The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1869-10-14
Reduction Of the Debt.

THE Cincinnati Commercial, the leading
Republican newspaper in that city, I'm an
attemnt To show that the public DEBT has
been srrsatlv reduced under Mr. BoutwelPs
management of the Treasury, makes the
subiOined statement:
March /. 1860. Oct. I, 1869.
PRINCIPAL of 5j, 90 i69i 800, 5} -
Less amount in treasury ll5,59i,IN9 166,lH,1S3
Net debt -. =, ~, 399, ao5 sa,4si, .s55
Decrease in principal OF
debt since March ! Sb,.Sl $40
The Pacific Railroad bonds are not included in
either of the above statements These amounted
to s53937,OOO March : and to sol, lSO,320 October
l, showing an increase Of S1,2i3,32O, which, de-
Quoted from the above <j5-9S1-j3O, shows net
decrease IN the principal of the public debt since
March l. of SJ9,i3S 3l0.
1t appears from the above that there
were more than $50, 1000, 900 more of funds
IN the Treasury on the first of October
than on the first of March,. Thcsamount
in the Treasury, at both dates, is
deducted from the debt.
Mr. Boutwell,, with much larger re-
venue than Mr.. McCulloch had, has not
done nearly as well with it in dealing with
the debt. If we take the payments made
by Mr. McCullOch on bOunties, and on ac-
count of reconstruction" and on account
OF the Freedman's Bureau, and for the
payment of the purchase of Alaska, ana
for other matters on which the present
Secretary of the Treasury has not been
required to disburse anything, the con-
duct of the Treasury Department last year
shows better than it will show since March.
There is a dishonesty and demagogism
about the way the Republican newspapers
make statements concerning reduction
of the debt which shows that they are
afraid to present the facts. Only few
days ago, Mr.. DelanO, Commissioner of
the Revenue, rlade speech at Pittsburgh,
in which he boosted that the increase in
Treasury receipts under Grants Admins
tration, thus far, warranted belief that
they would reach s 100000 more for the
current fiscal year than they did for the
one ending in June last.
In this statement, Mr.. DelanO was, prob
ably, correct, but he follows the general
custom of Republican politicians in max
ing the increase figure as reduction OF
the debt. Mr. Boutwell, has had great
deal more money than Mr.. McCulloch had
the last year of his administration, and
has not had to pay out as much by, at
least $40 900 900 on account of extraOrdi-
nary expenses, and yet, according to the
statement in the extract, he has only been
able to reduce the debt 1874, 500, if the
excess of funds in the Treasury in October
over those of March be not counted as a
reduction.
Public indignation became so thorough
ly aroused last year over the failure to col
lect the taxes on whisky and tobacco, that
the rings in Congress interested in de-
frauding the revenue by operations in
those articles were compelled to lower the
tax on whisky TO a point which would
make collection of it possible. This is the
principal reason for the increase in reve-
nue., and Mr. Boutwell, deserves no credit
for it.
The officers of the revenue service under
Grant have only been in their present po
sitiOns about six months. They have moi
yet learned the processes by which the
treasury can be safely defrauded. 1t is al
together likely that there has been some
thing of an Improvement in collecting
taxes, but to attribute this to an increase
in honesty in the service is an attempt tC
delrde the people. How has it been il
Chicago? What was the name of the part
ner of Grants brother whose hands arc
not pure? The appointments of the pres
ent administration have been condemned
by the Republican press as disgraceful
but now those same newspapers would
have the people believe that our revenue
service is a model of honesty-C Chicago
Times, Oct s.