present reported
amount OF it. Il is increasing monthly,
because, low that the Radicals have luc-
cesGed in the elections, there is 10 paTty
need Of turning the cold shoulder upon
claims sgaiGst the Government. 1t yill
continue to Increase largely if al the ls-
gitimate demands upon the United Suites
/ Treasury are answered. Considered poe
/ peCtively, the debt Of the General CIV
erGment cannot be put at dollar less
than IS. 900, 00O,00J As thiCgs are, gold
/ interest on that sum will amount ia the
I sort Of money that the people are now
! using, to something ike S270, 600 tb00
But State, city, county, and town de Dts
are 10 reality, for the most part, OF the
debt incurred on civil war sceGu ut.
( These are not less than s. 900, ,O00 COO.
Thus the aggregate Of the deSt caused by
the civil war is s. 030, 006 oG0. This was
doubtless the sum which Mr.. Thaddsus
Stevens SO often referred 20 as the true
national GeOt by reason Of the war.
States, cities, and towns could not have
entered upon any such usurious and I'M
Questionable contracts as to pay exces.
sive interest in gold. Eliminating The
aggregate amount Of interest in gre an
backs al Sl2O, ,OJ0. 900 on the s. 600, 900, 300
iB State, city, town, and county obliga-
tiOns on account OF the war, the total
amount of interest to be paid by the peO-
pie yesrly in greenbscks viii ce nearly
300 0OO, COO.
The people cannot possibly pay this
amount, even in lawful currency, with
out much suffering, aud At tie same time
dsfrsy the annual expenses for carry .Dg
on governments ia the form Of Nation al,
State, county and town.
From the Philadelphia North American Illd.:
The President urges measures, also,
for the reduction of the debt, and truly
says, the idea that such debt is to De-
come permanent, should be at all tiRIes
discarded, a. involving taxation tOO
heavy to be boTne.H He declares tt ct
under existing arrangements in every
period Of sixteen yeArs We pay, a. inter-
est, sd amount equal to the whole Crigi-
nal debt, s lact that illustrates the oner-
Gus character OF the burden. HIS iisG
that permanent debt would eventuS ly
be mOuOpolizeG by few persons, 10
whose hands it would become 3 danger
Gus power, is not lslified by the expert
enee o. England, nor by It's own thus
far, Glt 4 lC.U not do entirely to diSl's-
gard this consideration, ia view Of the
monopoly OF raiIrosd stocks In such
corporations az thUse Ov0tvsiifs \
ID New York.
The President dwells fOrcibly upon the .
necessity for reducing the rate of inter (
est upon the debt; snd slihCUy yh some Of I
his language on this point sUspiciOusiy /
savOrs OF disposition TO get around 10
the doctrine OF the Democratic Convex
ton sboUt payment in greenbaeks, yet /
he does not take any direct ground that
may identity him with that policy, and /
there IS a real force ia his remark. th1t 4
" lie lessons q the past 0dBloHish Lte (
tender that q is not ICtU to BE- OUer 0Rr- .
iOUs ia e1actiag from the borrower"
From the New York Herald
Nevertheless, in the consequences re- 4
cited Of the reconstruction pOicy Of Con- 4
cress he tells sCme wholesome truths, 1
and we cordially sgTee with him, that II /
these reconstruction laws cannot be coll- I
venienuy Ebr0gsted, they ought to tie I
made to "coniorn to the genuine ,REill- (
ciples o. republican government" We /
also cor eur in bis suggestion that tie
tenure-of-ofiice law, and all other laws .
passed under his administration, tyirg
Up the hands o. the President and int I
pairing the efficiency OF the Executive /
DeEartment, ought 10 be rspeaied, and .
X
the same opinion. /
On this vital subject the Presidents /
views III reference 20 the speedisst pFa,- 1
tlcRble payment OF the debt are well /
worth the thoughtful attention of Con- I
gress, whstever may be said of bis lean /
ings 70 the greenbsck theory Of "od I
Thad. Stevens Butler and PendletOn. 1
Second article EOm she New York II sraldl
-
necessity Of eXtnguisbiDg lhe debt, ard 4
that the bOndholders have received ard /
are receiving an enormous amount over
sud above what was given for the bonus, 4
are true enough. No people 1Uere eur 4
feeced as tte people Of this country have .
been 6y the shameful manner in lOhiCh 1
The debt Icds created, and through the 4
iRcGpdci{y Of Congress and management
Of our rational finances by the Treasury
Department Tue debt ought not az /
need not have been more than third .
of what il is. Bot incapable snd corrupt /
as the representatives and officials Of tie I
Government have been, they were the /
servants Of the people, and the country 1
will have to bear the consequences. 4
Still, TIE public may Be oppressed beyond .
the limit Of foTbeGrdllce. fhe bOndholi- Z
ers, Shyiock-liEe, may demand the pouiid 1
OF IL Uebu-L4lF CiAIttt AJt N6CA Dltout ALA- j
munities while all the rect Of the conn |
munity are sufsriDg-tiil the people are 4
driven to loOk into the equity Of ieir /
claims, and resort to reputation. This, 4
let it be remembered, would be no new /
thing in the history OF nations. Indeed, 1
it is hardly possible 20 point TO any n,a- 4
tion that has not in some form or othsr I
entirely or partially repudiated its dett. I
Even England, which is held up IS the I
paragon 81 honor, reduced the interest /
on its debt from time to time from X 4
per cent or more 30 three and half aid 4
three per cent. The interest drawn row 1
by cur bOndhOlders, IS the President re- /
marks, is enormous. Reckoning the o.f- /
ference beftOseR gold and currency aid I
the immunity from taxation, the dnsOuat /
Of interest IS about ten per cent But the 4
naGOnal banhs mske considerable more /
than this on their bonds-that is, from /
d.teen to seventeen per eent-threul,h 1
the privileges given to them by Cor gress. /
There is no denying the fact that this is /
an infamous state Of things, contrary TO 1
a In eCPtQlifU Of glyf0cfraleR and blSgleag