The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1872-10-10
THE NATIONAL FINANCES.
Jud9e Richardson's Explanation Of the
National Debt.
TREASURY DEP'rM'T, WASHINGTON,
September 26, 1872.

'. National Debt,
TREASURY DEp'TM'T, WASHINGTON, I i
September 26, 1872.
John Cobnsn, Indianapolis, Ind:
Sir: Referring to your communica-
ton of the I'd instant calling attention
to apparent discrepancies in the differ
ent statements Of the outstanding
amount of the public debt of the Uni
ted States on July /, 1869, as follows:
BY Finance Report for 1869,
Monthly debt statement. July
Finance report is7o June SO 50,
Finance report 1870, tby the
and requesting information respecting,
the same, have the honor to submit
the following explanations:
The first statement given is state
ment showing the various acts Of Con-
gress authorizing the different issues of
the securities of the United States
4.length of the loans,". when redeeina-
BILE, arats Of interest," s'prico at which
sold, "amount authorized" s'amount
issued" and "amount outstanding
and the amount above given--$2, $685.
Goa, 955.73, is correct; which, it must
be borne in mind, only represents the
principal of the outstanding issues
under various acts. This statement
has uniformly been made up from the
loan accounts.
The second amount given, as the
debt q, GAG, 17O, 294.16-by the month
ly debt statement July /, 1869, is a
Misrepresentation, the amount of the
principal therein being 1851, 722,9S3.-
81, to which is added accrued interest
amounting to $47, Al, 3l0,79 making a
total of principal and interest cores
ponding to the figures above given
E, 645, l7O. 294.16. It will be seen at once
that the first and second amounts are
obtained from different iata-the first
treating of principal of the debt and
terest, and for this reason arc not COM
parable. The discrepancy, then, to be
explained is the difference between
these two amounts representing re-
spectively the principal of the public
debt by the Finance Report, 1S69--
81, 656, 500, O55. 73--and the monthly debt
statement July l, 1865, 500, 722 1885,
37-a difference of SIS, $50, 972.36, which
arises in the following manner:
Included in the items which form the
aggregate Of outstanding principal in
Finance Report, 1868, page xvii, au-
thorized under various acts, are. the
bonds issued to the several Pacific Rail-
road companies, amounting to SOS, $685..
800 and $113,9l5.4S Of .sold funded
debt" which had never appeared in
any of the debt statements prior to
January l, 1870. The following loan
accounts, outstanding, appeared larger
In the Finance Report by amount OPP
posite each, than In the monthly debt
statement Of July 1, 1869, for the reas-
on that the latter statement Gas will be
seen from the following words there
on: "The foregoing is a correct state
ment of the public debt as appears from
the books and Treasurer's returns on
the morning of the LIST of July, 1859, y
exhibited the debt as it appeared on the
LIST Of July--one day later than the
former etatement--and which had items
Of redemptions by the Treasurer de-
Quoted from it that did not, in the reg.
ular order of business, reach the books
from which the former statement was
made up, in time to appear in the
business of the year closing with the
date Of that statemepk:rsssss s,n.rsSrses ssss1
Demand notes: .:,,.sss toi T5
One en0 tWo-yedf NOES. a,ss2g 90
tegAl ettee5 80
sHrAcst0ua currency. ............... $4,000 03
These items aggregate .$5S,5S09 73.-
36, and explain the difference between
the statements under consideration.
The statement by finance report,
1870, page 25, that the debt on June
80, 1879, amounted to 1858, AS, 2I3.94.
will be found, when the following ex-
plantations are considered, to harmon
! ize with other ofthe former statements.
II may, however, be more clearly UNI
derstood by first comparing it withthe
monthly debt statement of July /. 1869
| the difference between them being
1920, 769.43. BY reference to the en-
-i~>--A -.>>.>. - A. -
g0vernment-cOin aud currency will
be found Sinking Fund, in bonds
bearing coin interest and accrued
interest thereon. $S,867, 2S2s07 E,Thesc
bonds have been purchased BY the
Secretary of the Treasury, between
May !, and June 30, 1869, for the"Sink.
ing Fund.-" and paid for from money
in the Treasury, and there being at
the time no authority Of law for de-
Quoting them from the outstanding
debt, they were held by the Treasurer
as cash item, and included in the
monthly debt statement as still part
of the outstanding debt. Congress by
the Sixth section of the act of July the
IA, 1870, directed that the bonds should
be cancelled and destroyed, and de-
Quoted from the amount of each class
of the outstanding debt Of the United
States, to which they respectively be-
longed. In compliance Herewith. the
amount of the principal of the bonds
purchased up to June 30, 1869, $S,69l,-
OOO, was accordingly deducted from
the principal of the debt, as it appear
ed on that date. The further sum Of
$3.50, 769. Astonishing ola large num-
Der of items, too numerous to be here
cnumerated--of accrued interest and
premium on loan ascertained by a re-
adjustment of the loan accounts ex-
tending over period of fifteen years
to have been carried to the principal
account, instead of the separate ac-
counts, to which they belonged, is here
The two items make the
difference, 1920, 769.43, between the
second and third statements.
The fourth statement, that the regis |
ter Finance report 1870, (page 27e.) |
states the public debt to be $2,4S9, COZ |
48O.4S on June 30 1869, and apparent |
" differing to the extent of $l67, COL
475.15, from the amount represented |
by first statement, will be found byI
analysis Of the data from which it was
made, to harmonic instead of to con-
fiict with the other statements. This
statement was made upon the basis Of
the monthly debt statement issued Ju-
ly, 1869, with which it will be found
TO agree), and differs from the other
three statements, in that it shows the
net debt of the government, including
The accrued interest theaeon, after,de-
ducipg cash in the Treasury, viz:
Total deb,, principal outstanding,
(see second statement. .s2,5 97, 9s3sT
A0ofueu 4f,si7,30 10
Total debt, principal and int, 81 ei5, Il0,294 IS
Deduct amount In the Treasury,
coin currency and Sinking I'm sl5s,l67 s1S 81 I
AMOUNT Of Public debt, less cash
The four statements may be sn,pmar-
zed in the following manner: q
The first is an exhibit of the amount
# the principal of the SECURES and Pa {
life Railroad Bonds, issued under va.
iOus acts of Congress, OUTSTANDING .