The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-02-27

| and associations are getting into a muddle
with reference to methods for disposing of
| the national debt There can be no doubt
that the qualified and partial Reputation of
the face of the United States bonds, is re-
garded with almost universal favor among the
masses in the West. Along with this senti-
ment, there has heretofore been desire to do
the thing under soft names, and by smooth,
! temperate and indirect devices And the fa-
vorite Of such devices was that which pro-
! posed to pay the bulk of the public debt, or
at the least that part of it included in the
fye-twenties and amounting to upwards of
| eleven hundred millions, in national cur
rency, thus putting the most numerous class
of the public creditors on the same footing
with producers and taxpayers of the country
who are compelled to receive their dues in
| this kind of money. But recently many of
those who at first favored the project begin
to suspect that it would prove double-edged
instrument. They fear that if it would have
| the effect of razeeing the public debt on the
one hand, it would have the effect of proper
| tionately reducing the value of the peoples
money on the other hand. To this ap-
prehension they are led by perceiying
| that, under this plan, the payment
Of the fve-twenties would require
the doubling or trebling of the
present volume of currency, and by realizing
that this currency constitutes that part of the
national debt which bears no interest and is
diffused among the masses of the people. 1t
must follow that government obligations held
by the people as money, must be deprecated
equally with those in the hands of bondhold-
ers, by positive increase of the aggregate of
government Indebtedness, comprising both
classes of obligations, in relation to the fnan-
that Judge Cation, of Illinois, and some other
Democrats in the West, have concluded that
it would be inexpedient to commit their party
to the policy of diluting the currency in order
to stop the interest of a debt by paying It's
principal before maturity. They think it
more prudent to let the Republicans fall in
with this plan and make the most of it.
Should different course be pursued, aud
revulsion ensue from doubling or trebling the
currency, and thus rendering it worthless,
Judge Cation argues that responsibility for the
catastrophe would be thrown upon the Demo-
Gratis, and the Republicans would escape it.
Meanwhile, the Republican leaders in the
West evidently consider an expression in
favor of the financial policy in question po-
litical necessity and if it contains a fatal
snare, as Judge Cation believes, they are at
this moment plunging headlong into it. For
example, the Indiana Republican convention
which, the other day, nominated State
ticket, and instructed its delegates to the
Republican national convention to vote for
Grant and Colfax, adopted the following
among the articles of its platform:
The public debt, made necessary by the rebel
;snsd ,bs,s Ie hon, ps,a ana al ,ne ponds
commonly called . greenbacks,n except where
by their express terms. they provide otherwise
aop ws t ~ W." sne cIcu
Of the country and SO as to avoid too great an in
os roid VI 'e anu az ~ 'ne price
The large and rapid contraction of the currency
sspos S oy the votes OF the Democratic party
ous eject npon the INDUSTRY and business o. the
country: and Is the duty Of Congress to provide
20" 40, suppy'ng ihe asnc,e1cy 70 iega tenaer
extent required by the business wants Of the
country.
4 Should, however, Republican leaders in
the West get in advance even of Pendleton
and his followers on the subject of currency
payment Of the national debt it is not impos-
sible that Democratic leaders in the same Sec
ton would go SO far as to advocate open and
direct reputation, to the extent at least of re-
ducing the face of the bonds 10 the gold value
at which they were purchased; and that they
would do this in the full confidence of being
thus enabled to take the popular breeze from
the sails Of their adversaries., They would in
sist, at the same time, that if any Of the prin-
cipal of the public debt was to be paid in
gold, the currency held by the people should
have the preference, because this is debt ]
which draws no interest. and because its hold
ers do not acquire it by voluntary negotiation.
b,,t ara forcad 70 rece;ve u as la,,ol .a,,da.
'.e " .s''-' ~ 10 ie5a' 'enuei'
In these remarks we have rather understated
sban exaggerated The tendencies and tba No.