Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1870-09-23

of Grants administration than was levied during
the last fiscal year Of Johnson's administration.
This is reduction OF taxation with vengeancel"
Although this comparison of the Sentinel
only partially shows the increase in the
revenue under the faithful execution of
the laws by President Grants officers las
four months, and the best four months for
revenue, of 1868 g." were under Grant,
and not under Johnson), it is an unwilling
testimony to their fidelity, from the lips
Of an enemy. Remember that there was
no increase of any taxation, internal or
external, during these two years. The
same taxes, Except, indeed, one or two
reductions instead of enlargements) and
the same laws existed in the first fiscal
year of President Grant as in the last
fiscal year of President johnson. But
during Johnson's administration, the
whisky ring reigned almost supreme !;
and manufactured whisky, marked
"tax paid" was sold at less than the tax,
SAYING nothing of the cost of manufactur-
ing. Corruption stalked unabashed
through every avenue of the public ser
vice, and the Treasury was robbed by
men kept in Office for partisan purposes
only. When faithful Commissioner
urged removals Of suspected officials, his
appeals were almost always in vain. And,
when these thieves were detected and
convicted, Presidential pardons, in large
majority of cases, were ready for them.
From this Generalization, peculation and
plumber, which 80 naturally followed the
recreancy of their chief, General Grant
rescued and regenerated our revenue GER
vice, and what, under johnson, went into
the pockets of thieves, went, under Grant,
into the Treasury, enabling taxation to be
reduced. The whisky ring became
powerless Officers who were suspected
or inefficient, were removed and if the
new appointees failed to prove their
fitness for responsible trusts, they had
also to give place to others. And imme-
diately the revenues improved. Every
subordinate felt that his position depended
on his fidelity. Every taxpayer rea-
lized that what he paid went into the
Treasury, and that his dishonest COMPETE
tor, by his side, could no longer escape his
share of the public burdens. And the
same Internal Revenue laws, honestly
administered, without fear or favor, the
same taxes faithfully collected, brought
millions more per month into the Treas
ury, for which the Sentinel now attacks
the administration.
In the Customs service also (the tariff)
there has been increased efficiency.
Fraudulent systems of undervalued in
voices have been broken up. Smuggling
has been detected and arrested. And the
same Tariff laws thus yielded millions
more per quarter to the Treasury under
President Grant than under President
Johnson.
F,11 {43osa 1e<o o,,<
of the increase of receipts during the first
eighteen months of President Grants ad-
ministration from March 1859, to Sept.
1870, as compared with the last eighteen
months of President JOhnsOn's admins
tration from. September, 1857, to March,
1869:
Increase in Internal Revenue receipts. $5S26s 99
Increase In Customs receipts. ....... 42,751 ,431
Increase ia Land sale receipts. 1919, SIG
Sq7 sad s6e
Decrease in Miscellaneous receipts,
premium on surplus gold sold, etc. 10,621 ,101
Net increase on all receipts. ...... SS7, 213, 765
Which has paid off just that much debt,
of course, and relieved the taxpayers per.
manently of five millions interest per
year.
Making all allowances for increase OF
business, does not this prove that the adj
ministration has been faithful guardian
OF the public interests committed to his
charge? The bene6cent results of this in
creased revenue flowing from increased
efficiency and honesty in the public SER
vice, has been felt by the people in more
ways than one.
While nothing was paid on the debt
during Mr.. Johnsen's last year, the re.
duction under President Grant has been
constant and gratifyingly large. With.
out any increase of the public burdens, he
has paid off over $169,500,O00 of our
bonded and overdue debt, in the first IS
months of his administration and has
permanently reduced the annual interest,
to be paid to our creditors, nearly $4,000
600 per year. Up to this date, the bonds
he has purchased with our surplus reve.
nue. have been stamped and kept as a
sinking fund. But the last Congress
ordered, as fairer way, that they should
all be destroyed, now and hereafter, as
purchased, SO that they should no longer
be in existence, even in cancelled form.
With this healthy condition of our
finances, Congress felt that large reduc-
tior Of taxation was not inconsistent with
the maintenance of our credit. And &C.
cordingly bill was passed reducing our
internal taxation at the rate Of over fifty
five millions per year, and on tariff taxa
ton about twenty-five millions-in all
eighty millions per year, striking off at
one blow, one-fifth of all our remaining
taxation of all kinds. These reductions
in our internal tax system have been of
the most sweeping character. Y 4
We have about four hundred millions
of dollars of greenbacks and fractional
currency. When President Grant was
inaugurated, gold was at premium of
1888; 80 that these four hundred millions
of paper dollars, in the pockets of the
people, were worth about three hundred
millions in gold. Before the European
war broke out, gold had declined here, in
consequence of our improved national
credit, to 10 making these four hundred
millions of greenbacks and fractional cur
rency worth to the people over three hun
dred and sixty millions in gold. And this
addition to their value, and their purchas-
ing power, rendering the people who hold
them and use them as currency that much
better off, is fairly to be credited to the
administration. 81
The national expenditures have also
been largely and steadily decreasing from
the day President Grant took the oath Of
office. The year ending July, 1869 (part-
ly : ohnson's term and partly Grant's), they
were $50, 600, 900 less than the previous
year. The year ending July, 1870, they
were $99,000,000 less than in 1859. And
the present year, ending July next, they
will be from $15,000000 to $16,0O0.000
less than tie fiscal year just closed. And
here I must not omit this Democratic ties.
timony from the special dispatch to the
Cincinnati Enquirer, dated Washington,