The Harrison times. (Harrison, Boone Co., Ark) 1876-1938, 1886-09-11
Paying The National Debt.

q are 50 uS6u 10 iutht an
nouncements that va seldom stop
to think Of the novelty and WON
der of them.
The debt of the United States at
the close OF the war was little less
than three billions, In December,
1885, we turned the corner from
two billions to one billion nine
hundred milllonsi 50 that we have
now the pleasure of beginning the
statement of the public debt with
the figure one We have paid a
large half of it, and we have good
reasons to hope that the great debt
will be discharged not later than
the year 1907, when the last four
percent bonds mature, Mr.,
Blaine, referring to t..is subject,
says.
I'm this country the purpose
was early formed, not simply to
provide for the interest upon the
debt incurred in the war for the
Union, but to begin its payment
at once, and to arrange for its rap
id liquidation. In view of the
magnitude of the sum involved,
this was new undertaking in the
administration of government fl
nanees.
He remarks further that "the
intrepedity with which Congress
entered upon the work Of dis
charging the debt will always
compel the admiration of the stu
dent of American history" |
wish he had informed his readers
who it was that originated the
policy of paying off great war
debt within the lifetime Of the
generation that contracted it.
That glory belongs to Thomas JEFF
ferson.
In 1889 Mr., Jefferson was liy-
ing in Paris as the American
Minister to the King of France,
The French people were just en-
tering upon the measures which
led to their Revolution. The new
American Constitution had recent
ly been promulgated. Little was
thought of in Paris but theories
of government, and projects Of po-
litieal reform, and every one
watched the beginning Of General
Washington's administration with
peculiar interest. Paris was full
of clubs and societies for the dis
cussion of political subjects, and
all looked up to Thomas Joffel#ee,,a
with -aGaaEonete respect as the
representative OF t4.z y-oofng repub-
lie beyond the sea, and the author
of the document which began its
Independent life.
One day in September, 1889,
Mr.. Jefferson had a new idea upon
the subject of public debts, which
took such possession of his mind
that he had to write very long
letter about it to his friend, James
Madison, then a member of the
Congress sitting i'll New York.
His idea was that one generation
of men have no natural right to
bind or compel the next; nor to
incur a debt for succeeding gen
erations to pay. He founded this
principle upon the fact that 1.-THE
earth belongs in usufruct to the
living, not the dead" The precise
lifetime of a generation had not
then been ascertained, but he
based his argument upon the con-
jectural period of thirty-four years
and he came to the conclusion that
no community on nation could
rightfully incur q debt which it
did not bind and prepare itself to
discharge within that time. He
argues this point at great length,
and with curious ingenuity. l can
only give one OF his illustrations.
Suppose" he says, "that Louis
XIV. had said to the noney-lenders
of Holland: Give us money that
we may eat, drink and be merry
in our day; and, on condition that
you viii demand no interest till
the end OF thirty-four years, you
shall then forever after receive an
annual interest Of fifteen per cent.
Y . would the present genera.
tions be obliged to apply the pro-
duce OF the earth and Of their la
Dor to replace their dissipations?
Not at all.
This was an extreme. suppose
ton, and he admitted it to be such.
But if it is right for one genera
ton to compel the next to pay
debts which il did not contract,
md Of which it had no benefit, he
could ooo ,,g. ,,..... L.. .,.L..l. Al e.: