Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1869-07-29
our Financial Triumph.

,
for other extraordinary purposes. slht
~ Our Financial Triumph.
One year ago we were making no
progress iI the reduction of our National
Debt, had made none for months, and
were likely to make none for months to
come Mr.. Alex Delmar, the leading
Copperhead Free Trade statistician, had
recently put forth a manifesto, at the
suggestion, and with the emphatic in
dorsement OF Messrs. Wilson G. Hunt.
Henry Grinneil & Co., showing, by
elaborate computations and marshaling
OF long columns of figures, that there
would be a Treasury deficit of SIZE, ,000,-
600 on the first day of this present July.
And as nothing but rebel victory ever
exhilarated the sham Democracy like a
prospect of national bankruptcy, the
World had surrendered many columnsto
Delmaris exhibit, and. the Democratic
press had every where hailed it with ex
ultation as u sure premonition of future
national distress, discredit, and humil-
iation.. a'i-7
One year has passed, and with it the
rule of Andrew Johnson. The whole
sale thieves whom he installed in power
over our great Custom houses, with the
lesserviliains to whom he largely confided
the selection Of Internal Revenue, have
been dismissed to the obscurity for
which they should feel so grateful, and
Republicaifs appointed to fill their
places Tue laws are tho, same as ever
there has been mo change calculated to
increase the revenue or essentially re-
duee expenditures; yet the revenue is in
creased, while the expenditures are
reduced, so that weare paying off nearly
ten millions per month of the principal
of cur debt. after discharging every cur
rent obligation. including the payment
Of over ten fniliions per month of inter
est In coin, Il ~ ., (,
Meantime, the general thrift is quite ]
beyond precedent We are building
new railroads at the rate of some thou
sands of miles per annufn. We are inn
proving and relsying many old ones. in
many cases with steel rails. We are
erecting factories and furnaces by hund-
reds, mainly in the West and South,
where they have hitherto been deficient.
In spite of too prevalent fOiidness for
trade and speculation, we are building
many new farm-houses and repairing
old ones, as every one, who travels ini
whatever direction must observe. More
than this We are making new homes
.otCdus anu Outvl Wiio "a dilAC anu
forests, with unwonted energy and
rapidity. Michigan, Wisconsin, Miu-
DesOta, Iowa. Missouri, Kansas, Ne
braska, are growing as new States have
seldom grown, though hundreds of
thousands are reaching beyond them to
Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana,
Nevada, California, and Oregon. In
spite of our heavy debt, and of the for
midable> State, county, city and town
ship war debts which we are more,rap-
idly paying off, this country, including
her States lately desolated by civil war,
is increasing its productiveness andt
wealth as no country ever did before.
The achievement next In order is the
funding of our debt at lower rate Of
interest. We are now paying six per
cent, which is entirely too high for
state of peace and prosperity. We made
the bulk of that debt redeemable after
five, and within twenty years, express
ly that we might, after the return of
peace, be at liberty SO to fund it. Wei
ought to begin the process of funding.
and complete it within General
Grants first term. If the Five-twentiesl
could be funded in new Four-per cent,
the saving in Interest would be some
thirty millions per annum, which, of
itself, would extinguish the debt within
a lifetime.
We trust, therefore, that the people
will turn deaf ear to all projects of es-
sential tax reduction till the work of
funding is complete. To effect it, the
Treasury must be in receipt of q large
surplus, and must be constantly paying
off-not merely converting-debt.r So
long as it shall persist in buying and
putting aside or burning five or ten mil
lions per month, it will be master of the
situation. and may dictate terms to the
holders of its Five-twepties. Let every
citizen who believes in national honesty |
realize that every dollar distracted from
the revenue now will cost many dollars
in keeping up the Interest of our debt,
and the schemes Of open or covert repu-
diators to deplete the Treasury by re-
ducing taxation will be repelled and
New York Tribune. 4f,,
Live Stock tn Ohio. -..-u1
Hon. James HI. Goldman, Auditor of
State, publishes tabular statement |