Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-12-14
S3,37S,877 %

That makes q discrepancy of only a
few millions, however. 1t may be said
that good deal of it cannot be collected
and realized upon. Granted; but good
deal of it ought to be and can be with
proper management.
Now as TO the gold ard silver. In a
letter from Mr.. George r. Rutter, the
late President of the Tennessee National
Bank of Memphis, in which the bonds
purchased with this specie had Deen de-
posted, (and not the First National Bank
of Memphis, as stated by the Tribune
dated at New York, Sept. 6, 1869, d
matter was brought out which had previ-
ously been a mystery. When the coin
belonging 10 the Bank of Tennessee was
about being converted into securities for
the benefit of the "schoOl fund.-" the pur-
chase of State bonds was advocated, Cthe
law authorizing the conversion leaving it
discretionary with the Governor and his
| associates to purchase Tennessee or
United States bonds as they could
then have been bought at such figures as
would have secured nearly enough bonds
to have made up the entire original
SCHOOL fund" The interest of the State
bonds would have yielded about $40, 600
year, while the United States 7-30s
yielded but about $45, 900. By investing
in State bonds the "school fund" would
not only have received $4,000 a year
more in the shape of interest, but nearly
81, 800, 900 of our bonds would have been
retired, aud thus the credit of the State
greatly benefited. But these bonds would
not have answered the purposes of the
men who were OF the scent of the "schOol
fund. RulCeT frankly confesses that he
told his friends that if this fund should
be invested in State bonds, it would not
answer his purpose. Rutter states dis
tinctly that the election of his bank as the
"fiscal agent" for West Tennessee, "was
political one, for the express purpose of
aiding and contributing to the Radical
party of Tennessee. Rutter's letter
shows thai the matter was clearly agreed
upon by the msgnstes of the Radical
party, and that tbs handing of the United
States bonds over to him, after he had
protested, and successfully as he shows,
against purchasing Tennessee bonds, was
a part of the plan agreed upon.
As TO DIR. Stanford, the State Treasu
rer, when these transactions were con-
| summated, if he ever was "an old Demo
Graf, " he was baptised into the Radical
church in the somewhat notorious ''pri-
mary meeting" which assembled in this
city on the 9th of January, 1865, and re-
solved itself into a constitutional conven-
ton, and made grave changes in the Or
ganic law of the State. 1t must have
been for his services in this convention
thai he was made State Treasurer by the
Radical Legislature which was elected ur-
der the fiat of that body.
As to whether the Radical party wasted
the school fund, we have the testimony of
A. J. Fletcher, late Secretary of State,
that it was used by that party while in
power to pay interest on the State debt
Then what has become of the $6lS, 600
into which the coin belonging TO the Bank
of Tennessee was converted, less the
800, 600 which the Tribune confesses
will be lostl 1t is very certain that It
was not in the treasury when the present
incumbent took charge of it, and it is
equally certain the children of the State
received no benefit from it whatever.
A word of advice to our youthful con-
temporary: Children should not play
with edged tools.