received for its bonds, and the conclusion is
becoming prevalent that the amount which it obtained was in real money
three or four hundred per cent less than the obligations which it issued
in return. It can not be denied that we are paying an extravagant
percentage for the use of the money borrowed, which was paper currency,
greatly depreciated below the value of coin. This fact is made apparent
when we consider that bondholders receive from the Treasury upon each
dollar they own in Government securities 6 per cent in gold, which is
nearly or quite equal to 9 per cent in currency; that the bonds are
then converted into capital for the national banks, upon which those
institutions issue their circulation, bearing 6 per cent interest; and
that they are exempt from taxation by the Government and the States, and
thereby enhanced 2 per cent in the hands of the holders. We thus have an
aggregate of 17 per cent which may be received upon each dollar by the
owners of Government securities. A system that produces such results is
justly regarded as favoring a few at the expense of the many, and has
led to the further inquiry whether our bondholders, in view of the
large profits which they have enjoyed, would themselves be averse to
a settlement of our indebtedness upon a plan which would yield them a
fair remuneration and at the same time be just to the taxpayers of the
nation. Our national credit should be sacredly observed, but in making
provision for our creditors we should not forget what is due to the
masses of the people. It may be assumed that the holders of our
securities have already received upon their bonds a larger amount than
their original investment, measured by a gold standard. Upon this
statement of facts it would seem but just and equitable that the 6 per
cent interest now paid by the Government should be applied to the
reduction of the principal in semiannual installments, which in sixteen
years and eight months would liquidate the entire national debt. Six per
cent in gold would at present rates be equal to 9 per cent in currency,
and equivalent to the payment of the debt one and a half times in a
fraction less than seventeen years. This, in connection with all the
other advantages derived from their investment, would afford to the
public creditors a fair and liberal compensation for the use of their
capital, and with this they should be satisfied. The lessons of the past
admonish the lender that it is not wel