New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-05-05
NATIONAL DEBTS.
THIRD LETTER FROM EX-SECRETARY
NCCULIOC

| MADE EASY.
TO the Bd,tor or The Tribune.
SIR: The traditional policy Of orr oountry-jf,
nation that has not completed is hrndTtdth YEA,
may DO said ~ have o traditional pOlcy-has been
to commence the payment OF It's debt a. soon M tina
necessity which created it bad passed away Tn.
United States born in debt, but from the Or
ganzation of tho Government 10 the present dsv,
national debt has been regarded by the people A
burden from which they should be- relieved IA ran
idly IA was possible. Twice since tho colonies Ia
came q nation the Government has been yirtusDv
free from debt. At one period in its history, not
only was the national debt entirely extiDguished bot
| there WIS 80 large accumulation Ia the Treasury
! arising almost exclusively from customs dutieA
! that relief from the plethora could only be found
by q distribution Of the surplus revenue among tho
! States II the debt incurred in the suppression Of
the rebellion was created with extraordinary rapid
ity, its reduction has been still moro extraordinary
The debt of the United States the lat Of Septem-
Der, 1885, was 81 757 6S9571, as exhibited by the
books Of the Treasury This not. however tho
total amount of the debt. There were at that tuna
| large unadjusted claims against the War and Navy
| Departments, chiefly agaustthe former. which were
! lid by these Departments out of their apprOpriA
| tions, and which have never appeared upon the
! TreasureI's books part Of tho national debt.
The actnal debt adjusted and not adjusted at The
close Of the war; rather at the disbandng OF tho
Federal army was not less than So 900. 000,000
On the lst of March last. it So 1877 31j.9S9 tho
reduction In nine-and-a-haf years having been
1862 IS oil, at tho rate of over S9OOOOOOo per
annum. Nothing like this, and nothing at all CON.
parable TO it, illustrates the financial history Of any
other nation. lie is true that the example Of the
United States is not being generally followed BY
other nations, but this should not shake our conf
dence in tho correctness Of what have called on,
traditional policy 1t is moro than likoly that the
reduction of the debt for some years too rapid.
but am satisfied that no judcious taxation, the
object Of which il to reduce the public debt, aud
which does not affect injurously the industrial In
erests of the country will be regarded as bur
densome by the people Of the United States
The Secretary of tho Treasury. IN ms report Of
December 1865. undoubtedly gave expression 10
the true sentiment of the people when he said:
Tho debt il large hut II kept homo il desrabls
not be oppressive. II IT, however. debt Wsie itn
tcnal debt, and on incnmbrance upon tho national
estate Neither IT. advantages its burdens are. OF
BE- af'd SG SStnS S% y t aSd q tn.
of tho Executive BY netsssnf t ,s p.rSn
canse il dis the country with intormers and
sse i svOyes IS the and
large Of money and renders rigid national economy
sa almost sad ,BBe aS4 o. IL o. IN morn
individual Investment, -houlu "
postponed AZ all true men desire 10 leave 10 th@f
heirs unincnmbered estates so should DO the amptea
OF SS psoR e 81 his h Saoaa moTso need
that future genoraOns should share the turuh
e % @ sfS TO aIs ss e1 tho debts Of &
creating.
And when he further said, 10 bis report Of 1867:
Old debts are hard 70 PAY the Longer ta9y S Ss sss
generation should throw burden Of ths debt npoH the
II viii bo quite likely to be handed down nom enc
creasns burden the psSpe Our sCa5try y f 81
EXPENSE Of tho GoSernment and With system
adapted TO tho industry of the country and not 0ppr.
Present ceotury lie wisdom Of policy which sbsll
bring about such result 10 indicated in advance b ths
hse Sa s"d WITH uS o. rsS them
selves OF their postery
1t il to be hoped that nothing will occur to change
tho policy Of tho Government inauguIated ut ITO
birth and steadily continued TO the present tine
Admitting that it may be neither needful nor
desirable that the national debt should be entirely
eYtingushed that . certain amount Of Government
securities will always be required to secure the cir
culation Of the national banks for public and pr.
yats trust &c. &c. il will be some years before The
debt will be SO reduced az to render il necessary to
INQUIRE what amount of public securities will 10
needed for these purposes, and whether or not the
| point has been reached below which the reduction
should not he carried.
| But while il has always been the policy Of the
United States to commence the reduction OF the
! public debt % az the engency which brought
il into existence had ceased, different policy has
been pursued and still prevails among most other
nations. Germany is quite free from debt. Belgium
and Holland rapidly reducing their debts, and
| Great Britain is moving slowly liz u q wonder th;S
SO wise q nation should move slowly In tho same
direction Other nations instead of reducing are In
creosinc their Indebtedness, and most of them viii
doubtless continue to do long they can bOr-
row. Until the system Of funding was introduced
by the Italian Stste the ability Of nations To Lof-
| row was limited, and national debts wero keeps
! within reasonable bounds. Since the Introduction
of this system which is likely TO prove 10 DO highly
injurious TO the States that borrow, if not " their
creditors, national debts have reached on enormous
| sum-a sum which can hardly be expressed in com
prchensiblc figures The aggregate Of these debts.
exclusive of those of counties, cities towns, dc ac
| L. upward Of twenty thousand millions OF dolihs
four-6fths Of which have been contracted within tho
present century, and thls amount, vast anu almost
| uconceiv able it is, Is being steadily increased
| The apprehension, however which tho contenpls
ton Of this aggregate OF national indebtedness
naturally produces Is TO some extent ailayod D. tho
| fact that i'll some-perhaps in most oil tho heavily
indebted nations-the Increase Of income has kops
pace with the increase of dcbt-n a few Instances"
has largely exceeded it. Thus tue burden OF the
debt of Great Britain that is to say, the percentage
of charge upon the national income is ess than one
third OF what il was sixty years ago, aud 80 rapidly
has the income Of France increased that not"lIn'
standing her vastly augmented debt Tie annual
charge income is not greater than whom het ODD
was less than ono-thId of what it Is at present. Stl
tho practice Of borrowing 10y nations, especially IN
tim. Of peace, vicious and dangerous one asthers