Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-02-09
SEyEUU4y,S FUNDING BELL.


Senator Sherman, from the Finance
Committee of the United States Senate,
has reported what he calls bill ''tO
| authorize the funding and consolidation of
the national debt, to extend banking
facilities, and to establish specie pay
ments.n The Cincinnati Enquirer pro-
nounces this bill a swindle, and declares
that Mr.. Sherman is not the representa-
tive of the people of Ohio, but is the paid
agent and exponent of the views of the
bondholders and national bankers. Let US
see what he proposes to do in their be-
half. 1t is this: To take 81, 200, 900, 600
of bonds, which are now due in legal
tenders, bearing six per cent interest in
gold, and make the following disposition
of them: 800, 900, 600 are to be payable
in ten years, $500, 900, 900 in fifteen years,
and 500, 900, 900 in twenty years from
date, but they are not due until twenty,
thirty and forty years from the
present time. The interest upon
the first batch is five per cent;
the second is four and-a-half per cent,
and the third is four per cent,
payable annually in coin. Let US see, if
this bill should pass, what the people
would have to pay under it. First the
$500, 600, 900 for twenty years, at five
per cent, principal and interest," amounts
to $500, OOO,O The second $500, 000,
600, at four and-a-half per cent, in thirty
years would be 1910, 1000, 900. The last
800, 900, 900, in forty years, would be
sl,O4O, 900, 900, principal and interest. In
all to pay the 81, 200, 900, 900 of fye-twen-
ties, which cost their purchasers not to ex-
coed forty-five cents on a dollar, or $780,,
600, 600, which are now payable at that
price, Senator Sherman would obligate us
to give, in forty years, the immense
sum of 81, $50, 900, 900. In other words,
he would agree to multiply our debt by
nearly six TO one This is not all. AT
present, while the holders of the five
twenty bonds have a guaranty from the
Federal Government that their bonds
shall not be taxed by State and local au-
thority, there is no stipulation prohibiting
the Federal Government from doing so.
The probability is that, ere long, theywill
be taxed by it as other property is taxed,
about two per cent This would net US
S25, 900, 900 a year on the 81, 200, 600, 900,
and in forty years would constitute a
sinking find large enough to pay the
whole debt. This immense revenue the
Sherman bill cuts off by the following
provision: ''The bonds authorized by this
act shall be exempt from all tax by Ma
tioral, State, municipal or local authority"
To get this word "National" in the con-
tract constitutes a strong reason for the
favoring of the bill by the bOndhOlding
clique. In no event, and under no cir
cumstances, could there be any thing
made 10y the Sherman bill, even if the
gold-robbery payment of the bonds should
be consummated, and the interest upon
them continued for years. There would
have 20 be a large loss, for, as the law
stands, we can nghtfully tax the bonds
two per cent, which would reduce the
interest to four per cent, whereas Sher-
man proposes to give five per cent on
S4OO, 900, 600 for twenty years. and four
and-a-half per cent on 500, 100000 for
thirty years. The Enquirer deeply re-
grets that the great State of Ohio should,
on this issue, be represented by a man
who only speaks for the privileged few
AGAINST the lahOring masses.