jfefrUJJItlll:iBff
77 h. 'VL
Student
if Hesperian)
4&
T'
M
t'
iKv
1
ft
TA
" - "
UvYlVEMtSE TY OP .Villi It. iSK.M.
Vol.. IX.
Lincoln, Nkh., Junk I. 1880.
-n
No. 7.
IIOBDI.S.
B
t jBLrlfagtottt
.lOHil'll OI'Iil.T, l'HOl.
l.:ilifllic.M.MtSJI IIOUSK.
Hkiiu.nvii.i.v:. Nun.
gintoln glcb,
gitcntni.
Commercial , oteL
Cor 11 nnil I st".
LINCOLN, - NKI1KASKA.
J, .1. I3LI10FF, Prop.
Noqb 8.iti'xaJ?(iQ.rir Q.vJfrttfrK'JiOQir,
Turkish, Hussiun, .
and Sail Water Baths
in the Motel. Hhcuinii
tisin cured by Turkish
Baths.
B. II A LIjK'P,
Wlmtelimuker, and .Bowelcr
..
O St.. liot loili mill lltli -iitli clili.
LINCOLN, N1CH.
G HOOB1U 13S ! IIOUKK 1 ES ! I
GUOOE1UES!!!
TJie Best Line of
CJltOOEIllESarc to
Found :it
o.--. STATE II LOCK:
LINCOLN, NKHDASKA.
. bakery:
ALSO
Staple ami Fany CJrotrcries.
Confectioner)',
Canned Fruit,
Best Spring and Fall Flour
l. J. GUI.ICK,
North Sldu Ooonnnoit Saunre,
Lincoln. Nebraska
JT--Z7 '? - . ' '
NATIONAL HE UTS.
K nninlie.u (il hiii'i owiiiK- mmier m.
c" . - J '
credit ut Iho government to supply
iln deficiencies (if revenue in lime of war
ur oilu'i' great emergency, is of coniparn.
lively rt'CiMit origin, for it runs hack in
England only to the reign of Williaui lird
ami on the ooiilinont.to a (late two or three
cent lilies earlier
In ireiieral, the ordinary revenue of a iiu
linn should equal its ordinary expemli
tuie hul when I become-, involved in ni
expensive war, tho almost universal cus.
loin at present, is to meet only a small part
of the increased outlay, by increased luxa
tion, and to borrow the remainder from
individuals on the public credit. This
capital is spent unprodiiolivcly in ilie op.
orations of war, and consequently the
wuttlth of thu country is diminished hy the
amount so borrowed. This is not usually
equal to the principal of the debt, fur cap
italists take advantage of the embarrass
ment of il government, when largo' loans
must be negotiated in, order lo inyut tlio
in (jssliiiin.ojijaailliswjif
- -ftir rinT Tm
IwrtTuSffljfJV-'oi?
themselves.
This borrow cd uapit.il is taken horn the
hind wnich n, s wages, and, therelore ils
withdrawal and dissipation allert most se
rnuish the working; classes. It is, true
thai in l lie nidi r and iichi-r couulries the
acciiuiultitioii of capital is moie rapid
than ihedevelopomont of opportunitv for
its profitable employment, and, il not loan
cd to the government it would go abroad
But wherever it produces profit, it tends
to raise wages, and ibis rise by attracting
laborers from the older uountrv, relieves
to some extent the tension on society of a
crowded laboiiug class.
It is often said thai a nation, whose dul(
is large, has given jonds to keep tho
peace. The falaoy in this remark is ob
vious, for Iho debt exists only through
the effort to escape a part of tho evils of
military expenditure by geneiously shin
ing them with posterity. In so far as this
effort is successful a public debt is evi.
dontly no hindrance to the commence
ment and prosecution of wars. Il is trim
that when long continued burdons have
weakened the nation and destroyed its vi.
tality, it Is Incapacitated for groat enter
prises whether of good or ill. Hut until
this stage ia reached a heavy debt doos not
Impede military designs, If, however,
governments were required to raUe during
the year the supplies for that year's
campaign, the uvils of such a dissipation
of capital would bo attributed to the prop
or cause, and only when its rights wore se
rlously imperiled could u state be induced
UJ engage in hostilities.
Many .Englishmen of lo.day would
slronuotisU oppose any attempt to pay oil' I to lisc. It is, therefore, inauifev.ly the pol
ii, ..I,, t.i, ,'..... ,i..i. i r.". i. io .,..,...,,.,i io ofuovorninonls lo pa then debts as-
IIIV.II I III III V' II l HV. Wl. l I IO ilMW M'n.M - til
that It is an important means of securing
tho stability of their government. Hut a
debt Is national and not governinenlal,
theicfnio no revolution would attempt re
pudiittion unless it had its origin in the
qjinrfcbhu burdens of the debt itself.
iVlld Ibis is not impossible lor few other
oaiisos are contributing so largely to the
.i prom I of communism and oth'jr efforts to
overturn existing iiisiituiions, as tin heavy curred. Finally iho ailunpl was given 1 1
soon its possible
Great llritaln and the oilier pnwcis
v.hieii regal d their dci.lMis perinaneni,
have not come to occupy this position
v ilhoiil a siruggle England for many years
attempted !o pay off her debts by sinking
funds on various plans, but every effort
set ved only to plunge the ualion into fresh
dillloullies. The income of tin- sinking
fund way diawn upon as a reserve lor the
prosecution of new wars, instead of doing
applied lo cxtlnguigfli luetic already i
places too hi-rh a premium oil dishonesty
l,iUISlll',si f'Uklkjmu'jUlL'.bJiito l)ual(yly employed
cossily. No other resource remains be
sides indirect taxation And this is a most
illeelive and cn.-y way of collecting reve-
nue since he who pays the tax scarcely
debts which veigh down modern nalioi'..
