Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-08-19
Il nipu aud 9ispatth.
WEDNESDAY. August 10. ASS.
I.arg.est CircaIati0n b cItr ana stats.
ItonnING rHr pr0p1IE.

nave imposed taxes expended money, ac-
cumulated debt and fashioned the whole
legislation of the nation, The President
could interpose his veto but that was
rendered worthless for an practical pure
poses by two-thirds vote in the Senate
and House of Representatives. which
the Radicals could command and make
serViceable Now what has been the eff
feet of that rule7 Has it benefited or
injured the nation and people, Have
trade, commerce and business been fost-
cred or stricken DOWN. Is the. debt
lighter, the taxes moro readily paid to>'
day than when the Radicals assumed the
helm of State ? Can the poor man keep
his family aswell on the wages he receives
at this time, as those he pocketed before
the advent Of Radiealism2 Do the funds
Of the capitalist yield him as bounti-
full return, or merchants and manu-
facturers find as large balance OF profits
in their books at the close of each yearY
These are practical questions They
can be readily answered, says the PhlarI
delphia Age by, those to- whom they
are addressed, and by all others In the
first place, no man or nation is in a sound
financial condition when burdened by an
oyerpowering debt, That is a fixed fact.
The old theory that national debt is a
national blessing is no longer accepted
BY sane men or intelligent nations As
well call man sound and healthy with
a cancer eating into his vitals. This ma
ton Just now has a cancer consuming its
vitality. The Radicals, during these
seven years reign, have run up public
debt which is equal to about onessikth of
the value of the entire property Of the
nation. Thisis amuch heaVierper eentage
of indebtedness than has ever been i'm
posed upon the property, labor, or indus
try Of anyother nation. The debt of Eng
land at the close Of the war with Napo~
leon, represented one-fourteenth Of the
wealth Of the nation, and it was found nee
cessary to reduce the rate Of interest to
two and -one-half or three per cent Our
debt bears six per cent interest, some of
1t in gold, and this makes the difference
between the burdens of the people Of the
United States and those of Great Britain
still more strikingly dispropOrtionate.
Nor is the gap likely to be made less for
midable while the Radicals are in power.
The debts steadily increasing In the
past two months over thirteen millions of
dollars have been added to the sum, and
when Congress reassembles the budget
Of expenses will be made still more
weightY. A government mortgage on
each farm for One.sixth its COST one-
sixth of the value of each days work
seized to pay the national debt; all goods
sold by merchants, or made by manufacs
turers, tithed to this point for national
purposes, is the work of the Radical
party in seven years. These facts are
from official sources, and connot be con-
trOverted In plain language, this is rob
bling the people This vast sum was not
needed, nor was it used for legitimate
purposes. HoratiO Seymour, the DemO-
cratic candidate for the Presidency, in
one of his mastery speeches, shows in
what manner the debt has been increased
to its present gigantic proportions, the
taxes augmented, and the people robbed
lie says: l.t
To show the waste Of those in power let
us compare the cost of the government
during the four years of peace before 1861
and the four years Of peace following the
LIST Of July, 1865. For the fiscal year end
ing July /, 1869, will take the estimate
Just made by the Committee of Ways and
Means Bear in mind that this is the best
promise the Republicans can make on the
eve of Presidential election. IL will prove
TO be many millions short Of what they
viii spend, but we will give them the benz
fit Of their own statements. After the close
Of the war, and up to the lst Of July, 1865,
the War Department paid $165, 000, GOO,
which is SIS, 10000 more than was spent
by the same department in the four years
OF Mr.. Folks administration, and which
included the cost of the Mexican war. 1t
took nearly twice as much to stop q war
under Republican policy as il did to carry
on war under Democratic management.
But | will not take this Sl65,000 600 into
the account. Let that close the war. Since
July l, 1865, about three months after the
surrender of Lee, up TO July ], 1868, the
cost Of the government will be, by official
reports and estimates, $500, 1870, 20S. Up
20 July /, 1869, by the estimate of the
Chairman of the Committee of Ways and
Means, il will be Sl97, 1913, 500, making the
cost of government Tor four years 81 ,OlS,-
| 1868, 574. This does not include one cent
paid or to be paid for interest or principal
Of the debt. The cost of government
during the four years before the war (leay-
iug COT Interest ou1debt) was S256 ,226, Ala.
This shows that the Republieans have
spent in time ofpeace, four dollars where
the Democrats spent one. But the cost OF
government grows greater, and We will al
low them TO spend two dollars where the
Democrats spent one. This will make
$5l2,452,S2S. But they spent S505,9l0,-
646 beyond this What did. they do with
the money! During the four years Of Mr..
Folks term, which included the Mexican
war, the cost of the War Department was
only 500, 540,7SS 81 We find that the
coat Of the War Department., taking their
own statements and estimates, will be IN
these four years Of peace S54l ,6lS,6ls; and
this follows an expenditure of more than
So. O0O, 0OO, 900 during the war. The cost
Of the Navy Department in the four years
ending July I, 1869, will be, by the Re
publican statements and estimates $ll7,
AL, 500; aud this follows an expeuditur,
of SSl4,lS6,742 during the war. In Oh,
four years before the war the navy cost only
S62el0,5S4 We then stood IA the from
rank OF commercial powers. Our. AhiP
were on every sea and were TO be found IL
every port American shipping Is nov
swept from the ocean, hut the cost Of chs
navy is nearly doubled. The year endlnl
July 1. 1868, is the third year Of peace
But the War Department cost Sl2s,s5Si
4oI vbieh AZ more than Il cost during ih'