The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-01-26
spxR1T OF THE PRESS.
Editorial Opinions Of the Leading jourpHis
Ip0u Current Topics Compiled BN cry
Day for the Evening Telegraph.
AMERToAN RRpuD1ATIoN.

ers were Democrats, their professions perhaps
imply that all parties in the United States
have for the present convinced themselves
that fraud practised On the public creditor
will not be rewarded by popularity. The
report of Mr. Wells on trade and finance
proves that no nation has ever had less excuse
for even discussing n policy of wanton dis
honesty. The debt has already been reduced
since 1865 by sixty millions sterling of which
ten millions is due to last years surplus of
income over expenditure. The population
has, notwithstanding the interruption caused
by the civil war, increased largely since the
last census and the proportonate burden of
the debt borne by each citizen is every day
becoming lighter. II peace is preserved for
ten years more, the advance of pros
perity will be far more rapid, and
at the end of that time the republic
will be the wealthiest nation in the world,
and one of the most populous. Nevertheless
experience has shown that in the United
States great and sudden demand for money
can only be met by the contraction of loans.
All the capital in the States is employed in
profitable investments, and it is far easier to
divert it to the public service by the offer Of
high rate of interest than to raise an extra
ordinary revenue by taxation. The repudia-
tion of the whole or of any portion of the
debt would deprive the Government of the
power of borrowing; and the unprincipled
entails on the taxpayer q penalty of several
millions yearly in the form of an excessive
rate of interest. A capitalist who lends money
to Government takes into consideration
both the intrinsic value of the property which
is mortgaged as security for his claim, and
the validity of the instrument by which his
charge is created or acknowledged. The
United States can offer to lenders an estate
worth many times the amount of the debt;
INI1i fhn oafnt ~ 1Na
PEELED to pay either principal or interest, its
credit depends on the general belief in its
integrity and honor. The skepticism which
is unfortunately measured by the price of
American bonds in the money market will
probably not be justified by the result, but it
may be doubted whether the adoption by Con-
gress of General Garfield's resolution will
greatly raise the price of American securities
Ignorant Europeans will not fail to ask why it
is necessary again and again to affirm pro-
position which in other representative assem-
blics is taken for granted. Astute critics will
further object that General Garfeld's protest
against reputation is less definite than Gene
raj Schencks previous resolution to the effect
that the debt should be paid in gold; and
those who are curious enough to read the de-
bate which preceded the vote will find that it
suggests additional ground of suspicion.
If the Pope, with without the assent of
the council, were formally to condemn the
doctrines which are indirectly affirmed in the
famous Syllabus, both adherents and oppo-
nents would reasonably assume that para
doxical self contradiction might be explained
by some ambiguity of language. American
politicians are neither as pertinacious as the
Pope nor as infallible; yet it is strange that
doctrines which were loudly proclaimed only
year and a half ago should now be re-
jected with competitive vehemence by their
former advocates The Democratic orators
carefully abstain from any confession of
error, and probably they would deny that
they had undergone any process of CONVEX
sion. If they were accused of inconsistency,
they might reply that they had never lite
rally defended the reputation of the national
debt; and if popular opinion were once more
to recommend their former policy, they
would have as little difficulty in ex-
planning away General Garfelds reso-
luton. At the Presidential election
of 1868, although the Democratic candidate
was not himself repudiator, large majority
of the party under the lead of Mr.. Pendleton,
had adopted the policy of paying off the
greenbacks, not in specie, but in paper. The
calculation on which the managers of the
election relied was sufficiently Ineligible 1t
was well known that of the native public
creditors great majority resided in the East
ern States, and it was in the hope of securing
their votes that Mr.. Horatio Seymour, of
New York, was selected as the Democratic
nominee. At the same time it was believed
that the taxpayers of the Western States would
vote with the party which had systematically
opposed the payment of the bonds according
to the spirit of the contract. That the policy
OF the Democratic leaders is unchanged was
recently proved by the selection of Mr.. PEN
dleton candidate for the Office of Governor
in the important State of Ohio MIR.
Hoffman, Governor of New York, who
may probably be the next Democratic nomi-
nee for the Presidency, naturally objects to
reputation. The supposed popularity of re-
pudiation was illustrated by the conduct of
the last Congress, and by the audacious ad-
vocacy of fraud by Mr.. Thaddeus Stevens and
by Mr.. Butler. The outgoing President who
has since failed by single vote to obtain the
post of Senator for Tennessee, proposed in
his last message to Congress, not that paper
should be substituted for gold, but that the
property of the public creditor should be
confscated as soon as he had received in the
form of intereft sum equal to the principal
which he had advanced. Americans may con-
tend that Mr.. Andrew johnson had no power
to represent the general opinion of the COM
munity; but his policy had never been con-
demned by the Democratic party, and he had
been elected by great majority to the Vice
Presidency, with contingent right of success
sion to the highest Office in the republic. The
recommendations of his Message were but a
cynical caricature of the policy of Mr. Butler,
and of recent vote of the House Of Repre-
sentatlves. 1t had been resolved by a large
majority that the interest of the debt should
be subjected to special tax of ten per cent
or, In other words, that it should be reduced
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