The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-04-26
ARE WE A NATION OF DEBTORS.

1--WE are a debtor nation" says Gov
ernor Matthews in his letter on silver.
land by far the larger part of our citi-
zens belong to the debtor class" This
assertion is continually made by the
advocates of free silver coinage, and
on the strength of it they demand the
coinage of an unlimited number of So
cent dollars. In one breath they claim
that such action on the part of the
United States would send and keep the
commercial price of silver at a parity
with that Of gold, and in the next they
claim that it would relieve the debtor
class by furnishing a cheap currency
for the payment of debts. Manifestly 1T
could not do both. If free coinage
should send the price of silver up to
$1.29 per ounce and keep it there, a sub
stantial commercial parity with gold on
the / to 16 basis, it would not give
debtors any relief.
Waving the point as to the probable
effect OF free coinage on the commercial
price of silver and the extent of the re-
lief it might afford to debtors, let us
turn to the main question. Are we a
nation of debtors? The question is not
SQSCGpLlDle VI AdC y aiAo
can only be answered approximately. In
a large sense we are a debtor nation,
that is to say, we owe a national debt,
but If that is the test every other civil
lied nation in the world is a debtor ma
ton, and many of them to a much
larger amount han the United States.
The debt of Great Britain is $sS per
capita; of France, Sis per Capita; of
Russia, $31; of Spain, $73: OF Austria
Hungary, $71; of the United States,
$14.63. A national debt does not make
a debtor nation. Even If it did it would
not count in the present argument, as
all the bonds representing our national
debt are virtually payable in gold and
will continue to be until the last dollar
is paid without reference to the silver
question. The free coinage of silver
could not change this even If all the
silver in the world should flow to the
United States and be coined into cheap
dollars.
Turning from the Nation to individ-
uals, we remark, in the first place, that
no American should be willing to adj
nit, much less eager to prove. that We
are d nation of debtors. If we are it
is our own fault, and greatly to our dis
credit. To be a nation of debtors is to
be a nation of borrowers, which is but
one remove from a nation of beggars.
But are we a nation of debtors? Is 1T
true, as Governor Matthews says, h a
by far the larger part of cur citizens
belong to the debtor class?" In answer
ing this question one must exclude from
the debtor class. first. all w~orkingmen
and wage earners who live within their
earnings. All such are creditors instead
OF debtors, since at the close of every
day they are entitled to pay for a days
work, and. it may be added. are en-
titled to have 1T in honest money. Sec
pnd. in 1898 there were in the United
States ATTEST depositors in savings
banks, and it is fair to conclude hat
these do not belong to the debtor class.
Third. on the 1st of January. 1894. there
were 1,745.725 shareholders in building
and loan associations. of whom only
455, All were reported as borrowers
Fourth. statistics of the Census Bureau
show that a large proportion Of the
farmers of the United States own their
farms. and 1t is fair to assume that com
paratively few of them are indebted
beyond their ability to pay. Fifth. all
business men. manufacturers and trad
ers whose assets are greater than their
liabilities or who ave more owing to
them than they owe belong to the
| creditor instead of the debtor class
Sixth. OF professional men of all classes
lawyers, doctors. clergymen, teachers
etc.. a very small number are debtors
Seventh, of the vast army of railroad
men those who work for daily a
belong to the creditor class, and those
/ who live within their salaries do no!