The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1878-05-31

are luSU.
Let us examine them. EverywheI
poverty and distress exist. Bank
ruptcy threatens the fortunes an
homes of the great mass of our cour
trymen. On all sides of us como
the appeal of laDoring men and We
men for employment, and behind tn
appeal is the cry and wall of starVa
ton. Behind this countless army {
supplicants for employment stands al
rayed another ready from inadequat
rewards for labor to form in reserve
Upon their flanks are stationed tn
thousands who have swelled the lis
of banErupts in trade made since tn
era of contraction commenced. LOOl
at the track of their march through
out our country; it is marked by vast
eel fields, voiceless machinery, idl
mills, unused factories, unemplOye,
furnaces. Crime and death are tn
camp followers of this immense horde
| The condition of the revenues of tn,
| National Government as well as thOs'
of large number of the States eXhib
its a deficiency, and yetthe taxpayer
are only conscious of the increasing
weight of taxation and that they ar,
| growing poorer day by day.
! But there is another picture. See
|
| wealth mas been gathered into then
hands, all the luXuries and pleasures
as well as the comforts and ease thai
wit or appetite may demand is theirs
| Day by day it doth seem their aggre.
| gate is increased. The multiplication
! of bankruptcy and the addition of gen.
eral poverty and distress but adds tC
| their treasury. They do fatten upon
| the misery of the unfortunate. Toe
highly cOlored may this picture SEEM
| but yet behind the color we do recog-
niZe the character of the living truth
which speaks in unmistakable tones
| that there is existing reality in them.
The friend of labor and the taX-pay-
er when required to explain why such
state of things exists, answers and
says that it is in consequence of the
vicious, corrupt and subservient legis-
lation that has pervaded alike State,
| municipal and Federal legislatures;
that this legislation has created mo-
| nopOlies, has fOstered corporations,
has made special and favOrei classes,
| and has prOstituted itself to the inter
ests of capital, and in verificatiOn
| thereof points to the past history OF
the cities and States of the Union as
also to that of the National Govern
ment. Passing from any review OF
that history prior to the civil war, al
though it is fruitful in much of class
legislation and in the multiplication OF
corporate and associate "ealth, and
waiving any view or reflection that
might justly be made that that waT
was precipitated by this conflict be-
tween labor and capital, we come to
the more serious legislation of the Ma
tiOnal Government enacted during and
since the war.
1t is to be noted that during
that fearful struggle capital dictated
its own terms to the National Gov
ernment i'll its rate of interest, in re-
lief from taxation, and in the bank
ing facilities secured to the creditors
of the Government and no one else.
At the close of the war, when the Gov
ernment found more than million of
its producers destroyed, with more
than nine billions of its wealth blOtted
out; with an increased pension list;
with a debt of nearly three billions re-
quiring provision for its payment;
with its States, cities, counties and
towns overburdened with obligations;
with the States recently subdued inn
DOveriShed, it had to confront the
claims of its creditor, who demanded
ing, and such was the power of capi-
tai that his eXactiOns were complied
with.
Not content with the security, the
privileges, and the exemptions made
III its favor, capital, dissatisfied with
the partnership that existed with
labor and the taxpayer in the fact
that they had a common, cheap, full
and non-Oppressive currency lin the
greenback notes and other evidences
of a common indebtedness, dGman-
ded its retirement; demanded the con-
version of the bonds which might
under the law have been paid in this
non-interest bearing currency, into 8
per cent. bonds; demanded the con-
traction of the volume of currency;
demanded that the sinking-fInd
pledge of the Government should he
applied to the whole amount of the
nations Indebtedness; demanded that
the entire. debt of the Government
should be paid in coin; demanded, af-
ter having gained this last victory,
that the coin should be limited to gold;
demanded that the GOvernmentshOuld
be the only banker of its citizens, and
further demanded that the Gov
ernment should in quick and prompt
Illllt ICSuLlc VI SDCSlC AlJOll
its Treasury notes held and valued by
the people as their currency. Along
with these demands, remorsely en-
forced, capital coerced high taxes and
tariffs, and allied itself with the pow
erful corporations of the country that
controlled its trade and industry, conf
peIling labor to pay tribute to these
monopolies which had been fostered
and enriched by national legislation
at the expense of the Taxpayer. Let
us pause for a moment to examine i'll
detail the character of these demands,
In order to do so il is necessary and
proper we should look at the condition
of the currency and the state of the
na4iJG9I Indebtedness in the year 1865
and at the close of the war.
The bonded Indebtedness, exclusive
of the 7.3O notes, the Olddemand, Oue-
year, twO-year, and cOmpound-interest
notes, as well as legal tenders and
fractional currency, was 1000, ,O46,-
125 50.
At which time the state OF the
currency was In the notes re-
terred TO, excluding 7.O
notes, the sum Of................. S69S,9ISSDO -
~. ...tl IN