The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-05-21
REPUTATION AND ADJUSTMENT,

tremlSts, VINO, IN tilelf advocacy vi IePoaih
tion, assert that public credit is curse. BE-
cause IL entails public debt and profigacy ana
universal deprivation. want and ignorance
among the people, destroys enterprise,
prompts the accumulation OF wealth and
duIs the patriotism Of the citizen. We
showed, by reason and conspicuous
example, that none OF these evils
need result, even from the abuse OF
public credit, and that people could grow
rich and prosperous under the most calling
taxation, 80 long as they maintained the
national faith lnviolate We might have gone
further and established beyond all question
that the close relations between public and
private credit between national good faith
and commercial and material wealth. as ex-
emplihed in England and Holland, were not
accidental or peculiar to those nations but
that they maintained In every country on the
globe, and that habitual disregard of
public obligations was invariably attended
by commercial and political ruin and decay,
and the impoverishment and enslavement Of
the people. We might have shown that,
while public debt and heavy taxation are
grievous things, they are almost invariably
tho price paid to avert immediate destruc-
ton, and. therefore. that public credit is an
absolute essential to d free. independent and
| prosperous State.
| Let us now proceed to discuss the particl-
lar reasons urged In justification Of such
course by those who advocate the
straight-out Reputation of the state
debt. These gentlemen, by the way,
resent with vast show OF Indignation al
reference To themselves MS advocates " repn-
distion and insist with great fervor that this
imputaton applies no more to them than TO
tho more conservative class. who insist on
thu right Of tho State to readjust her debt
and adant its terms OF payment and interest
to the peoples ability to pay. We cannot adj
nit the Justice of any such pretensions. That
very small class whom we have alluded to as
advocates of Reputation take the position
that the Convention should "refuse to pay
every dollar of debt inflicted on us by Radical
rule" But say they, this Is not reputation,
because "repudation Ia the refusal TO pay q
debt when the word is used In this connec-
| ton"
| We have taken the precauton in this In
stance, say they to declare with emphasis
that 1--WE do not owe one cent OF debt made by
the Radicals and, therefore, we do not advo-
cate Reputation when we ask the Convention
to discaim, to refuse any longer to acknowl-
edge. the obligations imposed by the debt.
This Is tho very refinement OF qubbling
These gentlemen, at least every one of them
who has the slightest pretensions as philo-
logist, knows very well that the word "repu-
diation" does not mean 'the refusal to pay .
debt" and that II Webster has SO defined 1t he
has failed to convey Its true meaning
To repudiate means, not to refuse to pay
but to "refuse any longer to acknowledge; tc
disclaim;' and III urging upon the Conven
ton to take this position In regard to the
debt arbitrarily and without any investiga
ton whatever, these people are advocating
Reputation. pure and simple They know
or at least they should know, that every ac
of national dtshonor to which the ignominy
of reputation has ever attached has beer
made to assume the shape Of o refusal to &C
knowledge, Of disclaimer. and not Of fiat
footed refusal to pay. They cannot eseap,
the imputation by any such bubble.
But, to return to the original proposition
the advocates Of Reputation say that ther,
Is no public debt, because the Radicals coult
not create a debt that would be binding OF
the people of Louisiana. and consequently OF
the State OF Louisiana. Has 1t never occurred
to these people that obligations are incurred
and debts are due by States. and not by par
ties; that the internal organism Of States has
no more to do with the binding force Of thei
debts than that Of an individual has to Ok
with his, and that simple, square, old fash
Toned morality extends to public obligations
as well as to private Despotisms can incu
debts and owe them, In morals, just a,
well as republics, and because Stat
happens to pass from one condition to anoth
err does not absolve 1t from its just obligations
The rule to follow is that which the DEMO
GRAFT has enunciated, to wit Find out frs
what we owe; find out secondly what we cal
pay, and 1t only remains to reconcile the two
We believe that large portion 0
J the debt has been fraudulently and i'm
providently issued. If this can be show
} and the obligations identified, all RICH
. and well. II this cannot be DONE there Is thel
3 left but one law for our guidance the meas
: ure Of the peoples ability to pay-the law .
$ necessity, and in accordance with this Law
S the question should be settled.
Again, it Is urged that the amendment Q
1874 was never voted by the people. 1t Is i'm
: material whether 1t was or not. II this deb
. OF any portion of it, was ever due, tina
j. amendment did not make it any more bind
: ing. This has always been the position &
Q the DEMOCRAT. We have always insisted B.
the right to go to the merits of this questio
5 and settle it on its equities, and solely wit
| reference to the necessities Of the taxpayer
q and their ability tn TAT
: slider the responsibility Of the Democrat
: party which, we assume, these people refe
i. to when they speak of "the people," The
: say that they-the people INCREASINGLY DIX
J nounced the despotism, and. in public an
private, everywhere and under all eli
cumstanees, proclaimed that they "neve
b would hold themselves responsible fo
d the debts being piled On them The onl
d formal shape that ever was given to this dt
e nunciaton and proclamation was a circular