Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-06-04

against the city have been lately renderes
1 10 the Federal Court to a very largl
amount, perhaps as much as 500, 600, anS
| that judgments have been rendered, ant
are being rendered before magistrate
daily; that on one single magistrate'i
| docket in Nashville there are about All
judgments. amounting to $l08,945, o.
about lat amount. Other large Judgment
will soon be rendered in the Circuit Court
New suits are daily being brought, and
judgments for large amounts are daily BENG
rendered, and the corporate authorities are
wholly unable to stay any of the judg-
ments, or at least they are wholly unable
to stay many of them by any person whC
Is sufficient stay, and in most cases where
stays have been given they are such that
the city may have executions taken out al
any time. u-i ass t.dF -4iag /
The REALTORS, who not only represent
themselves, but nine tenths Of the properly
holders distinctly state that they see no
way of escaping financial ruin, unless some
of the citizens who are known, and who
can raise money, shall by the court be APP
pointed Receiver in place of the present
acting city officials. Unless this is done,
all the property Of the city, including the
fire engines, waterWorks, and other prop
erty indispensable to the health and
safety of the city, will in very short
time be sold, and the city win be without
the means Of protecting itself from the
ruinous consequences Of such sale. The
discovery of the frauds above referred TO,
the Mayor and Finance Committee being
certainly implicated, has utterly destroyed
the credit Of the city. The Tax Collector,
the defendant Sheridan, being, as the re-
lators believe and charge, in collision with
the said parties, the danger to the city is
imminent. 1t is known that the said Tax
Collector is in the habit of constantly taxi
ing from tax. payers the checks Of the said
Sax, which he redeems with the checks (if
at ALL issued TO him by order of the Chair
man ofthe Finance Committee. The relatCrs
charge that this slupendous transaction
with Sax was well known 10 Alden,
Sheridan, aud Ma qane, the Treasurer,
and that the countersigniDg this enormous
amount Of checks by Alden and the receipt
Of them by the Tax Collector and the
Treasurer, after the inValidity was directly
brought home 10 them, as the REALTORS be-
lieve was the case, makes them all respon-
sible for the fraud. The relations charge
that the said Ogden and Sax, and the
Peoples Bank, by collision with city off
cials, made large sums of money in trans
actions which were usurions to an enornl-
ous extent, and for which they should ae-
count. Also the Savings Bsnk, of which
said Sax ia President.
The REALTORS believe and charge that the
object of the Mayor and City Council is TO
utterly bankrupt the city, aud they refer
to the fact that money is borrowed at lOO
per cent. per annum.
The REALTORS charge that these fraudulent
checks (msny of them) are still held by
Sax, and by other parties who as relatoIs
believe de not let it be known, but their
refusal to show where they are makes it
probable they hold them.
The REALTORS charge that the issuance Of
checks has come to be great fraud, aud
should be stopped it was resorted to "a a
matter of convenience; in other words, it
was resorted TO as the means of showing to
the Treasurer from or by the proper officer,
the Recorder, that the claim was correct,
that it had been audited, and should be
paid. This was and is legilimately the
only object of Issuing ckecks, bat the pree-
ent Mayor and City Council have under
taken TO enlarge 10 the extent Of making
the corpo alton bank Of issue, with full
power to the Chairman Of the Finance
Committee to speculate in The paper, and
he has done it without any regard TO the
usury laws or the welfare of the city. IL
never was intended that these checks should
be a circulating medium, or that they
should take the place of money, and be re-
ceiVed in payment of tIxes. The whole
sysiem Is not only, a. nov practiced, fraud
ulent and in violation of law, but it has
led to many abuses and frauds. Checks
paid in for taxes. or returned 10 the
Treasurer upon receipt OF the amount, are
often foRnd upon the streets, in the mar
ket, and sometimes sued on and judg
ments rendered. The Mayor and City
Council having given their consent to this
system, and having authorized and par
tciPsied in the improper issue and fraud
ulent and usnrious use Of these checks,
they allow judgments TO be rendered on all
of them and will make no defense that
avails, and hence the enormous judg-
ments which are constantly being rendered.
The judgments rendered before Justice
Wilkinson amount, ~ above shown, 10
Sos, 945, which remain unsatisied, and
this ia only one Justices docket, there
being several others before whom the
Judgments are large, but REALTORS did not
have the time and opportunity 20 collect
them. Realtors here exhibit, as A and b,
two papers containing the amounts of the
different judgments before Wilkinson
from which it will appear that the Finance
Committee are using the Recorders Office
as mill or machine to make paper 10 be
sold and not 10 pay debts.
Realtors charge, upon information, that
the bonds Of the Tax Collector and Treas
urer are insufficient in amount and in the
character Of the sureties, for the enormous
amounts which pass through their handF,
and the chairman Of the Finance Commit
Tee, under the system adopted in conlroll-
ing, directing and trading in the means Of
the corporation to the extent of many hun
dred thousand dollars without giving bond
at all.
The premises considered, LET Allen, the
chairman of the Finance Committee, be
enjoined from specializing in checks and
from selling them. Let Thomas q. Ma
Crane be enioined from receiving them
from the Tax Collector until their valid
ily can be ascertained. Let the Tax Col
Iector be enjoined from receiving them in
payment Of taxes until the good from the
bad can be determined, and let Mills, the
Recorder, be enjoined from Issuing checks
until his right to do 80, and the extent and
scope of his power are defined, and until
il il ascertained upon what contracts he
has a right TO issue them. Let a Receiver
or Receivers, composed Of men of known
and nndoubted financial ability, with good
credit and good reputation be appointed,
with full power 10 control the finances OF
the city, and make contracts, 80 as to save
the city from ruin.
Let Sax and all other parties, as they
may be ascertained, be enjoined from using
in any way, and from selling or sueing on
the checks which have come TO their hands
from said Finance Committee, or any agent
of the corporation, and let all parties be
enioined from using checks issued in any
other way than IN payment Of debt
audited; and finally, decree that the party
who have received usury account for il,
and declare all the checks improperly
used void; and compel all corporation Of
fcers who are made defendants to account
for money made by specnlaiing in the
means or credit Of the city.
Let the injnnetiOns be made perpetual
and grant general relief, The relatofb and
defendants all reside 10 Davidson county
This is the first application for any iDjunc-
ton, or the appointment of Receiver in
this case. CoLYAR, Solicitor.
Here follows the affidavit to the bill
sworn to before Chas. G. Smith, Chancel-
lor, by A. 8. Colysr.l
FIAT OF CHANCELLOR.
STATE OF TENNEssEE-Tot the Clerk nd