Brownlow's Knoxville Whig. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1866-1869, 1868-12-23
rnst rennessee RAILROAD MOnOpOIy.'


tsiDs long loaded article, rehash of Mr.. Waters
letter, which appeared in the Press and Times @
dsv before. The Baaner's editorial snd the le',ei
Of Mr. Waters are leyeled, Professedy, against tn'
aomnibus Bill" SO called but really against 'H9
appropriation TO East Tennessee
Both are curiosities in their way for ingenious
special pleading We propose to snalyze thsH a"C
show nd their Inconsistencies and want o. iOs'0''
fairness The FIRST part of the editorial Tec'eS' 70
WEAKNESS, the numerous forms oil 'SAa'on INC
which the various industries Of the oIaIe gfoAN' Hlu
ascribss them all TO the passage Of tine '''
of 1861 This is unfair. The interest on uiuSu u
lamentations in that bill i0as SE0ee1e@ 70 " net
and !, B1s ,iues been met By the railroads TO i0hch
,5e ,,rronrizs;ous ,0ere made. So far as this has
bso, tho fact all this twsddle about the omnibus
hin donbliDg the tax lie entirely unsupported.
Tn go,r,r saws the bill (of 1851 was carried
~ ,bo oroupd that tho enhanced value of property
slon, The lines would overbalsnce the additional
drains upon the Treasury The sequel proved 9TH
erwisep sc. The ground upon which the bill was
CARRIED was that railroads essential to the mate
rial prosperity of State and that their construc-
ton will enhance the value Of property in the State.
Is that ground correct or not The Banner says
otherwise. What mar of any intelligence DAREs
10 take the opposite position Railroads not en-
bance the value of property 10 their vicinity The
man who would take this position would prove him
self of assinine stupidity he would Hy in the face
of all commercial and railroad history for the last
thirty years. {" But tha sequel proved otherwise ("
Yes, Of COURSE and for two three reasons There
has not been time enough since the appropriation
was made 70 realize the result Some of the roads
10 which aid was extended are yet unfinished and
what is more, the Banner and other Nashville pa
pors, by fomenting discomfort unquiet and violence
among rebels and Ku Klux outlaws and melting
them TO resistance, have kept up such muss that
they have prevented the StSte from enhancing in
population and wealth, as it would naturally have
done from the improvement Of its railway system.
Another unfAirness in the article under review is
in carefully concealing from the public the real
cause of the heavy taxes Of Tennessee and sscrbing
it to the omnibus bill of 1867. The real cause of
the financial depression of the State is not the ON
nibus bill, but the rebellion and its concomitants
and products. The accrued interest on the State
debt for four years, while the Banner and its
cstes we're rioting in bloody rebellion was assumed
and funded by the present administration. Besides
this the rebellion had not only prevented those rail-
roads from paying their interest, but had actually
beggSred those roads and compelled their utter
pension and uselessness only the State came to
their relief with its credit. These and other kin
dred causes necesitated the use Of the State credit
and inflicted severe financial burdens upon the tax
payers. 1t may be very sharp in this editor to thus
attempt to blind Tennesseans to the real facts and
i'd, N l,a1s
ments instead. But it will not win Men of thought
and intelligence are not to be duped in such way.
The next section Of this long, misleading leader
undertakes TO prove the entire insolvency of Ten
nessee, under existing liabilities, TO pay the
principal or interest Of the State debt. All this is
as false as it is malignant. The Comptroller, two
years ago showed that the State debt proper was
very nconsiderable, amounting to only some three
four millions of dollars, certainly not than
seven or eight The remainder above that sum,
being for railroads that to-day would sell for more
than the Stale owes for them. Besides this, the
writer keeps studiOusly from view the fact that some
of these roads have regularly paid their interest
and that all will in due course if not willingly, yet
by force
The last section Of this extraordinary editorial is
devoted to general dsparsgement of East Ten
nessee which is represented as sharing more largely
in these appropriations than the other divisions of
the State. "East Tennessee has had State aid since
the soar TO build her railroads to the amount of
s4,O4l oO0i Middle Tennessee but S2,s32, 900, and
West Tennessee but 81, 100000. Middle and West
Tennessee at the same time bearing nearly ali the
burdens of the State Government Notwithstand-
ing they have had aid largely in excess of Middle
and West Tsnnessee, the omnibns bill gives East
Tennessee $685. 600; to Middle Tennessee $780,
600, and to West Tennessee 5000, OOO" The words
snoe the war;" in the above extract, we italicised
TO call attention TO them for purpote Nearly all
that East Tennessee has received for railroads has
been since the war Before the war, Middle Ten
nessee had received almost twice as much State aid
for railroads the Eastern division and West Ten
nessee had exceeded our aid twenty-five per cent,
and including the 81 sos 600 in the omnibus bill Just
defeated, East Tennessee would stil have been BE-
nina Middle Tennessee IN appropriations for rail-
roads some ffty-hve thousand dollars Butwe have
other facts. Middle Tennessee railroads are the
principal defaultng roads as TO payment of interest
hve OF them never having paid interest since the
war Only two railroads in East Tennessee have
made defsult of paying interest and those two were
unfinished roads. But this is not ALL East Ten
nessee has hso but Ais miles of railroad projected
and only about 800 miles completed, while Middle
Tennessee has 4s7 miles, and West Tennessee $40
miles. So much for railroads.
Turn we our attention now 20 other items Where
are the State House. the Penitentiary, the Insane
and Blind Asylums2 Middle Tennessee monopo-
Ines them What about turnpike roads Middle
tennessee Is dotted all over with turnnil
erected at State expense Six of - .,Ae roads
Nashville Until since .1ese terminate in
scarcely ever .so.i .ne war, East Tennessee
wss slv-- lived any aid from the State. She
'~ys Kept IN the background. 1t comes now
with an i'll grace from Middle Tennessee to com
pam OF our section And for another reason Since
the war; when the loyal people of the Middle and
west sections were in danger of assassination or
expulsion IRON their homes by rebel and Ku Klux
violence East Tennessee has furnished t,oops and
fastened to their rescue. This was done cheerfpll
We do not ask thanks for it, We regarded IL ss /.
duty and we rendered it readily But we have
right to expect other requital than Sian in ,be
face and houting non rebels and radicals a, mo
nopolizng the State favors. The only thin, II
this editorial we see TO approve is the proposition II
the concluding paragraph. It is as follows:
These facts have been derived, by the gen,,s,,.,
from Wilson, from the Comptroller's books c..
mon School Superintendent books and the L.
State Census. and defy REPUTATION With sucb ),
exhibit If East Tennessee really desires 10 =
cede from Middle and West Tennessee, we sronI
be inclined 70 say, before this bill is passed Wa,
wsrd sister, depart in peace" You drought not
ing into this ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS shalt tho
carry anything outl"
We endorse this fully. Ess. Tennesseeans wi
al De unit for the separation. We will accept to
sne terms. We are resdy to 60 empty-handed.-