Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-09-08
.nErEorrxE fRospnRrTY.

ADEFEoTIvE PROSPERITY.
In his report submitted to Congress in
December, 1869, the Commissioner of |
Internal Revenue said: cat the break |
ing out of the war, in 1861, the distrust
felt by nearly all foreigners in the future
of the United States was so great that the
larger portionof American securities-na-
tional, state and corporate7held in for
.eign countries, were returned for sale at
almost any sacrifice, aud, to such an ex-
tent was this the case, that the country, in
1868, may be said to have exhibited a clean
national ledger in respect toforeign indebt-
edness.n And the Commissioner further
stated that, at the termination of the fiscal
year ending June 30, 1869, our foreign in
debtedness had run up to 81, 465, 900, 900,
of which 81, ZOO, 600, 900 were in United
States bonds, and 1856, 900, 600 in nation
al, State, railway and miscellaneous bonds.
This is an enormous amount of foreign in
debtedness to be run up in six years, and
in it the Philadelphia Public Record
thin ks is to be found the real clue to the
apparent prosperity of the government of
the United States and the ease
with which Mr.. Boutwell, has been
able to float the treasury. During
this period the government ma
chi1ery has seemed to indicate that tn
country has been enjoying an unexampled
term of prosperity. There has been no
extraordinary demand for coin to pay for
eign commercial balances, and the treasu-
ry Of the country has been overlooking.
But has this prosperity been real or only
apparent? This is the point which in
terests the people, and we propose to give
the readers of this journal the benefit of
the investigation into the matter by the
Public Record. That paper says:
aHas the country been paying its
way, or has it been floating an enormous
debt by fictitious means while continu-
ally accommodating debt, even to the ex-
tent of substituting credit for the pay
ment of interest q Has the country been
growing richer or poorer? and what we
mean by 'the country is the people in
their organized capacity as a government.
tIu report sent to Congress by Sec.
rotary Boutwell, in December, 1869, he
stated that the account of the United
States with foreign countries, for the fis,
cal year ending June 80, 1869, shows
AM adverse balance of indebtedness tC
foreign countries, averaging abou, two
hundred and ten millions per annum.'
1--WE publish to-day, in our financial
column, the statement of the department
showing the merchandise and coin ad
verse balance to be, for the quarter end
ing June so, 1870, $l6,974, 397. To Thu
| is TO be added one hundred millions for in
terest due abroad in that year, twenty-five
millions for freights, and twenty-five mil
lions for expenses of Americans travelling
in Europe (Which is the estimate of thI
department for 1861 making a tota
balance for the year ending June 80, 1870
| at $l66, 974, 397. Now, if the country
presented a clean ledger in 1869, ant
| in 1870 owed abroad seventeen hundred
millions, we have here the means of &C
counting easily for the way in which
about the same amount of bOnds-naiion
al, State and corporate been absorb
ed by foreigners in the seven years from
1863 to 1870.
at should be remembered that to thu
amount of the adverse balance June
1870, must be added the 81, 465, 600, 00(
June, 1869, making together s $50, 600,
900. From these figures of the depart
ment it would seem clear that the coun
Try has really been going behind hand fol
these seven years. We have paid for on
eXtravagant importation, not in the pro
duct of our industry, but partly in coin
while the balance, amounting to upward
of one thousand five hundred millions Of
dollars has been paid for in tokens Of
debt-national, State and cooperative
This has been the 'country's pros
peIity;' a prosperity of accumula
ted debt, with nothing really paid
We have been sinking deeper and deeper
in debt, and the bookkeeping of the
country only shows change in the form
of the Indebtedness This change is from
that of accumulated adverse Commercial
balance to national, State and othel
bonds, which are drain in interest OF
about one hundred millions annually.
"This is not pleasant picture to loOl
at; but, if the treasury estimates anC
figures are correct, it is an accurate one
We had better look it squarcly in The
face, and meet it in the only way il
should be met by rigid curtailment OF
our expenditures, and by buying lest
and selling more. All the rosy pic
lures of the wonderful resources of the
country land all of us admit tha
these are great are deceptive, if we &C
on, and, in the same proportion with Oul
| development, accumulate additional com
mercial debts, not to be paid for by pro
ducts, but by other promises to pay. But
this European war has checked our career
Of improvidence and extravaganza, anC
there is no longer market for our ma
tional and State debts. We must pay THU
year in hard cash for unsettled balances
and we shall be fortunate if we are no
compelled TO take back at SOME prict