Wilmington daily gazette., 1872-09-04
Radical MIsStatements.
-KT1rl From DAVID A WELLS on THE DELT PAY
NESTs UNDER TaR JOHNSON ADMINISTRATIONS.


am in receipt OF your note of the 2lst, asking,
What did Mr.. Dawes mean by saying III his
,pesch at Utica that JoLnson's Administrator
only reduced the debt sl3,eo0uco?" had hot
utsaryad that Mr.. Dawes made any such state
,nents hut Senator Conkhng, in his recent speech
ct the Cooper Institute OF New \ ork, did co aver
and In SC doing stated what was not only grossly
incorrect, but what, moreover, could not have
admitted of misstatement If the speaker had
ever given TIE subject even the most superb.
..ial investigation. To prove this will refer
,ou to the last report lls'1) OF the Secretary
lf the treasury, pages IL ana II, where the
nrlncipai CT the acknowledged or funded pub
il, debt of the United States is stated with the
Utmost clearness, a. it existed on the Ist of
Iuly in each year iIo,n tSi3 to 1851 inclusive.
BY this table II appears that The principal OF
the public debt Oh thctl of July lc6C, was
81, 7773 ?35,l;2, and on the !st Oh July, 1905,
soCll ,6s7, ,sJl, thus showing reduction in
johnson rst two years alone of siG1, 54s. 800.
At the close Of the next fiscal year 1850,
eight months OF which were under johnson
and four under Grant, the principal Of the
debt had been fur her reduced TO s?, zee, ,452,
.l3. But this method OF stating the payments
made on the public debt under the Admins
sration of Andrew johnson tells but very
senall part Of the actual truth; and this Mr
GOpklihg, II he ever had read the reports OF
ffe Secretary Of the Treasury since 1869, must
nave known as well as any one, for after the
this whole subject had passed out of the do
main of political discussion, Secretary McCui.
ioch and also General Schofeld, then Secre
.ary of War, for the purpose Of establishing
the truth, published full details of the amount
Of payments made up to November, 1865 out
of current receipts for debts already due at the
close of the war, aud not funded and also for
bounties all of which, II not thus and then
paid would, to an equivalent extent, have
augmented the funded debt Secretary Nc.
Culloch's statement may be found In his re-
port as Secretary Of the Treasury, December,
1869. and Gen. Schofeld's in the form Of q
letter, In answer to resolution of the House
of Representatives. December ~, 1863. But
by these statements it is demonstrated, be-
yOnd the possibility Of a cavil, and by meth.
I'd 80 clear that che who runs may read, that
between the 1st day OF April, 1863, and the 1st
day Of November, 1868, period Of three years
and seven months, there was paid out OF the
Treasury Of the United States, under the ad-
mlnstrstion OF Andrew johnson, on sccount OF
the public Indebtedness, the large sum OF $40,
$3.50 AZ; and in addition thereto S42, 1874 900 on
account of advances to the Pacific railroads., and
a. 200, 900 on account OF the purchase Of Alaska;
k.as whole making aggregate Of e5l9.eo 900.
,ses report OF the Secretary Of the Treasury, De-
:ember. 1868. pp. 1921 have thus apsw-red
your question Us clearly aud concisely a. gu
able have been particular also TO give he ape
.itic authorities for my figures, 50 that he whe
doubts may readily investigate for himself And