New-York tribune., 1871-07-03
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES

Mr. BOutwells monthly exhibit shows re-
duCtion of the principal of the National Debt
by more than Seven Millions of Dollars during
the month just closed. Since Gen. Grant be-
came President, the Treasury has purchased
and Cancelled bonds to the amount of $212,SO6,-
$50 for which it has paid in gnld $19S,126,569,
or in currency S239,075,l73. The annual in
tereSt on the Debt has been reduced nearly
Thirteen Millions of Dollars since the present
Administration took the helm; it ia reduced
more than 100000 by the payments of princl-
pal in the month just closed.
Nh BoutwellS statements can be understood
by any intelligent person. BY adding all the
interest that has accrued up to date to the out
standing principal of each loan, he swells the
apparent volume of the Debt, but he makes
faircr exhibit For accrued interest is just as
much Debt as principal is and ought to be so
estimated and understood; yet we cannot re-
collect that il was ever so treated except by
Mr. Boutwell,. On the old plan, a monthly
statement might show a large apparent rcduc-
ton of Debt when in fact there was none,
because no interest had fallen due during the
month in question and the next month might
show an apparent increase of Debt lowing to
heavy payments OF INTEREST, WHch III ihNt IL
had been reduced many Millions.
Why may we not have monthly state
ment of our City's financial condition like
that of the Federal Government? 1t need
not cost more than the labor of a good account
ant one day in each month, and it would he
a great satisfaction to the taxpayers The
law, as we understand it, requires a quarterly
statement of receipts and expenditures, yet
we have had nothing of the kind for
years. We have at length a Controllers
Report, which is long enough to be
full, yet we cannot tell from it what
were the City's income and Outgoes i'll either
of the two last fiscal years, nor how much the
City's Debt was increased during either OF
those years. Yet these are among the most
important facts that Controllers report was
intended to reveal to the public. Why are
they withhold And why can we not have
such monthly exhibit from Mr.. Connolly as
Mr.. Boutwell, regularly gives us'
Mayor Hall, in his late Message, saw fit to
challenge comparison between our National and
our Municipal Finances and their management.
We hope that comparison will be prosecuted.
Our Federal taxes are high, but they have been
steadily and largely reduced since the close
and vet we have paid of and are still pay
ing Millions after Millions of the principal
of our National Debt If the People have still
TO bear heavy burdens they have the cOnsola-
ton of seeing to the end of them. Leave the
Federal taxes just as they are, keep on cutting
down expenses and paying of Debt as we have
done since Mr. Boutwell, was called to the
Treasury, and twenty more years will see the
last dollar of our huge War Debt wiped out
Is not that the thing to do? We believe it
clearly is. and that the People would say so
if the question could be 50 submitted that Il
direct unembarrassed vote could be had upon
it. We are confident that they would decide
to nav off the Debt as our fathers did that IN
curred in the last war with Great Britain and
their fathers did that of their Revolutionary
War. and not leave it as a burden to the men
of the next century. We would have our
country avoid war as much as possible; but
We prefer that she should not be bound over
TO keep the peace in quite so large an amount
as she is at present.
Every one who will may know how much
the Union owes, and what progress has been
made in reducing its War Debt. How is 1t
with the City2 Ask the next three men you
meet how much the City owes, and they will
give you three widely different answers; ask
them how much she was run into debt during
1s7O and they will all tell you that they do
not know and cannot ascertain; ask them what
is her annual income and what her annual ex-
| penditure, and what can they say
There must be a radical change. We must
have financial exhibits that plain men can un-
derstand. And, now that there is a New De-
paItue under the quadrangular dictatorship
enacted by our late Legislature, we submit
that the time for making them has fully
arrived.