Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-10-08
rxDER IoHNsoN-UNDER GRANT.

Secretary Boutwell, and the Radical pa
pers and politicians generally are constantly
harping on the great reduction of the public
debt by the Grant Administration. \
monthly political bulletin is issued in order
to keen the matter before the people.
The Democracy have from time to
time shown the utter ialsity Of these
pretensions. but now comes a stunning
blow from devoted friend. No journal in
the United States las rendered more eff
Gent service to Gen. Grant than the New
York Herald. Occupying seemingly
neutral or independent position, it has
faithfully stood by the President in every
emergency. 1t las been ever ready with
excuses or palliation for every personal or
political offence charged against him. 1t
has rendered timely aid by ridiculing or
assaulting those Republicans who have dared
TO find fault with Gen. Grant. 1t has her
aided him as the candidate most deserving
of his party and the only one who had any
show of success before the people. But
the astute Herald sees that the attempted
trick to prove a reduction Of the National
q. debt under Gen. Grant is too flimsy TO sue
coed and therefore wisely exposes it. In a
late issue it says:
With all our desire TO do the adIninistra-
ton and the Secretary of the Treasury JUS
tice for the good done or contemplated i'll
-. ont Of th.a national rnanpng
we cannot allow the fallacies and special
pleading Of Mr.. Boutwell, TO pass unchal-
ienped. The Secretary claims great credit
Hr-.-iuo off SOIL .3406 $50 of the nuhlic
debt since Gen. Grant came INTO power-a
period of two wears and six months-which
Is at the rate Of hundred millions year.
But by his own showing, the sdministra-
tionof Andrew johnson paid offin four years
two hundred and siXty-fiye millions, which
would be at the rate Of over siXty-tive mil
millions wear. True, Mr.. Boutwell, makes
an insidious qualifying statement to exalt
the administration of Gen. Grant over that
of Mr.. johnson, that portion Of the
money obtained by the johnson government
was from the sale Of war material. We
have no data TO show what amount was re-
allied by the sale of war material, but II
could not have been comparatively very
large sum. Then there was a vast amount
of floating Indebtedness discharged by the
johnson administration. The expenses Of
the government, too, were necessarily much
greater tnan since Gen. Grant has been
President. Besides, Mr.. Johnson had the
enormous culTupt jobs of bitterly hostile
Congress to meet, and WAS rendered utterly
powerleSs TO prevent them. He was bad
gered and thwarted at every turn. Yet his
administration, which the Republican Con-
gress and party repudiatcd and embarrassed,
accomplished more really in paving
Of the indebtedness of the Gov
eminent than Gen. Grants has not
vithstanding the far more favorable cir
euInstances in which Grants administration
has been placed. The figures from which
we make this deduction alc Mt. BoulweT's,
and therefore cannot be questioned As far
as the comparison goes. On the last day
Of .TlIy. 1865. he says the asceItained pub
liz debt was S2,75j,995,215. This was
when Mr.. johnson was in the Presidential
chair. On The first of March, 1869, when
Mr.. Johnson went out Of office, the debt,
As Mr.. Boutwell, shows, was 2,19l ,399, 9H.
Now, considering that the burden of taxes
has been kept up-for it is only through
the acts of the last Congress, which now
begin to operate. that taxation has been re-
duced-and that the War Department and
every other department of the government
needed much less money than in the former
administration, we think Mr.. johnson did
as well as Gen. Grant, or better.