Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1870-06-19
THE SCHOOL FUND.
A Card from Senator Brownlow-W he
Claims to Have Done.
1rom the KNOXVILLE Chronicle.

Claims to Nave DORes
From the Knoxville Chronicle.
Now that the Legislative Committee
have made their report upon the sub
iect of this fund, and The same has
been copied in nearly every paper in
the State, l propose, in very brief
to mark my report:
Soon after I was inaugurated Gov
ernor of the State, the Federal army,
at Augusta, Georgia, captured up
ward of four hundred thousand dot
lars IN SPECIE, which was in charge
of the officers of the Bank Of Tennes-
see. This money was brought by rail
to the depot in Nashville, and turned
over to me. I hauled it to the capitol
and had a strong military guard placed
over it.
The legislature, as the journals
whereof will show, directed me to
dispose OF it to the best advantage. |
accordingly sold the specie to Jay
Cooke & Co., for 7-30 United States
bonds, receiving upward OF six hun
dr0d Thousand dollars. These bonds
[ carefully deposited in the large iron
safe in the ComptToller's Office in the
capitol, and l considered then, and
consider still, that | made good eX-
change.
These bonds, it turned out after
ward, were secretly conveyed to the
Memphis Bank by Treasurer STAN
ford, who had made arrangements to
that effect with Rutter, the President
of the bank. The first intimation
that [ ever had of the removal OF
these bonds to Memphis was given
me through a letter received by Sena-
tor BOsson from Memphis. | Instant
" sent a brief message to the Legis-
lature, then in session, informing that
body of the fact and denouncing the
outrage. The legislature directed me
to recover the bonds if possible, Civ
ing to me plenary powers in regard
to the mode by which l should at
tempt their recovery,
l accordingly selected from the two
houses a committee of men Univer-
SALLY esteemed as reliable and discreet
This committee left for Memphbit on
the first train going to that city. NIhe
succeeded in recovering
aboHt half the amount in bonds and
currency, which they brought to
and deposited with the
These facts, and others equally as
pertinent, connected with this sub
iect, will be found in the journals of
the Legislature, where full details and
are given.
Whilst [ consider the Memphis
bank one of the lawful receivers of
taxes and dues coming to the. State,
after its selection for that perpOse, l
do not consider and never did, that
the bank had any right to transfer
these bonds from Nashville to Men,
phis, and the 0ldl2destiile manner in
which the transfer was made, shows
that the State Treasurer and bank
took the same view of it, and hence
kept their movements concealed.
Mr.. George r. Rutter, President of
this Memphis bank, passing through
last winter, sentrese
through the pOstofiee, the following
letter. It is proper that l state, this
letter was sent noe without any sOliei-
tation on my part or any expectation
of receiving any such epistle;
"W WAsHINGTON, Jan. 81, 1S70.-Hon.
w. q, BrOWnloW-DeGr Sir: | have
lust read o speech delivered in Con-
gress on the 22d inst, by Hon. W. b.
Stokes, of Tennessee, in which he
very uniustly indicates that you were
idsntjfied with the unfortunate fund
known as the School Fund of Ten
- IN
upon you in this matter.
Z" As q matter of justice to you, and
from the high esteem in which my
father held you in Virginia, before l
was born, feel it nay duty to your
self and your friends, to make a can
did statement-subjeet to saCh use as
YOU may see tit to make of it,
Z" As understand it, some $400, 600
in gold and silver was captured from
the Confederate Government and re-
turned to you. while Governor of Ten
nessee, and by a judiciOus investment
ON YOUR part. in 7-30 United States Sc
curities, it realized over $500, 900.
" After q most searching investiga-
ton Of this matter. after these bonds
had been deposited in the Tennessee
National Bank of Memphis, by the
COMMITTEES of the Legislature, it ap-
peared that neither you or any MEM
Der of your family had anght to do in
placing this deposit in this bank,
either directly or indirectly, or that
Won had ever received one single cent
from the proceeds of this fund, or that
Won had ever received cent from me
10
"Upon the contrary, | personally
and CJy letter, repeatedly requested
- N q to aid me to make some compro-
mise of the matter, which L then
Thought for the best; but you, upon
each and every occasion while you
were willing to do me a personal kind
nessl. refused and declined to meddle
with or mix yourself up in this mat
ter.
az again repeat, as / did in Nash
Vile. before the committee, under
oath. that neither you or any member
of your family had anything to dc
with this matter, in any shape OF
manner. and that you never received
one cent, either directly or indirectly.
"On the other hand, some OF Mr..
Stokes most particular friends did
borrow money from me personally,
and some of them from the bank, and
have never paid it back to this day,
and that some of them did ali they
could to pass the act by which this
fund was put in this bank, l1isite yOit
,aeDer E:,lei0, to Dlg k1lOt0tedge, that such
a bill 10as pending until ii became a 5dl0.
"GEO. r. RUTTER."
Mr.. Rutter could not have stated
otherwise. and told the truth, and
those who seek to make political
capital by connecting my name with
the school fund, may call witnesses TO
the stand from now till doomsday,
and, if they will stick to the truth,
tbey will in no wise connect me WITH
the improper use of a single dollar.
Even Mr.. Stokes, three years ago
In his discussion with Etheridge, de.
nounced the whole affair, so far as l
was concerned, as without any foun'
dation. nl3
Most of the papers of the State have
published the committees report, anC
submit it to their sense Of justice
whether they win copy this brief pub
lication.
w. @. BROWNLOW.
WASHINGTON, ID. c., June l8, 1879
=. The BOSTON Hezald is the first 0
New England papers to adopt tn