The record-union., 1896-10-26
UNAMERICAN TALK.

UNAMERICAN TALK.
In his recent speech at Gait the nom
inae OF the opposition for Congress
from this district, Mr.. de Vries, said:
The national debt is no smaller now
than 1t was In 1862" We should say
not The war had then barely opened.
It was waged for three years after
1862.
The principal Of our debt In 1862 was
1924. 4.176.412 13. It is now 81 ,221, 49, :
ESQ 80. But In 1879. when the Govern
ment Of the United States resumed
specie payment without causing a fiut-
ter in the financial market, or disturb
ing a dollars worth of trade, the debt
principal was S2.349, ,567. .4S2 O4. So
then, We have paid off In principal since
1862 the enormous sum Of 81 .S25, ,391, :
OCT OIL.
have quoted above. He put it this way,
according to the report of a paper that
is supporting him, and that gave q full
synopsis OF his remarks:
The national debt is no smaller now
than In 1862, when measured by the
value Of products. The years of toll in
paying off millions OF dollars have been
Of no avail
Now, here Is a puzzle. What on earth
has or had the value Of products to
do with the national Indebtedness, even
If the statement of Mr.. de Vries is taken
as true, which it is not? Here is a new
measure, to be sure, for ascertaining
the national Indebtedness.
Our own report of Mr.. de Vries'
speech in this city made him say that
than it was in 1865 (not 1862. Our
report we take to be accurate. Let US
see, then, how that makes the case
stand In 1865 the principal Of our
debt was 81, $50. .647. 500 "a and it is
now, as stated above, with interest In
oluded. S1.221. .457. .6S5. So that even
on that basis we have paid Off S1,459,-
190,1S4 since the close Of the war, prin-
cipal and accumulated interest for
thirty-one years.
But to return to Mr.. de vries' calam-
ity whine. In ten years alone from
1880 to 1890 we augmented the value
of our production and property SOL
395. .091, ,197. This is a fact that Is shown
by the undenied totals Of the Bureau
OF Statistics and the United States
Census reports. The only States which
declined were Maine, New Hampshire
and Vermont. while Kansas, the State
that the Popuhsts have pauperized most
of all in their calamity speeches, saved
and accumulated more than did the
manufacturing State OF Massachusetts,,
kinds of property from S760000,000 in
1880 to 81, ,799, ,343. sol In 1890.
Even Nebraska exceeded Pennsylva-
MIA In her development and accumula-
tions by these figures: 1880, 1885, ,000.- :
600. to S1.275. ,514 in 1890. Thus
Pennsylvania, with her great popula-
ton, gained in accumulation and pro-
duction from 81, ,942 900, 900 In 1880 to
S6,190. 146, $50 in 1890, a gain of ST.
24s. .746.550, while Nebraska, with her
small population, in production and
property gained per capita 81 ,435, and
Pennsylvania only $23 per capita.
So 1t ran throughout the West and
the Middle State sections. In every
instance the per capita gain has been
enormous, and all the while we have
been paying off the national debt, Mr..
de vries says, without avail.
Let us see whether 1t has been with
out avail:
Under Republican administrations
the reduction of the interest-bearing
debt of the Nation has been IN each OF
the four-year periods Gents omitteO:
1869 johnson, $3.50, ,43O, ,492
1873. Grant, 403, ,34S. .4S4
1877. ......... .Grant, oo,&o4,ol4
1881 Hayes, 1856, ISL
1885. Arthur, $50. 161 .9S2
1893. Harrison, 2o9,Ot $50
It is perfectly fair to say that under
Mr.. Cleveland, 1889. the discharge was