The National tribune., 1909-11-18
MERELY AS MONEY.

/
The size of the annual pension ex-
Ipenditures is being made the most Of
by the press of the country. Those
who have looked with disfavor upon the
pension system generally are, Of course,
loud in their walls over the greatness
lof the draft upon the National Treas
ury, while even those papers which
Ihave been more or less favorable to the
veterans feel that the limits OF the Ma
tion's generosity to its defenders have
been reached. All of these are discuss
ing the pension system purely on
monetary basis, and allowing no other
consideration to enter. The National
Tribune is perfectly willing to have the
pension system discussed on this basis
alone. All that we desire is that all of
the facts connected with this eSpenoi-
ture shall be taken into consideration
at the same time. This Is the vital
point. The size of any debt, public or
private, is not so much the question IS
the justice of the debt and the eoRsid-
erations which have caused that debt.
An honest man does not consider how
much he may owe, but whether lie
honestly and justly owes-it. If ne dos.
he proceeds to pay it, no matter y hat
! the amount.
Now, let us take some features Of Il
purely monetary character. and. for the
moment leaving out all considerations
of patriotism and self-saclilice. show
the absolute financial Justice of this
great expenditure at this day, ii years
after the close of the var.
To bring our consideration into rea-
sonable limits We will begin with the
financial condition Of the country at
the time when IGarly's ragged troops
were knocking at the very doors Of
Washington, and President Abraham
Lincoln. standing on the ramparts Of
Fort Stevens. looked ont over the Mary
land hills to see them swarming with
the insolent foe. At that time the pub
lie debt had reached the colossal pro-
portions of $1,000, 600, 600, or about one
sixth of the total valuation OF all the
property of the United States, accord
ing to the census of 1860. At that time
there were $455, ,000, 600 of greenbacks
in circulation, and other forms OF paper
money swelled the total amount in cir
culation to sS33,71S,9S4. The day after
the battle in front ef Fort Stevens was
fought the fortunes of the United States
seemed to the money lenders at their
| lowest ebb, and 500 in gold brought
| from S276 to $2S5 in greenbacks in the
open market on Wall Street. This meant
that the greenback was worth less tnan
% cents in gold, while the average price
for the month Of July was only 1871.
Not only did this depreciation measure
the greenback and other forms of the
1884, 000, 900 of paper money based up
on it, but it measured also the So, 2,390,-
600, 900 of Government bonds and every
State, County and Municipal bond,
every personal promissory note, every
bequest, deposit in bank, judgment by
the courts and all other forms of repre-
sentative value. These all pivoted di-
rectly upon the value of the greenBack,
which was the legal tender of the coun-
try. Possibly $4,000, 000,00 or more
were involved in this intrinsic valua-
ton of the greenback. We might take
| sc, ,000, 600, 600 as our basis of calcula-
ton. The men who were at the front
fighting the battles of the country were
the only ones who had full faith and
confidence in the future of the country.
They were not only accepting green
backs at face value for their pay, but