Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1870-04-22

state of the Union on the Presi-
dents annual message -
Mr.. Lawrence said: ~
Mr.. SPEAKER: The national debt,
the public expenditures, taxation
and the currency are now the en-
crossing topics Of political inquiry.
How to dispose of the national
debt; on what and where to reduce
expenditures; on what, how, and at
what rates to impose taxes; the
character and amount of our nation
al currency, and when and how to
be redeemed in coin--these are the
questions which in our Republic
require investigation and determin-
alton.
THE DEBT AND CuRRENcY-oUR POLL
CY.
propose to consider some ques-
tions relating to the national debt
how taxation may be reduced, and
then the currency.
In doing this I will discuss bill
which I introduced in this House on
the 14th of February, H. R. No.
1212)-
To provide for funding the public
debt at lower rate of interest, to
secure uniformity in the value of
the national currency, and to deter
mine the time and mode of resuming
specie payments. .C5 ~
WHAT THE DERr IS
The national debt on the 1st of
March was: G8f1- -L
Five.twenty 6 per cent, gold interest bonds re-
deemable years from dates 1862 to is lses & and md
payable In ~ years Sl'oo<-'sS''o
deemable in 1874 payable in isO4 194,567 800
Bends payable 1881 and others 310.699 500
Three per cent. certificates; $45 555 900
and Navy pension fund, $I4, 100000 1855 900
Matured debt 3,S72, ,346
Currency:
United States notes,
Fractional Currency SO, ,95O,Oss
demand notes 10000
1896 Soe0 oss
Total sa,5s7, 5as, ,oss
But after reducing bonds, $3.50
1928, ,O5O, currency and coin in the
Treasury, the debt is only s2,43S-
328,477.
THE DEBT-wHERE HELD.
These bonds are held about as
follows:
By national banks
To secure deposits by the Govern
ment Is aoa, S0O @
In banks " ,25O, ,697
$50, 4as, ,cs7
By in.9sanes ar Companies s1ssoSSoSS gss osS oSo
BY citizens of United States 4525 ,1o3
In Europe 6OO,OOO,O0O
Total 81, ,9s7, $3.50, 400
The Secretary of the Treasury, in
his annual report says:
"The bonds known as ten forty
bonds, amounting to $194, ,567 800,
are not payable until 1874. The six
per cent. bonds payable in 1881,
amount to $283, ,677 900. AS the
bonds known as e.ghty-ones and
ten-forties, amounting in the aggre-
gate to 8,244, 900, are not paya-
Bile and cannot be paid previous to
1874 and $751;. it is unnecessary to
consider them in making provision
for new loan. The five-twenty
bonds, amounting in the aggregate
to 81 ,602, ,671, 100, are either payable
or will soon become payable, and it
is to this class of the public debt, and
to this class alone, that attention
should be directed"
But of the five-twenty bonds the
Government holds $27, ,S76,529 be-
longing to the sinking fund, and
72,7S2,773 purchased by the Gov
ernment, leaving only 81, 1,4o3,o11,-
SOS.
WHAT WILL BE SAVED By FUNDING.
That it is desirable to convert the
"five twenty" bonds into bonds
bearing less rate of interest needs
no argument to prove. The annual
interest now, at 6 per cent, ON 81
500, ,O00, 900 of five twenties is in
gold coin $50, 100000, equal in cur
rensy to over $1O8, 100000 Iffun-
ded, as the bill proposes, into three
classes Of bonds, redeemable re-
spectfuily in twenty, thirty and for
ty years, the first class at Al per
cent. annual interest and the residue
at not exceeding yer cent, the an
nual saving to the Government on
81 400, 100000 would be $25, $685.
665 in coin, equal to about $50, 900,
600 currency.
Ifit shall be thought expedient to
fund the debt in three classes of
bonds, redeemable in Is, 20, and 25
years, and payable 5 years later in
each class, as the Secretary of the
Treasury proposes, l shall offer no
objection to that. But a longer loan
will secure longer rate of inter
est.
IT IS PRACTICABLE Lo FUND.
Is it practicable to effect this
change? The Secretary of the
Treasury, who has investigated this
subject, says:
"Questions that lave been raised
in regard to the nature of the obli-
CATION assumed by the Government
in the issue of these bonds have
undoubtedly deferred many persons
from purchasing them as perma-
nent investment, and consequently,
they are largely held in this country
and in Europe for speculative pur-