Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-09-21
FOOD FoR THOUGHT.
The Burdens of the Psople-kn Enormous
-Oad-Who will Dare Increase It2
from the NssavilIs Banner J

From the Nashville Banner
The fashionable habit Of depicting
public tre8suriCs by fraud and rObbing
taxpayers is not confined to Tamma-
nv. nor 10 the Northern States, al
though the newspaper columns are
daily teeming with new developments
OF desalcatiOn and malleasance in va
rious parts Oi the North. With the
South it is an old story.
The Safe debt OF Tennessee has in
creased fcuus s.. .325, ,l5S in 1861, 10 S42, =
SF2652 il 1S7l-an increase Of S87, ,527, =
494-msiulv since reconstruction be
gan. The gross frauds by which this
Increase was caused, have become IA
miliar 10 our ears as household words.
As much az Sl08,000 at a clip have
gone into the vaults Of 'ring," for a
railroad on paper beginning nowhere
aud ending nowhere, and on which
not so much as a shovel full of earth
was ever dug. over half million
OF dollars have been squandered-
money belonging TO the school fund
for the edUcariOn Of the children of
taX-payers-a much more aggravating
case Of robbery than any other named.
From the Cincinnati Enquirerl
The amount Of the State debts is in
the neighbOrhOOd OF S350,000, 600. 1t
IS thus divided into groups OF States:
New England ststes............S 3s COG. coo co
Southern States .------.....-- lo2O00,O00 90
Western 8tstss.....-............- 81 00e, ,000 90
Middle Ststes-...-... ....-....-..- Sl,O0O,00O 90
Pacific States. .--.. ......... 4,OOO,OOO %
1t viii be seen that the great amount
of the debt is in the Southern States.
It has accumulated there since the
war, by the rasE " and thieving car
Det-bag and nee % State governments,
with which military tyranny has az
fiicted the people. Thus they have
run I'D 2 debt in Virginia Of nearly
$50. 600. 600, in North Carolina, $50
OOO.OG0. in Tennessee, S38, 900, 600, in
Alabama, SIC, ,O00, 600, and Louisiana,
az, 100000. A large part Of these
debts have been literally stolen from
the State treasures.
From the Nashville Union and American
The burdens in government in the
way Of taXatiOn-nOW very far eX-
cseding a handsome sinking fund
the enormous expenses of government,
and the interest upon the public debt,
are facts which make even intelligent
Radicals vince. Take the eXpendi-
tures Of our government from March
4, l7S9 down 10 June 30, 1861, a pc
riOd Of seyeutY-tWO years, and they
amount TO 81 235, 81, ,161 61-d sum rot
egg0L to the 5CkOte Of our present public
de5t. This includes the debt of the
r. evolution, the war Of 1872, the nu-
mer0us sWiudling and expensive
wars with Indians, the with Mexico,
the purchase Of Florida, Louisiana,
aud Arizona. During that period,
the en- fire receipts of customs, passing
from the tariffs of Alexander Hamil-
ton, through the high tariff OF 1923,
which threatened to dissolve the
Union, the compromising sliding scale
OF 1893, the protective duties of 1872,
the revenue rates OF 1916 to the MOrill
tariffs Of 1857 and 1861, amounted only
to SI,575. .152, ,579 92-nearly a thou |
sand millions less than our present |
4. Nbt In consequence of this debt, |
mon. @Y is diverted from productive |
,16usfr v to meet the accTuing inter |
AL maxi .Rg il necessary to resort TO /
49, tsriAs . meet current expenses |
M GOVERN ment. ouANSAapAAC Aatbo VI 4
iotarnai taxation are made, tending /
fo reduce profits UPON business, while |
largely increasing ne price OF the /
nr6duefs without eOrTesG GondIng bene- |
fts t0 the producer. This condition
of things hss thrown the balance OF |
trade AGAINST US. To meet that tai
apce. W. have heen forced to ship /
bonds 10 Europe, until now the inter
est on these bonds cons.itutes an an
nual balance against US OF $50, 600, 200. |
Yeas ago il was said, most truly; II /
we continue to ship bonds to meet
balances, it only aggravate5 the |
evil. If on the Other hand we ship |
gold, il Wili drain us Gi the precious !
metals in less than five years time, |
and specie payments will become a /
mvth indeed" " Specie payFaents
have become a myth. 10 all appear
ances. We are further from them than
when the war ceased. We tax, and
tax. and tax again, and then boast OF
now much bleeding the BODY. polite
viii bear. We are able TO do what
we are doing, and more tOO-ssy Mr..
Boutwell, and his army OF tax gath
rers. We are all rich and prosperous
say the President, and the SheL-
al ans, and the Biaines, and the loi-