Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-02-14
THE CIrIzENs, UNION.

After the q of certain citizens o
New York, 8 few leading property own
ezs of Memphis, met on Wednesday last
at the Office of the Peoples Insurance
Company, end there initiated proceed
ings looking TO the formation OF "Citi.
zens' Union" These proceedings, rs VIZ
learn, we're characterized by the caution
of a close corporation and by q feeling
that cannot but be regarded as at vsri-
snce with the interests OF the people
the plodding and toiling people who are
the t~ax-buTdsn bearers of the COM
munity. at 8 o'clock on Thursday, In
response to an invitation from this meet
ing at the office of the Peoples Insurance
Company, q goOdly number Of citizens
met at the Chamber Of Commerce, for
the purpose Of organizing the Union"
as outsiders thought ; but, as the
insiders insisted, really for the pur-
pose OF ratify.ng the organization
prepared in private csucus the previous
evening. This meeting, as vas to be
expected under the circumstances, was
characterized by want OF harmony and
q painful diseOIdancy at variance with
union Of any kind. Some Of the scenes
enacted were ludicrous. At last, Mr..
MOsEBY having resigned the chairman
ship, the meeting broke up, to meet next
day at the same place, st Z O'Clock in the
evening. Some hours before this time
the Ledger made its appearance, con-
tanning an advertisement signed by
forty-eight citizens, some Of them specu
lstors, some brokers, some insurance
men, some merchants, some Of them
gentlemen Of fortune and leisure, all of
them prOperty-owners, and Of high re-
pUte. The first paragraph in that Rdver-
tisement Is s preamble to an agreement
binding the signers as . "Citizsns'
Union, I" and reads as follows:
We, the undersigned citizens and Taxpayers
OF the city CT Mem phis and county or Shelby
being deEirous OF sustaining the credit OF said
city and county, which In our opinion can only
be done by restraining the authorities OF SAID
city and county, now or hereafter 10 be in Of
nee, from the inega al Issuance OF city and county
bonds and scrip; IRON the purchase OF prop
srty not needed Tor public purposes from the
levy and assessment OF taxes not authorized by
law; from the subscription OF stock 10 railroad
enterprises not warranted by law and an en-
lghtenel public policy and generally, from
doing any and All other llleg Il and improper
acts connected with the administration OF the
revenue and hGances OF said city and county
do hereby agree 10 unite and form ourselves
into an organization, TO be called the " Citizens
onion, " the objects and purposes OF which. as
ahDVQ fndfealen nra nd nhaT1 ba "a mo q, /
resist, by all legitimate and lawf1I means, all
Unauthorized taxation, the reckless admins
Lration OF tbs Affairs of said city and county,
aud all such improyident ex Expenditures OF the
public means or pledges OF the public credit as
may be detrimental 10 or In ~SubveIsiOn Of the
rights Of private individuals. j
Leaving this Union, we come to the
. other "-AnOiher original Jacobs
which assembled and perfected its or {
SsnizAtion on Friday at Z O'Clock, as ap. !
in the Chamber OF Commerce; {
lnly u or two Of the Peoples Insurance I
J~niOnists being present to ratify the
work Of the Committee appointed with q
heir consent st the previous meeting. !
And thus the matter, cat this wrltlng,n '
ests.
We have been thus particular In recit- {
ng the proceedings Of these "URiops." c
'ecsuse we desire to call the attention Of .
he reader TO a fact that must be appar. r
at to the most superficial observer, that p
he hrst 4" original" Union il Ia exist Z
nee, no 30 much for the purposes set h
In the above preamble, as most Of 8
Is signers believe, but for purposes utter r
or a motives known only to its origi-
lstofs. Were it otherwise, there would I
lot have been any difficulty in harmon. 3
ring the elements Of both the "or,pln- q
Is " and creating a real "Union,n from o
which all the citizen OF Memphis and h
ihelby county could have de- e
ived the benefits that were proposed II
D the inception Of the movement. 7
That there is occasion for such a Union n
s was formed at the Chamber Of Com q
lerce, there can be no doubt. Extraor- II
mary appropriations, leases of build |.
for courthouses, efforts to buy the I.
ity's railroad stock at q tenth Of its va I,
and designs upon the county and city &
NarlOas CAatactoIS iOoAiu6 " pt4NatS II
zgrandizsment, all call for the inter- Il
OF 8 "Citizsns Union" The b
sale Of the Little Rock II
,nds 10 satisfy Mr.. SIMPSONS claim a
,aiast the city, also calls for the inter-
,ntion OF 8 "Citizsns Union" The L
sposItIon and sale Of the 81, 100000 b
Drth Of bonds issued by the city last Vi
also calls for examination and 81
into by "CitIEsns' Union" c.
such work the members OF either a