River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1878-09-12
ADDRESS or PRESIDENT HAYES.

! Elbow E&I1ZEASs
| desire to make my sincere acknowledge
7,ents to the Governor of Minnesota, Governor
to the Mayor of the city of St. Paul,
i4avor Dawson, TO the President of the Agricul-
.ural Society of the State of Min
aesota, Mr. Geo. h. Finch, and the
gentlemen associated with them otiie-
sally. and all the people of Minnesota
> hom they represent, for the very kind sd
generous welcome they have given to the ed
t}sst is with me and To myself, and ] woula-N.s
clad if l could say something in return for the
kindness that would be worthy of the occasion
sud of the audience but i suppose / must be
content with simply undertaking to say few
cords that may bring encouragement--a few
words III regard to the material inter
ests and condition of our country,
those who need encouragement and
hope to those who are perhaps already
Eopeful.
OUR FINANCIAL CONDITION.
think that all recognize the fact that the
most interesting questions in our public affairs
1..-day are those which relate to the financial
condition of our country. Now L do not pro
pose to enter at all upon the province Of parti-
sang politics. but l trust may give you, and
properly give you, few facts and few figures
slating TO the financial condition OF the gov
eminent of the United States, showing
the progressive improvement OF the last
en- years in the financial condition
of our government, leaving it to you. my fell
to consider what bearing, IT any,
these facts may have on the general progress
aid improvement of the country.
Now the financial affairs of the government
consist of our debt our taxation, our expenses,
afV1aa
All these are connected with the financial af-
fairs of the government. And first as to the
debt, aud here let me warn you my friends not
tn be too impat ent. ] shall try not to weary
v0u with any very lengthy detail, giving you
rather results. When the war closed our debt
cached its highest figure. Our ascertained
debt in August, 1865, was about g. 750. 00O, 600,
hut the actual debt was considerably larger.
There were payments to be made to soldiers
aud for arms and supplies to the army, about
q hich there was no dispute, hut not lncluded
in this general statement, and perhaps the best
estimate made of tho actual debt of the county
IN 1865 was -, 900, 0O0. 600. Now how is it TO-
day? To-day the debt of the country Is about
~ COS O0O 900, diminution--a decrease from
the ascertained debt of thirteen years
sgo-of over s720,000,000; moro than
une-fourth of tho debt paid IN the thirteen
years. Iapplausel and the actual debt, "a, Goo
100000, the reduction is @l,O00, U00,o00 -0ne-
! bird paid to-day. lApplause.I
We SHOULD rAY TIE DEBT.
Now. my friends, ve all remember how,
.. hen the var was closed important speeches
a,ere made. able ediiorisls were written and
published declaring the o;nnion with conf
3ence, thst that great mass of debt could never
he paid. You remember we we're told that war
debts Of great nations were never paid; that
our debt yss to be like the war debt of Eng
land and France entailed upon upon us and our
nnsterity forever. There were some who
even advocated Reputation then. and
there we're many who feared Reputation.
There were also those who said that a national
debt was a national blessing, and therefore
tnight well be perpetuated. Fortunately, how
ever the able financier at the head 81 Iae treas
lrv department Mr. Hugh Mccullough, did
not entertain these We've. He believed and
{ he people of the United States supported him
IN that belief hat the debt was not blessing.
nut burden, and that II ought ana could be
honestly paid, applause and cheers ana &C
cordiugly he entered upon policy, the object
l,f which was 20 strengthen the national
aredit, so u To refund the debt at lower rates
IF interest: and 70 do that the first thing TO
establish and e. demonstrate that the people
,,oo.Jd and Voaid honestly pay It all. APP
plause. And so he wen on, and nov We have
toe results.
REDUCTION tF INTEREST.
