Year: 1868

| clouds that thefe Wiil be q storm NJ


sure as there are passions in the human


heart this capital of the bondholders will


be made to bear the same burden as other
property, and those burdens will be speed
lily hghtened, or other and worse conse-


quences will follow, involving, perhaps, the


violation of national honor and of piighted


faith" 1t is thia system which, IN his


opinion, makes the rich richer and the
poor poorer. The temptation TO the


moneyed men to invest in these bonds con-


yerts active capital into inactive capital,


increases the number of those who do not


pay taxes and adds to the burdens of those


who do. Capital is practically exempt


from the onus Of taxation, and labor sns-


his VIEWS CONCERNING THE NATIONAL


9a1 ~ lals DEBT. 44-r -.r.a..s3
{ Mr.. Pendleton is the advocate of very
general policy concerning the liquidation
Of the national debt. He is eInphatieally
opposed to the doctrine that it is q ''na-
tioaal blessing" He thinks that the
finances of the country possess the capacity
4 of paying il of in five years-that is, by
their judicious management; and he is not
in favor Of protracting the payment of the
last dollar one day longer than ia necessary.
/ will give you his arithmetic for the ac-
oomplishment of this most desirable OBJ
iect. Reduce the current expenses of the
government to. $l50, 900 900 year, which
is quite feasible by cutting off every ex-
trayagance and looping off every unneees-
sary expenditure. This sum does not in
clude, of course, the interest on the public
debt, which requires about one hundred
and thirty millions annually. The aggre-
gate is, therefore, two hundred and eighty
millions. The revenues Of the govern
ment in 1866 amounted to FIVE hundred and
sixty millions. They were not as much in
1867, owing to Wastage in the Revenue
Department and to the impOlitic eontrac-
tion of the currency during that year, but
they can be made as great by proper man
agement. From this revenue take the ag-
gregate above, and a balance of two hum
dred and eighty millions is left annually
with which to create sinking fund that
would pay off in FIVE years every cent Of
the principal and interest of the national
debt, and without the addition of dollar
to the circulating medium of the country.
He would pay off the 6ve-twenty bonds in
currency as fast as it was possible to do so.
He does not know that il is possible to pay
them off as fast as they mature, even in
currency, but he thinks every possible ef-
fort ought to be made to do SO. The re-
suit of such course would also be to
hasten very rapidly the day of specie pay
ments. How soon that would be reached
Mr.. Pendleton does not attempt to pro-
phesy, but he specifies the time in gem
eral way in the very general adverb soon"
INJUSTICE OF THE NATIONAL BANK


SYSTEM.


Mr.. Pendleton is an inyeterate opponent
of the national bank system, and he sup
ports his opinions by very ingenious
argument, the depth of which, however, 1
leave to greater experts in finance. The
money which the government is wasting,
and will waste, in the national banks
would, according to his figures, pay off the
national debt in from thirteen to fifteen
years-certainly very original way of
looking at the national bank system. Here
is his arithmetic. The government is pay
ing annually the sum of eighteen millions
of dollars in gold as interest on the bonds
which the national banks have deposited
at Washington as collateral. If the pre-
sent policy of converting the unliquidated
debt or thecirculating medium into national
bank notes is persisted in, this annual in
terest in gold will be augmented by forty
millions. By compounding, the aggregate
would amount to the national debt in the
time specified. Those who complain of the
system for other reasons have a new light
in which to see its gross injustice. The in
ference of Mr.. Pendleton's theory is that
the abolishment of the national banks
would pay the national debt in less than
sixteen years, His remedy for the evils
of the system is repeal of the law
authorizing it, with provision for the
withdrawal of the notes and the purchase of
the collateral bonds at their face in green
backs. The purchase of the bonds would
reduce the national debt $500, 0,000, 900,
the $l8,000,000 gold annually and would
not add one dollar to the volume of the
currency, because the new greenbacks
would take the place of the old bank notes
He maintains that this theory or plan for
adjusting the finances of the nation in this
particular has the additional recOmmenda-
tion that it does not add one dollar to the
taxation of the country.
THE CURRENCY AND THE FINANCIAL sYs-


In Mr.. Pendleton's opinion the cause of
the depreciation Of the currency is the re-
dundaney of paper money, the lack offaith
on the part of the community and the con-
sequent impairment of public credit. He
does not think the attempt should be made
to pay the national debt by any further is
cue of greenbacks, while justice to the
bondholders demands that the currency
should not be expanded. He is equally
opposed to any sudden contraction of the
currency. The interests of the people and
Of business and commerce require that any
step in this direction should be of a most
deliberate and gradual kind. The great
defect of the present financial policy, in
his Judgment, is the conversion of nom
interest bearing debts into interest bearing
bonds. Thus the official statement shows
that the national debt at the end of May
was larger by several millions than at the
end of April, owing to the payment of
some twenty milhOns of interest. Yet the
same statement shows that there was $780,
100000 in gold in the Treasury, which
might be applied to the liquidation of these
debts and thus prevent the recurring Of in
tersst.
As to the question Of taxation, he is Of
the opinion that it will take care of itself
when the more important questions of the
regulation Of the finances and the payment
of the national debt are disposed of. For
the present it is only secondary in interest
and importance. A Democratic victory
would make a great difference in the rels-
tive value Of gold and greanbacks. The
success of the Democrats would mako paper
money moSe valuable. A Republican tri-


umph would enhance the value Of gold.


Such are Mr.. Pendleton's views and theo-
ries concerning the great financial ques-


tons thai are TO enter in the Presidential
campaign. ! have given them quite fully,
because they constitute the great "hobby"
on which his friends intend he shall ride


over the national race course next Noyem-


Der.


HIS VIEWS on THE SUFFRAGE QUESTION.
he holds TO the ancient Democratic faith
on the question Of suffrage in the recon


a. faA Il IL s,I =