The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1875-10-28
STOP BORROWING

ciety IS Impotence or an inability to un
derstand that the want of a thing is NO
the sole sufficient reason for having it
American enterprise is closely allied tc
this distempered reason Of childhood. II
has prevailed our society, carried the
scala of family expenditure beyond in
come, and instigated public expenditure
on an unprecedented scale and altogeth.
or beyond the tax produced Income.
Everything and everybody is mortgaged
A whole generation must spend Its labor
to lit these mortgages, or we must rush
on ruin byIma,ntsining, inl'he face OF Ter
riblv ominous warnings, Il scale oil prl-
waite and public expenditure out oil just
relations TO our incomes.
As u rule the lesson has been learned
thus far only as it came III the hard COM
mands Of necessity. People and corpor-
ations who have exhausted their power
of borrowing have ceased to spend pro-
f1.elv. The people and corporation who
still have credit are going on hvliiS upon
,bat fat future, in which We instinctly
believe. Since 1913, amazing as such
facts are, New York AID nearly every
other great city have increased their
debts without decreasing their taxes and
property running down under the gem
eral load at fearful rate of decline, this
first mortgage of public Indebtedness in
creased from year to year. And II We
ask ourselves why property cEeapens
though it has lost none Of It's intrinsic
value, even those who would wish to buy
it cheap scarcely realize what is the mat
ter. Our maXims shy around the fast
rooted fact that the public demands upon
property are greater than it can bear.
That no man can afford to own I'M
improved property in New York is an
opinion often expressed without the
Speakers 50 much Us suspecLing the
reason, which is simply that taxation has
killed It's fertility. Equally common
Is the opinion that improved property
mortgaged for half lis value will ruin
its owner, but it is not stated that the
public claims have killed the fertility Of
the unmortgaged half. W hat Is true of
New York is true OF half the towns, great
and small, over the whole Union, Pub
lie taxation Us reached point where
the owners begin to sink into insolvency
because they are owners. And, II we
ask why the taxation goes on and IN
creaScs, We must answer that the public
Is like spoiled child that orders what
It wants regardless OF the payment of the
b Is: We want our public improve
ments; hurry them up, We pubic wait
crs: pOsteritv will settle for them. For
tuuately for US, the generations To come
will b, saved from utter despair by the
beuchcicnt severity Ot natural laws.
One by one the towns chat are. govern
ed by lufantIe caprice are being brought
to book by the wholesome checks ofccon-
omIc laws. The depressed property fails
20 pay, and the Unsuitable rate-per cent.
refuses to take any more mortgages.
We have so little confidence in the nat
ional capacity for rctrenchmcnt that we
are beginning to think the general IN
ability to borrow our only salvation.
As long AS bond, can be sold New York
will send bonds To market; as long rs
takes can be collected, taxes will increase
in New York: and the greater part OF
the nation wi! follow our example
The absolute need of rctrenchment in
public expenses is forcibly illustrated by
the fact that our total tsXatlon of al
sorts is seven hundred and forty five
millions a year, and our total exports
amount to only six hundred and forty
three millions. So that all we sell to
foreign notions lacks more than n hun
drcd millions of paying our Tax bills.
Rctrcnchmcnt has been abundant!y
preached for two years. But who has
retrcuchcd? In what considerable town
have there been neither increased taxes
nor new bond, sold? There may be IL
rare case. but wherever the power to
collect take and the power to borrow
msucv remain in vigor one of both pow
ors is being employed to provide "what
the town absolutely needs and postcrity
will gladly pay for 1t is noticeable
that IN contracting these Obligations We
always assume ah extraordinary cheer
fulEcss III the pasterity that Twill pay our
debts; at this point, We expect them to be
much better than ourselves.
You complain OF the depreciation Of
property. Why do YOU not stop bur
dcning property? You compel it to de-
prcciatc, and seem amazed at the direct
consequences OF your acts. Property is
wiser than you, and know
ing that every bond and tax must be
paid To the uttcrmo,t farthng and know
mat YOU will continue to pile on as long
rs YOU can get anything 10 pile on with.
1t modestlv lies down before the load
breaks its back. This is figure of course;
1t is the buyer who instinctively reckons
up the mortgage, and calculates the
taxes and finds no induccment 20 buy.
1t is n trick of our sub!cty and self I'M
position to charge the Overlooking 10
this or that party. 1t is Il national be-
sctment; rather it belongs to the age we
live in. The capacity to borrow is Il
fruit Of a high civilization, and we are
taking one of our lessons in the necessity
OF borrowing with discretion, or rather
we arp refusing to take the lesson and
preparing to have it whipped into u. In
mart the evil illustrates weak side of our
democratic organization. The votes OF
nou.owncrs count a fast rs those OF own
crS: and under the dclusion that the out
Inv OF money borrowed of pOstcrity will
promote the welfare OF labors, aud of the
less rich generally, the non-owncrs al
way, vote tor enterprise The fact
might be called Il communistic phase Of
our lie. But calling it SO would cure
nothing, nd in the end it is the poor
whose all is swept away by the after
food of extravaganza, The public labor
is realized, indeed; but the private enter
prise that perpetually feeds the laboriag'
c asses Is killed when taxation has robbed
such enterprise of all hope of reward.
The lesson is rot pleasant one,
There must be an end of public borrow
ing; if We are wi.o enough 10 make al
end of it, We may even yet survive oui
fearful -crushing tasks, if we are not N
such measure wise, we shall stop borrow