Roseburg review. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 1885-1920, 1886-12-24
THE NATIONAL DEBT IND M
TIONAL BANKS.
BY uox.J ons BURNETT OF coRvALLrs.

BY HoSJ oHS BURNETT OF CORVALLIS.
The surplus resolution passed by
the last congress, requiring the secre-
tary of the treasury to apply all surplus
in the treasury to the payment
of the public debt, shows the feeling of |
the people upon that subject and in
dicates their desire that the debt shall |
be extinguished as speedily as possible,
and vet there is no doubt but shat
there are, and have been for years
great interests at work TO prevent the
payment of the national debt, and to
permanently fasten upon us the odlous
British funding system. A scheme
which reverses our traditional policy
of debt paying nation and prostrates
the people at the feet of the monied
power of the country. Nothing but
the independence and vigilance Of an
untrammeled and out-spoken press,
sounding the keynote of alarm, will
prevent the successful carrying out Of
this scheme of the monicd classes led
by the national banks Of the country,
by which the labor and producing in
terests would be pawned to the money
kings with no hope Of redemption. We
have already paid since the close of the
war two thousand two hundred millions
of dollars as interest money, and while
there has been a gradual reduction of
the principal of the public debt, there
is yet remaining unpaid of the prin-
cipal, over thousand millions of dol
lars. Washington, Adams, Jefferson,
Madison, Monroe. Jackson, the bright
est stars in our galaxy of president,
urged the prompt and speedy payment
of the public debt and especially warned
the country against initiating the fund
ing systems of Europe It is now
twenty one years since The war closed
and more than half of the principal of
the public debt has been paved, to-
gether with the immense amount of in
terest before mentioned, and with the
immense revenues of the government
drawn from the people through the
tariff, internal revenue and other forms
of taxation We could pay every dollar
of the national debt before the close of
the present century, but it is beyond
our reach. BY a cunning piece of leg
isiation known as can act to author
ize the refunding of the national debt, /"
approved July ii, 1870. The sccre-
tary of the treasury was authorized to
sell thousand million of dollars worth
of bonds that could not be paid until
the next century. In whose interest
was such law passed? Certainly not
of the people, as it required contin-
ual payment of interest. No it was
passed in the interest of the money
lenders and the national banks.
In his speech of the Goth of October
last, at Pittsburg, Mr.. Blaine informs
us that there is but little more than
two hundred million of the public debt
that can be paid within this century
and that the remaining portion, CON
stituting nearly one half of the original
amount of the principal of the debt,
must go over to the next century. On
account Of this condition of the public
debt he says: 81 venture the assertion
that there has not been since the ma
tional election in 1860, financial crisis
so urgent and SO pressing as the one
which will be upon the American peo.
pie within the next two years"
| At the close of the war the bulk OF
the debt was in what was known as
five-twenty bonds, payable at any time
after 20 years in any, kind of lawful
money of the United States. A course
OF legislation was soon afterwards
adopted as I have shown which resulted
by a funding system in changing it
into coin debt, and greatly extending
the time in which it could he paid.
This scheme was opposed by Thaddeus
Stevens and some other able men, who
were friends of the people; but the
powerful corporations of the country
prevailed. The leading causes of the
desire to perpetuate the national debt
are, first. 1t offers to the possessors of
loanable capital the opportunity to in
vest their money in perfectly safe Sc
curlties at fair interest which are ex-
empt from all taxes, national, state,
county, school or municipal. Second.
Another equally as active and more un-
scrupulous cause, is the founding of a
banking system on the public debt,
which affords to wealthy corporations
a means whereby they can realize al
most hundred fold return for their
investments. These are the active
agencies that are at work and have been
tor years, to fasten upon the people the
curse Of Il national debt.
Wealthy men here in Oregon take
advantage Of this condition Of affairs,
and through the instrumentality of the
national banks, defraud the state,
county, school and municipalities out
of their taxes and then escape the pay
ment of their just proportion of taxes.
1t Is done in this way: GA has, say a
hundred thousand dollars in good
promissory notes; he takes them to a
bank just before the assessor comes
around and deposits, and has assigned
to him that amount of governm snt
| bonds; when the assessor comes his
means are in non-taxable bonds.
Probably the next day he takes up his
collaterals, re-assigns the bonds and
| the job is complete" In what other
way can we account for the fact that
numbers of wealthy men in this state,
who pay taxes on from ten to fifteen
thousand dollars, are just as well known
to be worth from one hundred thous-
and to FIVE hundred thousand dollars
as any other fact that has not been
proved in court. For this reason alone
the people are vitally interested in the