OCR Text |
Show OUR NATIONAL DEBT. It is estimated (hut oue llioimtul millions of our government bonds art! held in foreign countries, by capitalists capi-talists of England, France and Germany, and that there is paid to, them an unuual intcroitof $05,000,-j 000. That is to say that in ten years we would have in interest paid up more than half the principal, and that wo still would have the priucipal to pay up. If we add state and other bonds, the total held abroad will reach at loast $1,200,000,000, on which an annual interest ol $05,000,000 lo $70, 000,000 a year is paid. Wo have-been have-been payim; this for tlio past twelve years at least, and have paid out in this way $800,000,000, while tho principal lias not been diaminiahed by a cent. All this has had to bo paid in merchandise or specie, prinui-pally prinui-pally Iho latter. U is no wondur, tiiorefuro, that wo have heu short ol gold for re.Munptioti, and that it ha commanded alwasa high premium in our markets. Some editor have wondered how it was that Knmch; greeijbacka should be at' p:ir while j American were not, but this expUinh it Biiiliciently. Franco has had hor debt helil by her own people; there lias not, therefore, deen a drain ol specie from the country; on the contrary, con-trary, it lias accumulated, and there has been no premium on it. The United States debt has L?en held by other people, the gold and silver has been drained from the country, there lias been therefore- a premium, on them, and always will bo until the condition of things is reversed. It is plain therefore that it in a duty owed to the country by whatever government cornea in after having provided for the redemption of green-back?, green-back?, to reduce the debt abroad, and that it would be patriotic on the part of towns, cities, states and corporations corpora-tions lo do so likewise. But the tank will be.no easy one. Let the debt iw p:ii.l m .ilil or silver, and nliowin? the l'acilie slop to yield $100,000 (hi a year, and all that to be appliwd Ui the cancellation of the debt, it would take twenty ye in to do it. But considering ,ne interest that has to be paid, nd nking nil wh tl wh require fitr purpose pur-pose of manufacture, etc., and it would require nearly thiity years, and uparly pi venteen to pay oft our orricn (lent, national, etc. Sec then what trouble wo havo brought upon j ur( ives by our desire to place our, bond.-? of various kinds abroad. Should 1 the debt be p lid in merchandise it would tiku an otitis of exports over imports of $ !i "Oxi a y(-ar for twelve years lo pay and paying it half in upecie and lull in merchandiio it would take an annual export of. iqnvieof f ,(),!. x per annuni lor tfii yea "p. and an ei port eurplun above imports of mere hand : annually of the same amoiuit for the same- tune lo do it. Trie luss'in 1 taught by tnU is plain. It is to avoid us much as po-eibe placing our bond abroad, eo that we may not, ere we re nwaro of it, find ourie!fey in-volvcil in-volvcil beyond redemj.ticn and ti.ianri-tlly bankrupt. S m Fran-r.io Fran-r.io Journal of Commerce. |