Look AZ the interest. Then we had an in
erest-bearing debt of 80, $50, COCO; large part
If it bore interest at the rate of BIO per
cent. per annum, another large part of 1t b
rer cent, small part of it 5 per cent. and
none down to per cent, aud where are we
now? Not dollar do we owe which we
nav any such interest as $40 Der cent. Our
highest is 6, a large amount down 10 5. an in
czeasiug amount A.. and every day and every
month (s20 OOO, 600 last month"; is refunded at
4 per cent. Applause and cheers. All Of you
Who have debts to carry and interest TO pay
know the Importance of the question of inter
eat and fear that here, as everyw here, good
many know the Importance of interest. APP
plause and laughter. Well, my friends, the
progress then is an improved and strengthened
rYedit. And what does that meanf The credit
OF the nation. as we have found out. ID lts
tisht arm IN war. | might name the nations
now that have come out of recent wars not SO
as they could wish, from the
lack of the credit that now fortunately
have. Well, the interest bearing debt then was
81 $50 600 QUO; to-day it is 81 0OO,OUO. near
~ 5000, 000U0U decrease IN the interest bearing
debt But better than that, the interest on our
y hole debt In August 1865 was i5l,000,000 q
rear. To-day our interest on all our debt is
only $50. coo, 900 year, lapplause a decrease
OF over S55 GOO. 600 interest year to be paid by
she people OF the United States.
BRINGING HOME THE BEBF.
But again, seven years ago our debt was
owned abroad; our interest went abroad; that
Is to say, large part of it was owned abroad.
Perhaps $500, 600 900 was owned in Europa and
Ffty Ok sixty million dollars a
wear wont to Europe for interest. How
is it to-day? Only one-sixth of our debt is
owned abroad, and the rest is owned at home.
Ye send abroad but $l2 Co., 900 or Sl5,0QO,DO0
a year of interest now and the rest is paid
here. Applause. So much for the condition
of the debt, my friends.
REDUCED TAXATION.
Nov take taxation. Then we were taxed
;the hrst year of peaee1 after the
war was all over. in 1866, s44s.0o0,0 900
a wear internal revenue taxes and customs. To-
Sx5O 0OO, 900 less than it vas in 1866, Expen-
ditures Il viii give the fgus to the gentle
,Nen of the press) have been sduced much in
ahe same proportion
OUR CIRCULATING MEDIUM.
Then. my friends. We come to.the currency.
Ne hsd at the close of the war, of national
tank notes, of fractional currency, of green
backs, something like $685., 900, 00). There
,nay have been in circulation currency, it Is
estimated, about SI00.e00,0 600 more-inserest
Bearing notes. Now, hat was the currency
north? We perhaps are disposed to complain
IL the amount of currency that We have now;
shat it is not sufficient for the
wants of trade. But how does it com pare with
shlrteeu years ago? Then each dollar was worth
coach paper dollar 90 cents anthe dollar cat
y "A ia purchasing power. That was about
lie average, but 1t went up and down from
month 10 month, and week to week. and day to
say. and the effect OF that upon legitimate
industry and labor was this: The middle-man
.vervybere must provide against the losses by
8 shifting standard value, and It must come
eur, at least, of the purchaser, the man of ia
SustrV, and the IA boxer the tickle standard OF
YaIus must be mace good By extravaganza
IN prices. .fosc how Is it, oCr money our
Y,aper money, Is abreast with gold-9315 cents,
and John Sherman in fifteen minutes can wipe
cut that haf. lIsughterl. Not only Is 1t
and one-hslf but II stands IS
steady at ninety-nine and one-half as these
ssyel Eelds. For i've months it has not varied
,aore than the fraction of cent IN value.
The quantity We noz hsye is about $3.50, 0U,-
100, and that IS worth ninety-nIne ana one-hsi1
sentS. That is to say, our whole currency to-
sIay, dollar for dcIlaI for dollar, IN the aggre-
gate is worth SITS, GOO 900 more than our cur
seacy WAS worth in 1866. Such is the state of
She currency.
Take another thing in which you IN Mime
spts are lsrgely igterestea-onr foreign trade,
sur exports and our imports. We SIS sending
so Europe more to-day of agricultural products
e,f every sort that grow abroad than ever be-
sore; more Of manufactured products than ever
before. In the ten years from 1868 70 1878 the
average range of imports il excess OF exports
Was from So, 00U 600 to SSG, 600 U03. Ths tnTes
ge~zs before the panic the average was over
sl0O. 00o. GO agsipst us-more imported than