People's voice., 1896-06-18
LET G.IERYB9bY SIT On TIE FENCE
AND SEE IT GO BY.
JOAN Sherman, Engineer; Grover
Cleveland, Conductor; Judas
Carlisle, Swi'chman.
COL. 6. F. NORTON USES DIXON'S
TRAIN TO POINT A r10RAL.
Some Pointed Figures on Our Ma
tional Debt-Reduced in Dol
lars-Increased in Bushels.

corn FROM Wichita to ST. Louis.
Would that it might run over every
railroad in the United States, and
that every man, woman and child
might see it.
For the purpose of making it a
=, splendid object lesson let US convert
INTO corn all the clean, hard, cold
tglittering cash (gold, every dollar OF
i'll which has been paid upon our pub
lie debt during the last 50 years.
BE patient and study carefully the
figures which we present; give them
careful and prayerful consideration.
See if they are correct and then show
them to your neighbOr. Not only
make hlm think of them, but ask him
what he thinks of them.
From 1863 to 1895 both years in
Cluded) the government has counted
out TO bOndhOlders (whO have paid
not a dollar Of tax in all these years.
as interest money alone, in clean, cold
cash the enormous sum S2,56S, ,672s s0s0
Every dollar'G it in gold; "honest
money" good money"
This, we repeat, is for interest mon
ey. Ut is whet is called money for
the use of money" The old bible
calls it "usurg," but we are not going
tosay much about the bible, for 1T is
an,old old fashioned book but little
needed in these modern days.
1t does not include 81, jG2 yA6i OE5
THAT has been paid on the principal.
ufwe add together what has beer
paid on both principal and iOterestItt
would makeS4 OIL ,2l9,123.
Now, what we propose to 90 is this
convert tEis enormous suGG of cash
into corn. lead it upon cars aud runit
across the entire contineat- AcI0S:
the continent, did we say: Read aad
see what We do say.
First, let us take up the item Ofifn-
ltereSt money, 81, 500, ,S52,6lt.
This iswhat we have paid for "the
use OfimOHey," usury,
tButyou>say: "It is customary itC
pay interest; and we shOu& not c0E-
plain even if we have paid that
amount OfIiuterest money!
We.are not complaining" Don
think that for a mOnent We -gei
past the complaining" point year
ago. But we just want to show yOG
alfew figureG-
In 1867 our interest-b bearing deb
{government),w 81, 249, ,90Sy9S7.
The average price of COM during
the three years 1885, 1861 and 1858
when most of our interest-bearine
bonds were issued THAT is, bought b.
bondhOlders- at greenback pniOes) wa.
upwards of Is cents per buShel. But
we will call it IS cents.
1t would hare taken 2,sSsSSz77, ,36;
bushels of corn to have paid the debt
In others words, at that time&2;; ;;49
9OS,G67 of bonds were worth 2;999; ;s117 :.
1863 bushels of corn.
According to the debt statement
Jan. i, 1896, tbare was outstanding
Iiucluding Growers appendixl sz47 ,3a ,
06O. This shows shat we haGe pai(
5O2,5$,C43 on principal, as statel
above.
III short, the b0ndhOlderS, kayin,
received already s4,O7l, ,2l9,l23, still
hold s747;g6l, 1850.
Now let us see how much core. a
present Kansas prices rs cents i
will take to pay the DEBT still out
staRding.
Why, atl5 cents bushel twill tax.
4,9S24ll ,666 bushels. This is 1882,
534.3G3 bushels more than it wOul(
have taken to pay the entire debt O.
S2,249,SOS,0OS in 1867.
Yes, startling as these figures MAJ
seem they are, nevertheless, correct
and it is d fact that although we hav,
paid s2.56S, ,673yAS0 10 interest, anC
s1,5O2, ,546.Ol3 of the principal I'm al
s4,O7l, ,2l9,l3l Olr present debt, meas
nred in corn, is almost double what 1
was nearly thirty years ago. Ant
what is true as to corn is true az to al
other commodities.
With all Of our sacrifices as a peo
pie to pay our great national debt, vi
are In reality farther in debt toda,
than We were at the close of the war
Every dollar Of interest money
every dollar that has been paid OF
the principal, has simply been sunk
So far as getting out Of debt is con
+ serned it might as well have been a
the bottom of the ocean-or 10 tn
lowest pit in hades. 1t has bee
money thrown away; wasted.