Year: 1870

w me tiiC ~
the National debt against all forms
of Reputation and all classes OF
repudiators, the Republican party do
not believe in eeDing up a high rate
of taxation for the purpose of pay
ing it off with undue rapidity. The
rate at which the debt has been paid
since the Inauguration of President
Grant would leave none of the bur
den upon the next generation. Aside
from the injustice of laying the whole
pecuniarv cost of maintaining the
Union upon the generation that was
called upon to make the exclusive
sacrifice of blood and of life, it
would lie a misfortune if the succeed,
ing generations should not be re-
minded in some palpable form of the
price of liberty and Of union. Had
the internal revenue laws, as they
existed at the close Of the war, re-
mained in force till the present time,
there can be little doubt that the
aggregate annual product would
have exceeded five hundred millions
and this in addition to the two
hundred millions in gold derived
from the duties on imports. At this
rate the en.ire debt would have
been extinguished during the Pres
ldency Of Gen. Grant. But in the
Judgment of the Republican party
this would have been intolerablv
oppressive to the present generation
and hence at every session of Con
gress since the suppression of the
Rebellion taxation has been reduced
by the tens of millions. At the ses-
sion just closed eighty millions OF
taxes were removed-Jwenty millions
from the tariff on imports, and sixty
millions of internal taxes. The du-
tics on tea, coffee, and sugar have
been largely reduced, the free list
greatly extended and the internal
taxes swept away SO clean that OF
the enormous list imposed by the
necessities of the war only the fol
lowing remain. viz:


Tax on spiritGous,yinous and malt
liquors.


Tax on tobacco and cigars.


Tax on incomes.


Tax on National Banks.


lax on gas.


Stamp tax


1t will puzzle the most imaginative
of Democratic orators to find in this
condensed list of taxes any oppres-
sion upon the people: and we think
it would puzzle the wisest financieI
to devise any easier mode of raising
one hundred and twenty-five millions
of dollars than is presented in the
sources Of revenue embraced in this
brief schedule.


But while the Republican policy
is against keeping uD high rate OF
taxation for the purpose of rapidly
paying off our bonds, it is not pro,
posed to maintain our whole vol
ume of indebtedness at its present
rate of interest. With the bound
less resources of our country. and
with our continually approaching
credit, it is believed to be an easy
task to fund our entire debt at four
to four and half per cent interes,
and Congress has just enacted q
law having that object in view. The


otal amount Of cur bonded del /,
.TIll soon be reduced to about twC
thousand millions of dollars. OF
this amount well nigh one fourth is
already employed in our system OF
national banking, and by a law
passed at the late session banking
is made free on the gold basis to
all who may wish to engage in it.
1t is therefore quite apparent that
as we approach the specie standard
and the business demands of the
country require greater volume OF
currency, the tendency must be to
absorb still larger and larger
amount of Government bonds as
the basis and security of the circu-
lating medium. Just where this
absorption of bonds will cease no
one can now predict--but within a
very brief period more than half of
our total bonded debt will be used
as the basis of our National cur
'rency. With these bonds bearing
tour per cent. interest and the banks
paying back into the Treasury in
various forms of taxation at least
one per cent, if not more, on their
aggregate capital, we shall speedily
see a large proportion of our debt
funded in q form that will practi-
cally demand but three per cent.
annual interest from orr National
Treasury. 1t is, therefore. quite
apparent that the National debt
which the Democratic party has
been so ready to dishonor and re
pudiate will, under the wise and
faithful policy maintained by the
Republican party, be soon placed
wheie it will no longer be rccog-
nized as a burden to the individual
tax payer or an obstruction to the
development of our National re
sources and industries.


Meanwhile the annual eXpendi-
lures OF the government under the
Administration of Gen. Grant are
reduced to the lowest practicable
point. There are two large amounts
of expenditure over which Admin
istration of Gen. Grant are redaced
to the lowest practicable point.
There are two large amounts of ex-
pcnditure over which Administra-
tive discretion can have no control
The one is the interest on the Ma
tional Debt-the other is the sum
paid as Pensions to the SCARED and