American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1868-01-18
THE NATIONAL DEBr,

WHICH ~ HOW disturbing tne COZ
merce of the American pubic-al
is more particularly burdensome
the peopl' of the South-t is W,
for the country at large to understa'
their condition., and for those wi
have the opportunity and means I
investigating its causes. to do 80, An
p1b!ish them to the world. aid in
duce, if possible, our law. gives AM
leading men to give us relief Ga
present poverty in the South is to b
mainly attributed to the loss of prop
e erty by the war, and the results o
in this, thaatt DIR weaithiest agrieGii
turists, instead of outstanding thei
resources, continually specialized OF
prospective gains, and thus KEEP
themselves always in debt, in whici
condition the war found most u
them, aud left them but poorly abb,
to pay. Another reason suggest
itself readily, aud that is: when thu
war ended, few of the Southern PEG
pie properly understood their chan .
ed conditions. and failed to recogniz'
the necessity of rigid economy. and
that their thorough control oyer labor
in the cotton fields (Which was al.
ways necessary to successful plant
ingl had been WreSted from their
grasp. The diminished amount OF
cotton. which at the conclusion o.
hOStilitieS was in the South states,
realized to its holders a sum of money
equal to what an average crop uSu,
ally yielded in the ante be'lum times.
That money has been doubIy sunk III
the last two years, and now our PEG,
pc stand burdenrd with debt, in
helpless poverty, and oppressed with
unequal and unjust taxation. II the
North no parallel 10 the widespread
and almost universal want in the
South, can be found. That section
has not lost by the war as this see
ton has; noi does it now suffer 10y
the oppressive taxation which the
national debt has neceSSitated bu'
the weight and burden of the public
taxes has produced great depression
in commercial circles, and created 81
much nervousness and anxiety in the
minds of the masses who have the
burdens to bear, that hue and cry
has been raised in favor of rcpudia
ton. So much frightened have the
bond holders become, that the domi> |
nant party have deemed it proper to
dictate to these States as one Of the
terms of their readmSSion TO the
Union, a promise on our part, to pre-
serve the integrity of the national
credit in regard to the public debt |
The cry of reputation has been rails
ed, and the business, validity and lr-
gality, of the debt, are receiving the
closest scrntIn' and the most rigid /
investigation Many speciouS argu-
mrnts are urged by the advocates OF
reputation, and many Of their views
are founded in truth; for instance:
First, the war debt va'pxtrava"ant-
" and rerklpsSly incurred the gov
in the hour OF its greatest
peril was UNANIMOUSLY Swindled by
iohbcrs aud contractors, both in high
AMI low places, and that, too. by men
who called themselves eminent pa
triOtS.' Second, that so much alarm
has been excited by the magnitude
of the debt, and 10 much disgust ut
the dishonesty and corruption which
has caused its unnatural and nunec
,Ssary initiation, that the people
whose energies are FRUSTRATED by the
taxation necessary to sustain the
lngr burden of national liabilities.
Ielted. in many instances, in crime,
ought to east it off in justice to them
elves and their children.
These and many other reasons of
,ogent strength and telling power. |
ire making rapid inroads into the (
-etpran ranks of federaiSts, who are +
iii TO hold the nations honor as their \
,cn. Aud in the coming election +
he world may look to see the ma y
iomal debt, which is now mountain 7
Ugh, and seemingly fixed for years y
D come. vanish like the mists of \
iorning before the sun. at the com n
lcnd of that Republican Omnipo. d
rnce - popular wiH. We of the I
southern States will share none OF II
he obloquy or shame which will at r
ach to the loyal North in the repu a
Iiation of this debt-we were forced g
" the victorious North to repudiate I
ar war debts, and to bury them in $
he grave of our Lost Cause. 1t
Gems to ia at least consistent that +
he patriots should do what they a
ompelled rebels to perform. q
The parties who would suffer from