The Idaho world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1864-1918, 1869-10-14
FINANCE.

contemporary, the Statesman, and to give a faint
outline of few of the reasons why we could
not endorse the unsatisfactory and crude theo-
ny advanced by the newly 1edged fnancier,
who gives to the public, through the medium OF
that journal, his opinions as to the proper mode
of liquidating the national debt, and who reads
Mr.. Secretary Boutwell, lesson upon the dis
astrous consequences which will necessarily
flow from the carrying out of his financial pol
icy. He speaks truly when he says we "en-
dorse the plan of Hon. Geo. FL. Pendleton, for
we do endorse it, from the bottom of our heart,
and believe 1t to be the only true and correct
theory upon which we can ever hope to resume
specie payments upon any firm, secure and sub
stantial basis, and the only mode of paying our
enormous national debt without doing an in
Justice either to the bondhOlder or to the peO-
pie. The learned financier of the Statesman
says, "if taxing bonds is an honest way of pay
ing them. then confscation of debt is honest
payment of it, The dishonesty of taxing
creditor for what the Government owes him is
thing that when fairly stated is already
proved" and also, $50 if the United States tax
what it owes. until by the taxing process there
shall be no debt left. will that be payment ac-
cording to the contract 2" &c. According to
the doctrine thus laid down, if a man has "
million dollars in gold and invests it in Govern
ment bonds, on which he draws his interest
semi-annuay, he should pay no taxes whatev-
err. but the mechanic, who has no gold, must
pay tax, not only on the works produced by
his labor and skill, but must also pay tax to
the Government for the privilege of following
his trade. The crippled, one,legged organ
grinder, who probably served as a soldier in
The Union army, must pay tax for the privl-
lege of grinding out music whereby he earns
scanty support for his little ones; the lawyer
and doctor must pay tax for the privilege OF
earning living by their professions; and yet,
according to our new financier, the bondholder
should hold his bonds, draw his gold interest,
live on the fat of the land ride in his carriage
with livered servants TO attend hun, and, for
sooth, because he is rich, owns bonds aud don't
have TO learn his bread in the sweat of bis
brow" he should pay no taxes whatever =
he should receive the protection OF the Gov
ernment, enjoy al! the rights, immunitIes and
privileges of citizenship. aud contribute moth
ing in return therefor He Is the peculiar pet.
and the object Of the greatest solicitudc on the
part of our mammon-worshipping Radical,
rump Congress, the minority of whom, being
bondholders themselves, take particular care
that the laboring class Of our population shall
pay for the iddling" while the bondhoders
and milonaires dc the dancing The tact that
n man has mency loanod TO the Government,
upon which he draws his interest iu coin. con-
stitutes him none the less creditor than il he
dlvidual lends money 10 another he does not
escape taxation. What is the difference be-
tween lending money to the Government aud
lending it To the people. or TO an individual
What constitutes the Government The pco-
Pile and every individual is a constituent men,
Der or portion of the body polite, Ii loan
to an individual. then, is taxed, why make n
distinction and not tax loan to the Govern
ment, or body politic' Suppose every one
having money should invest in bonds, what
would become Of the revenue The bonds
not being taxable the expenses of the Govern
ment aud interest on the bonds would Of course
then have to be drawn from the hard earned
wages of the laboring class who, owning prob.
ably one-twcntieth of the capital Of the couu-
try, derived through their labor, would be CON-
PEELED to pay, at q rough estimate eighteen
twentleths of oil revenue collected
Our financial friend seems perfectly horror
stricken at the idea of paying the $50 bonds
in greenbacks, and says it would be substitut-
ing one promise for another, and asks if that
would be payment. We answer him. that ac-
cording to Radical law, as enacted by Radi
cal Congress, it would be payment; and as the
gentleman seems to be sOmev hat obtuse on the
subject, we will explain, not only why 1t would
De payment, but also the benefit a tax-ridden
people would derive from the adoption of such
, course. The 500 bonds do not specify in
what they arc payable, and those bonds, to-
gether with large lot of the 1905, when
thrown upon the market were. purchased by |