New-York tribune., 1869-01-20
DO I'VE NEED TWO MORE RAILWARS III
THE PACIFICP


In giving place TO an able and urgent argyll
ment in favor of extending Government ad TO
the proposed Northern and Southern Railroads
70 the Pacific coast, we need not reiterate our
firm conviction that those Railroads should
| and will be built, and in part by Government
aid. On this point, we have no difference with
our correspondent. We fully agree that the
| National wealth will be largely and rapidly
augmented by the building of these roads, that
| tbe annual product of our mines will probably
he doubled and that our Public Lands (Which
Railroad grants are said to sequester to private
or corporate usc) will really be quadrupled i'll
value, and settled many times as fast as they
would be in the absence of the roads. Ihe
Governments grant of public lands Ill ald OIL
the Central line, so far from diminishing the
area of available public lands or their value
has largely increased both; and it would have
increased them far more had not most of the
lands traversed by this road been absolutely
barren and worthless. The friends of the
proposed roads can say nothing to this effect
that we will not heartily indorsc
Now look at the other side:
/. Our National Debt is fully twenty-five
Hundred Millions of Dollars. We are saddled,
moreover. with Pension List of some Thirty
Millions per annum. What with War claims,
&C., the dead weight which our people are re-
uuired to carry cannot he less than Two
Hundred Millions per annum. And this bears
the heavier that Americans have not till within
these few last years, been accustomed to heavy
taxation.
III. This burden is soon to be reduced, we
trust, by funding the butk Of our Debtdt foper
rates ofinteresL If it can be funded at per
cent, and the consequent saving of interest de
voted to the extinction of the principal, We can
pay off the last dime within forty years with
out increasing taxation. And this is the goal
we keep constantly in view and esteem para
mount consideration.
III. To this end, it seems indispensable that
we should I. Convince capitalists that we Will
honestly and faithfully pay our Debt to the
last dime; 2. Stop increasing the amount OF
our bonds ahoat and begin steadily reducing it.
If it were settled and generally understood
that United States bonds would never be more
abundant than now, but would from this hour
become scarcer and scarcer, the price of those
bonds would largely and rapidly appreciate,
and they would be in constant, eager demand.
Instead of sending bonds to Europe and sell
ing them there at 20 to 25 per cent. discount
from their face, we should lift them at once
to specie par, and soon be selling -Four per
cents at higher prices than our Skies now bear.
Hence we say, The first duty of the Gorern-
ment is TO redStdbiiSh It's 0Wn SoIrency. 1t has
no business to be lending its credit till it has
nroved IFS RIGHT 10 credit We are now paying
Forty Millions per annum more as interest on
our National Debt than it ought TO cost. And
we can never save that vast sum to our tax
payers till we stop lending our fly-blown credit
and begin in earnest the reduction Of our Debt.
Until that point is secured, we are opposed to
any new business undertakings or pecuniary
assumptions by the Federal Government. And
we think this moribund Congress should not
saddle the incoming Administration with bur
densome engagements and persistent obligations.