The Portland daily press., 1871-04-19
DAILY PRESS,
PORTLAND.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 1871.



The argus goes en- with such uniformity,
day after day, INDUCING in the most extrava-
CANT Misrepresentation quoting "Republi-
can" papers, that ate not Republican pa
pers announcing Democratic victories
that have no objective reality citing al
missions from prominent Republicans" VINO
have all along acted and spoken ana oeen
counted as Democrats, describing NAUTICAL az
gressons that are as purely hctitlous as Inc
vIrtuous emotions expressed by Fernando
Wood. James Brooks, Disraeli or Theirs
when they are ''orating"-that we have loLg
since ceased to think it of any importance to
correct IN detail Justification that is so svs.
tematc and so notorious as to become pracli-
caly harmless except to those who are re.
sponsible for it. But 10 illustrate the general
system OF Misrepresentation, the particular
retaliation of which would necessitate special
attention 10 nearly every paragraph in the
poitical department of each paper, we quote
the following frora Tuesdays leader: "The
last Congress expired without doing anything
to revive commerce, to remove the restric'
tons upon trade, to stimulate industry or to
lift the burdens from the people," This CHAR
acteristic sentence ignores several facts OF i'm
mense importance. II at all consistent with
the method of political discussion" it has
adopted, we should very much like fair and
concise answer from our neighbor to few
plain questions. For instance:
What do you mean by saying that the For.
ty-hrst Congress did nothing to remove the
restrictions on trade, when it SO modified the
tariff as to admit hundreds Of articles free
that had previously paid dutya
Or do you mean the internal taxes instead
OF the tariff when you talk of the "restric.
lions" on trade? If so, do you not know
that the internal taxes were reduced more
than one score of millions by the Forty. first
Congress, including large reduction In the
income tax?
Do you call the aggregate reduction of tax
alton, including customs duties, eighty mil
lions Of dollars, "doing nothing to stimulate
Industry"
Do you call the passage Of funding bill
the loans authorized by which are now in 8
fair way 10 be taken at par within shor
time, "dorng nothing to lift the burdens of tn
people% The Democratic vote of Corgres
was thrown almost solid against this bill
which will beyond any controversy save NOR
than twenty-five millions annually in interest
What have these patriots done, then, to light
en- the burdens of which they complaint
Do you call paying over two hundred mil
lions of the public debt, in the two years tn
Forty-frst Congress was in existence, d3in,
nothing to remove these burdens? You vii
probably reply emphatically in the afirma
tive, declaring that it is an outrage to con
tinue the present system Of taxation for tn,
purpose Of paying debt which should b.
made cbarsable upon posterity. But Their
are two ways Of looking at this thing. TIL,
interest on the bebt must in any event b
paid every year, and the reduction effected il
the principal in two years has also reduces
the annual charge for interest nearly twelv
millions of dollars. This is an absolute saw
ing, and if the reduction were to 20 on at th,
same rate the annual charge for Interest woult
in the lifetime of the present generation be-
come relatively trifing, and the great debt it.
self be almost extinguished. On the whole
we regard even this policy of paying the debt
with reasonable expedition, though it Is
poiut on which there may be ian honest diff
ference of opinion, as a measure calculated II
stimulate industry and relieve the people,
There are many indirect benefits
flowing from this policy besides tn,
direct one we have mentioned. b.
strengthening the public credit it greatly ia
cilitates the founding of the debt, and has
tens the return of specie payments. Both o
these results are highly important, and arc
generally too little weighed in forming opin
ions as to the wisdom OF the course favored
by the Secretary Of the Treasury, and sane
toned by the National Legislature.