For these rest with peculiar severity on
the laboring and middle classes. This is
seen from thu fact that the interest must be
raised chiefly by indirect taxations. Es
pecially is this lite ease with u for the
constitution forbids the levy ol any diiect
as hopeless, hul the result has not hem
what was expected. If Die advice ol Smith
and all other political economists has not
been heeded, neither have their anlicipa
tious ot the baleful resulis of further ad
ditions to Iho debt been realised. The
wealth of England has never ceased lo lo
ci eae faster in proportion than her debt.
For thai which she has squandered in her
lax except in pii.porlion to the population costly wars has been promptly replaced b)
of the several stales. On account of the
unequal ditrihulion 'if wealth this tax
ciin not be resorled to except in times of
the sacrifices ol the bone and sinew of the
country. Smith did not foresee that tho u
volitions of Watt, Arkwright, and Wedue
wood, by opening new lie Ids lor industry
groat o.nergonc'.'.for il would be most uu-j would enable the working men lo bear i..e
iusl !!...! n hundred dolhos in tfi-li. rIuiiiIiI '""i' " ' ",lvu '" s" " iviiy up-
bo taxed Huge times as heavily as the same
amount in Massachusetts. An income lax
on them, liiu Enj;lanu'a account is not et
closed nor balanced. Her debt must c n
Unite to increase, for Iho only way to me
vent the growth ot a public debt is lojmiyjw.'
I A niitioii?hieh, is unwilling lj.nnlky riiu
tumporary sacnuro -neccshaiy- to pa;, a
debt tl ready conlnicted w ill notLe persna
ded to raise during the 3 ear the immense
supplies ncoossar for a modem war. '1 Ul
timo will suiely coiuo when the woiking
class can bear no furlliei addition to then
burdens. The expenses of war will ilu n
knows when the pay men I is made. Hut ' fall on rapitalisls driving some out of tin
such a tax imposts leirible hardships on
the laboring classes. For, in order lo
make it produce any considerable amount
it, must be lcvlcdupou such articles as tea,
coffee, sugar and tobacco. Hut these are
consumed principally by the working
classOb and consequently the rich contrib
ute but a comparatively small proportion
of such icvoiiuc Where the supply of hi
bur in greater than the demand, iho effect
of an indirect tax is to depress the condi
tion of working men
'iho bonds of the government are un
doubtedly a very convenient form of in.
vestment and il is possible thai thuy some
timus encourage savings. Hut thu stocks
and bonds of great corpoMiliousare neat
I) as safe and convenient; moreover, the
latter kind of iuvoatmcut is far more ad
vantageous to tliu stale than the former.
For, the capital which is lent lo the
goveriiinont is spent unprdductlvely while
that which is lent, to corporations
is made to produce a profit and bcioro it
is destroyed to replace Itself.
A circumstance of the present time
which does not afford vavy great salisfae
lion to debtors is tho rapid rise ol gold,
the medium in which debts must be pai.l.
Tho increase in tho principal of debt duo
to this cause has been soon percent, in
the last fivo 3 ears. If tho domoniti.atiou
and consequent depreciation of silver goos
on, in all probability gold will continue
country, and their withdrawal, 111 turn, will
increase the rcsiiuv on the olheis, nil al
last thecatastiophe will come. The distils
and miser, ol such 11 fate wo can but faint
ly conceive. Hut worse ihuu all ol&o it will
give public and private moriliiy a shot k
from Hie effecis of which the nation will
not soon recover. Such 1 conceive to bo the
legitimate consequences of thu course
which England has taken.
The policy of the United Stales has
been lo pay oil' Us war debts as soon as
possible and it is woithy of all praise The
debt incurred in crushing the great rebel
lion has already deen reduced bj one
fourth. But now there is danger that we
shall rest satislied with what lias already
been accomplished and with thu saving of
interest brought about by 1 lie late fund
ing operations. The reduction of the debt
this year has been only one fifth ol that
1 eq nired by Iho conditions of the sinkinir
fund. Now that the two great parlies aie
so evenly balanced there is gn at
danger that in order to make political
capitalsuch mcasuics as the last pension
bill and the bill for iho leductiou of the
lax mi tobacco will be rushed through
congress diminishing the resources of the
nation to such an extent, that any I'lirihci
pas ment of the debt will bo impossible.
Hul II ibis tendency is resisted, if we
continue in the course we have so wisely
taken and never allow an irredeemable
debt to wind its parasitic lolds around
our national prosperity and destroy its
vigoi of life, the time will speedily
conic, which Gladstone and Jcvonsnlread,
Ibioscc when we shall wrest from Ens:,
laud's unwilling grasp the commeicial su
premacy of lltu world and take the place,
to which our resour'tij ehliiVo us, of ihe
richest nation 011 the globe. 0 L