Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-12-10
PUaLICEvrr-


Mr.. Secretary Boutwell, in his report
says that public debt is a public eva.
He also claims great credit for the Grant
administration in reducing the public
debt, according to his figures, one hun
dred and ninety millions. We shall not
stop to dispute with him about his figures.
But we must insist that with his means
he should have reduced the public evil
much more than he did, instead of allow
ing one hundred millions of dollars to lie
idle irothe Treasury. We have further to
insist granting his premise that public
dc bt iSa public evil, that public policy
does net require that the industry of the
country should be overburdened with tax
alton to pay liability which is not vet
absolutely due. The exhaustive eff
tects of every war upon those
engaged in it will not be controverted.
The late war, which prevailed with such
disastrous results in the United States, is
certainly no exception to the general rule.
Would it not have been public policy,
would 1t not have been plain common
sense, TO have permitted the couu-
try to have recovered from its admitted
exhaustion before forcing it to respond to
the enormous taxation which was imposed
upon it in the flush war times. Both Sec
tions of the Union had been engaged in
terrible struggle. After the surrender
of the Confederate armies they stood
painting like two wrestlers, almost gasp
ing for life, the effect of their long con.
test. Who could Expect thai they should
at once perform the labors and undergo
the tolls of men fresh and vigorous
The Radical plan, however, has been to
continue the system of exhaustion, to
still impose and collect the most
Onerous taxes under the pre-
text of paying the public debt,
when in truth the public debt is not due.
MIR. Boutwell, and his party have shown
much higher regard for the bond holding
creditor than he has for the toiliog peo-
pie who 10 the aggregate compose the
debtor. They have done this not only
10 paying the debt before it was due, but
in paying more than was due. Instead
of selling gold at a premium of fifteen to
thirty cents and paying in greenbacks,
they have paid the bond-holder in gold
and permitted him to make the premium
on gold. Mr.. Boutwell, cannot by his
platitudes about the payment of the pub
lie debt, conceal the fact that he is and
hiss been at work solely TO benefit the
Massachusetts manufacturers. So long as
he can succeed ir persuading his Con-
gressiOnal friends that the payment of
the public debt must so on, so long will
it be necessary by means Of high tariff
10 tax the Southern and Western tillers
of the soil for the benefit Of his New Eng
land manufacturing capitalists. The bonds
have some yesrsto run yet before they have
TO be paid. Let them run, pay only the
interest upon them and provide a suf-
ficient sinking fund to meet them. IL
stead of reporting that you have Paid so
many millions of the public debt, let Us
hear report that you have reduced the
taxes on the people so many millions,
Try this policy for few years, and We
will venture that the country will be in a
far more prosperous condition than III der
the present load of taxation.