Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-03-31
JOHNSON.
Opinions on ahe SItnafiOn-wbat viii
| He DO.


Correspondence of the Cincinnati Commercial
GREENEYILLE, March %, 1S69.-As /
have previously stated, A. j. received a
great many callers, and talks freely to
all, concerning his past life and the COM
+. dition of the country. He says he is
out of public life for the present, and is,
what he has not been in long time, a
Tree man. In conversation he frequent-
ly ailudes to himself as freedman
OF the public debt, he says that if it is
to be funded, it will be like every other
national debt in the world, never paid
but that the people will be heavily taxed
to pay the interest from year to year,
without diminishing the principal He
says the talk about a national debt be-
ing national blessing, is all humbug,
as it is no more of blessing than an in-
dividual debt is to the debtor.
lie regards Tennessee as particularly
unfortunate, with her bad men in high
places forty million dollar debt militia
eating up the substance of the people,
and two, thirds of the tax paving whites |
DISTINGUISHED. Such a government, he
says, can only be supported by force.
VI the franchise law now in the Su- |
preme Court of the United States, he |
says that he does not fear the case upon
It's merits, but it may be lost on ques-
ton of jurisdiction. If thecourt are of /
the opinion that they have Jurisdiction,
he believes that, inasmuch as such law
Is In plain violation Of the constitution,
it will be so declared, and that we shall
have free ballot in Tennessee.
lie thinks that the constitution is in
danger at the hands Of a dOmineering
Congress In old Wing and Democratic
tlmeO we used to meet together, and disc
cuss questions in regard to the cOnstruc-
ton Of the constitution; one would con-
tend for a rigid, and the other for lib
eral, construction That is not the ques.
ton now before the American people,
but 1t Is as to whether we have got any
constitution at all or not He thinks the
next two years will decide the fate of |
that venerable instrument, and has great
hope that it will come out triumphant
He says the American people do not APP
precIate the danger we are in; that we
are continually drifting toward central {
lzatlOn, and losing sight of the constitu- {
ton, instead Of keeping it always in
view
As to his future course he is not dis
posed TO be very communicative, and
will not say definitely whether he will
take the stump or not this summer, but
intimates pretty strongly that if the {
people of the State want him to, be will
He says he is not so old but what there
is good deal of life in him yet, and to
the people of Tennessee he owes all that
he is, and will do all he can to remove .
their burdens from them,
johnson seems to have a very COM
Portable time in his quiet home; but the {
knowing ones say that private life will |
be to him what dry land is to a fish. | S
talked to an old aequaintace and per- T
sOnal friend of JOhnsOn's about this mat- +
ter, and he said 'If you knew Andy as :
well as do, you would have no doubt as
to his future course | was in to see him \
last night, aud | never knew him to look S
more stout and healthy in my life though | t
| have known him ever since he came | C
over the mountain, and unloaded his | a
cart here in GreeneYille He is now the | +
picture of intellectual strength and rO- {
bust manhood A man with as active a
mind as his can be still-that Is, if his
body is able to carry him about. He has
now no employment, and Greeneville is
to- small place to contain so large a
man. OF course, he will remain here a t
while, but mark what tell you, he will be
heard from before many months. lie will I
remain still till he becomes well posted as
10 the way the Radicals are managing | :
the affIirs of the State, and then he will
turn loose on them when they least ex- 4
pect it. Tie killed Know nothingism too
dead to kick in this State, many years T
ago, and he'll 90 for the Leagues the t
same way"
If A. j. should take a notion to venti
late the affairs Of this State, there is no
room to doubt but that he would create
quite q stir, and | believe he will do it
For while he will let Congress alone,
and turn his entire attention to Tennes-
see, where there is plenty Of material
for him to wsrk up. Besides this, the
ranks Of the Radicals are not in very | t
good condition to receive a charge from |
him, for they are torn and weakened by | 7
internal broils and feuds. They will ;
have to let "by,gones be by-gones, in
earnest, and turn against the common
enemy, or be OVerthrOwn.