American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-05-18
False PretenSeS.

The Administration party of this coun
try, as now managed, is emphatically
party of false pretenses. 1t processes to
be Republican, but is so neither in party
sense nor in the broader meaning of the
term. 1t makes the only test of fidelity to
the party blind and unreasoning fealty
to an individual who was never a Repub
lican until he was taken up by the Organi-
Zation as a candidate for office its policy
tends directly to the subversion of Re
publican principles, and the adoption in
their stead of a servile obedience to the
rule of one man, who is alike regardless
of the obligations of the Constitution and
the laws, when they stand in the way of
his ambitious designs or conflict with his
prejudices.
But of all the false pretenses under
which the people are urged to vote the
existing Administration new lease of
power, none is more glaringly absurd
| than the one SO persistently urged, that
| Grant is making remarkable progress in
| paying off the public debt. In the first
place, the President has nothing to do
with the finances of the country, except
to oppose economical reforms. That mat
ter is in the hands of the Secretary of the
Treasury and Congress, who levy taxes
and dispose of the proceeds, while Grant
talks horse, smokes, and engages in
schemes for depicting the Treasury for
the benefit of his crOnies and his swarm
of worthless relations. His obsequious
newspaper organs speak as if he was pay
ing off the debt out of his own pocket,
when in fact he does not even pay an in
come tax. Still, it is urged that to Grant
should be ascribed all the credit arising
from the financial policy of the Govern
ment.
Very well. Give Grant all the credit,
if his supporters insist upon it, but before
the people make up their minds to re-
| elect him on the ground of his prudent
management of the nations money, it
would be well to examine into the matter
a little, and see what that management
really amounts to- This is rather a diff
cult thing to do, as the figures presented
by the Treasury Department reveal some
astounding discrepancies, suggestive of
gross carelcssness, if not Intentional mis-
representation; but, taking the figures as
they are given to us, what is the result:
We are told that Grant has paid 1899, 900,
600 of the public debt in three years. Ad
hitting this to be true, on the authority
of Secretary Boutwell,, it is equally true,
on the same authority, that in two years
and nine months Andy Johnson paid 81 ;
066, 900, 900 of the public debt; so that if
this is to be made the one test of merit,
Andy was nearly four times as good a
President as Grant.
4 Because large reduction of the public
debt is made annually by extorting enor
nous taxes from the people, the crcdu
lous public are asked to believe that the
finances are economically managed. The
truth is, that no Administration has eveI
existed which could compare with Grants
for reckless extravaganza. Leaving out
of the question the stupendous
subsidies which have been granted
to corporations by the Admins
tration majority in Congress, the
moneys misappropriatcd by the Depart
ments, and other occasional extrava
gances, the regular expenses of Govern
ment have been enormously increased un
der Grants Administration. For exam
pie, in the two accounts of civil service
! and Indian expenditures for the fisca
year ending June 3d. 1871, the expendi
, lures under Grant amounted to nearly