The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1871-07-05

| This is dry subject, but to you
is one of life and death. Our systeI
of government makes you legislator,
and as legislators 1 address you.-
When you vote, you vote to make Q
repeal laws; to do so intelligently yo
must investigate-think earnestly ant
honestly, ior it is only by so doin
that you can protect your rights an
] liberties.
''LET POSTERITY PAY THE DEBT.
After having wickedly created tn
debt, the oligarchs cry, let posterit.
pay the debt-we have paid enougl
already" when the fact is, they re
ceive all and pay nothing. They ar
exempt from State taxes, and by tht
late funding bill are made exemp
from all taxes on bonds issued unde
it. They want posterity to pay tn
debt, because they receive what j
equal to seven per cent. COMPOUND
interest, and at that rate the interes
paid in ten years is equal to the prin-
cipal of the debt. These generous
gentlemen would like to be paid il
full three times by this generation, ane
as often by every succeeding one
They do not pay one cent ON th'
principal or interest of the debt-they
receive all and pay nothing. 1t il
not difficult, then, to see why they
built up the debt. 1t was fat in
vestment in the sweat of the people.
Do you doubt the correctness o
what I say? Think moment. Why
does the law give the bondholder com
pound interest in gold, while you art
made to receive paper? Why are you
required to pay the bondholders tax
es, and your own into the bargain
Why does the law require that three
hundred millions of taxes should be
paid in gold for the benefit of the
bondholder-one hundred and eighty
millions of tariff tax, and one hum
dred and twenty millions of interest
tax ON the bonds?
WHAT WE PROPOSE.
We say, let us do justice to the
bondholder, but also justice to the
people. We are in favor of making
custom dues payable in grcenbacks or
gold at the option of the person Oh
persons making the payment. This
would at once bring greenbacks up to
the par value of gold, and they would
perform all the duties of money!
Gambling in gold would stop, and the
sudden fluctuations in price would
cease.
We are in favor of paying the bond
holder according to contract, not less,
and not more; greenbacks where they
were Intended, and gold where gold
was stipulated.
At present the amount of currency
in the country is not equal to the
amount of the taxes, and were all the
taxes to be collected on the same day,
there is not money enough in the
country to pay them. Is it not alb
surd then to talk about there being too
much currency in the country? The
currency we have is diverted from
trade and invested in stock and gold
speculations, which is ruinous to the
interest of business Allow greenbacks
a fair chance-they are now deprecia'
ted by act of Congress-let them be
received in payment Of custom dues
like gold, and the continual see-saM
in prices will cease.
EQUAL RIGHTS AND EQUAL BUR-
DENS.
The fundamental idea of our gov
ernment is equality of rights and
equality of burdens. But the oil
garcEs have SO controlled the legisla-
ton of Congress, that they have
secured all the rights and privileges
for themselves, and thrown all the
burdens of the government on the
shoulders of the people.
Fellow citizens, 1 wish to ask you 8
simple question. Can il be just tc
make one man pay another mans
taxes? The law of Congress assumes
to prohibit States, counties and cite;
from taxing federal bonds, and while
such law is held to be law, it must be
obeyed. This law was imposed upor
the people by the express enactment
of Republican Congress, and they
are called upon to perpetuate thi:
wrong against themselves. Here are
two citizens. One of them owns 6
farm worth ten thousand dollars, and
is taxed on all he owns. His friend
there sold all he owned for fifty thous
and and invested it in bonds. They
live in the same school district. Tax
is levied to build school house-the
farmer is taxed, the bondholder is
not. A further tax is levied to pay {
teacher-the farmer is taxed and the
bondholder is not. When the schoo
was opened the children of the farmer
and bondholder entered together
The farmer was not only taxed to ed
ucate his own children. but the child
rem of the bondholder into the bargain.
A law passed by Republican Con-
gress compels the farmer who tolls, 10
pay the taxes of the bondholder- who
receives compound interest in gold
and does nothing. Is this Republican
justice? Do men who made such
laws deserve to be retained in power ?
Here are two other citizens whe live
in town. That gentlmanly looking
person, with bland smile and serene
brow, owns cool hundred thousand
in bonds. Not far from him is q
brawny armed mechanic, the lines up
on whose face tell the story of his
battle through life. Manhood sits
upon his honest brow, but his shoul-
ders, though like those of Hercules,
are stopped little from over toll
BY hard work and through the econ
omy of his wife, he owns a comfortable
home. 1t is his-his very bone and
muscle arc Incorporated in its wall.
The streets of the town aresraved,
and the bondholder rolls over them
in his carriage. The mechanic was
taxed to pave the streets-the gentle