The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1870-03-17

ury...................... q 45os3-o'4tt II
Debt, less amoaBt in the Treas
ury On the LIST uitlmo.....- @s444roL0sZ'o -
Decrease of debt during the
pass mouth. .-.----... .-...-.. o'fosioAi -
Dscr, ase Of debt since March !, ,,,.-so o..
1859 6g.......--....-..-..- - LOS fo% d
Now, in the FIRST place the Pacific
railroad bonds, always estimated as
part Of the public debt by Secretary
M'CuIloch, are not Included in the a
bove statement They amount, with
the accrued interest unpaid, to S65,-
094. So. 20. This sum added to the
gross amounl Of the debt rs above sta
led, makes an aggregate Of S2,7I6, 6,763,-
CSC GO. Now, what are the assets
claimed by Mr.. Boutwell, TO be at pre-
sent in the Treasury? Why, among
Others, 500, ,659, ,283 81 Of United States
coin interest bonds! That is TO say,
this amount of the promissory notes Of
the United States have been redeem
ed by the United States, and though
lust as worthless to the United States
as the paper Of an individual is to that
individual after he has redeemed it
and recovered possession of it, this val
ueleos paper is counted as assets and
Mr.. Boutwell, coolly proceeds. to de-
duet the amount of the value which 1t
once had from the amount of the
principal and interest of the public
debt! To make this perfectly clear to
the dullest understanding let us illus
trafe: An individual draws a promis-
sorry note on which he obtains money.
He afterwards lifts the note. Having
redeemed the note and recovered po5-
session of 1t, it is perfectly valaeless
to him and he destroys it. In like
manner the government issues bonds.
1t obtains the money on them. After
wards it lifts these bonds. But Mr..
Boutwell,, instead or cancelling of de-
stroying them puts those redeemed ev-
licences of government debt in the
strong box of the Treasury, and with
felicity of Imagination that is truly
wonderful, treats them as cash! If
the reader held an estate charged with
a mortgage, would not the owner Of the
mortgage regard him az lunatic if he
proposed to pay off the mortgage with
his own paper formerly held by other
parties but lately redeemed by him ?
Yet this is precisely what BOutwella asks
the public to believe he can do and is
doing. The only bona fide assets in the
Treasury are $IO2, 400, 1897 in coin, as
above stated, and this sum alone is 10
be deducted from the gross amount Of
the public debt. Hence a true state
ment Of the debt and the credits to
which sthe government is entitled
would be a follows;
Total debt-Prlncipal and inter.
est .........-..-....-.....' ~, 10, 10000 %
Assets in Treasery go. 1902 ,40O,739 "
Total debt less assets in Treasu-
fy,..,.t't.ss,.,.'.s.''' ZoI4'"o%'Slo %
But let us see what was the amount
Of the debt on the first of March, 1869.
We copy from the statement of Sere-
tary M'CuIloch as printed ln the Har-
risburg Telegraph of March 5,l869;
ssDebt bearing compound interest,
81, fO7, ,Sj4, $50; debt bearing currency
interest, 81 ,040, 900. matured debt not
presented for payment, So, ,422, 463 81;
debt bearing no interest, ,S42l ,57S, $50 81;
SIX per cent. lawful money bOnd5 is
sued to Pacific railroad companies,
S53, 937, 900 total debt, s., ,660, ,93l ,69I II.
Amount ia Treasury y-cOin, S9s, ,74l,-
260 II; currency, $l6, ,853, $50 Oh total,
lll,594,7 ,789 rs. Amount OF debt less
CASH III the Treasury s., ,545, 1896, ,9O4 49,"
1T will be seen that Secretary M'Ctl-
loch did not count anything but coin
and currency as assets, But he had
no right to treat the amount Of curreh-
c. in the Treasury as cash, not whit
more than an individual has to count
his own redeemed promissory notes as
assets. Therefore correct statement
Of the debt on lhe first of March, 1863,
would stand thusi
Total debt--P PriucipaI and inter
e5t,............,......... 81 $50, 1881 ,69i "a
Assets in Treasury. ........,.... 95,74l, ,260 u
Total debt less assets Treasury 1862 100 433 ~
Now y hat does this prove? Why,
that the public debt instead of having
been reduced, as claimed by the men
daeious Boutwell,, has been actually
and positively and indisputably aug
mented since the first Of March, 1869.
Let us cipher:
Total debt less assets In Treasa.
~, March !, 1870 ....-.,.... s2GI4 3e2 eT6 Go
Total debt Iess assets in 1reasu-
r. March /, 1S6s............ 2582 lea, ,45S AZ
Increase since March !, lS69....S 52,I72,4 81