Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1871-07-27
NATIONAL DEBTS.

The present debt Of Great Britain; re-
bers to about four billions Of dollars. 1t
steadily increased from 1859 to 1873,
when it reached the eliminating point
Of CSC 5000 The actual net reduce
| ton Of the debt in the last tifty.fee years
/ is but $50 100000, or about three hum
dred millions Of dollars
At this rate it will be centuries before
England will liquidate her national debt,
nearly the whole Of which has been con
tracted for war purposes. Her political
economists have from time to time in
sisted upon the wisdom and positive
necessity Of adopting measures in times
Of peace for the reduction Of this enor-
nous debt Adam Smith, in his wealth
Of Nations" takes the ground that the
practic Of funding debt and making it
permanent "has gradually enteebled
every state that has adobted Ill" David
Hume, in his Essay on Public Credit"
declares that 'if the nation does not de-
stroy the debt the debt will destroy the
nation" British statesmen are begin
ming to see that huge national debt, en-
tailed from one generation to another,
while great burden to the people, is
source Of grave danger to the govern
ment Latterly this subject has excited
no little attention in the British Parlia-
ment
The public debt of the United States
on the lst Of July, 1861, was
$50 SCI ,S2SGS On the lst Of July, 1866,
it was 2,783,425 ,S79,2l; and on the lst
of May, 1871, it was 81 305,j73, 543l4
No other nation can show any such rec
ord in the rapid liquidation Of its indebt-
edness, and that too Notwithstanding
large reduction of internal taxes. has
been, and it should continue to be, the
policy Of the American people to pay oil
the public debt by gradual reductions
from year to year. The scheme of fun
ding the outstanding Five twentes does
not propose permanency, but simply
reduction in the rate Of interest until the
debt is paid. The burdens OF taxation
should be lightened as the country in,
creases in population and wealth, and
hence the taxable basis becomes broad,
err yet the process should not be so rap.
id as to admit of no surplus for the grad
ual extinction Of the debt The trae way
to accomplish the result in n series of
years is to keep at the work year by
year. We do not believe in the wisdom
of bringing taxation absolutely down to
the expense basis and thus leaving no
surplus for debt reduction We do not
know what is in tho future. We may
have another great war, putting the nat
ional credit to its utmost strain; and
hence we should not stereotype upon
ourselves the European system of per-
manencv, but rather use the period oil
peace for paying the debt as last as we
reasonably can
This is sound national policy, 1t is
the policy hitherto pursued by the Re-
publican party, which will be continued
if the party remains in power. The AID
ministration of President Grant has
already written for Itself splendid rec
ord on this subject The people ought
to endorse it. and we believe they will
do go at the next presidential election
Give General Grant two full terms OF
official service; and if we judge from the
past, the financial and political questions
left by the war Will be pretty thoroughly
settled.