Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1870-06-02
A Plain Bargain and Sale.


A Plain Bargain and Sale.
The report of the investigating
committee on the school fund, ap-
pointed by the Legislature, was
presented on Thursday last. 1t is
a very interesting document, and
exposes the most villainous and
successful fraud ever committed
in Tennessee. We have not room
for the whole report, but give The
most important part, which is the
testimony Of George R. Rutter,
President and owner of the Ten.
nessee National Bank, at Mem,
phis, which was the depository of
State funds, and paymaster of the
Radical party, when members of
the Legislature or other State Of
ficials were bought Bad as we
believed the leaders of the Radi
cal party to be, we were hardly
prepared for the deeper deprayity
that this testimony exposes:
George r. Rutter being duly
sworn according to law deposed
and said: Lam thirty-nine years
of age reside in Memphis
Tennessee. The Tennessee Ma,
>tional Bank was organized in
1865, at which time / was cleo.
ted President of said bank; sub
sequently the bank became the
depository of the funds of the
State, through political influences,
with the understanding among the
leading Radicalsl of the State,
among whom were Sam. Ar
nell, JAS Mullins, W. j. Smith,
ID. A. Num-, Senator A. K. Hall,
John Eaton, Barbour Lewis and
others, that this bank was to sup.
part the Radical party and be
their financial agent and furnish
money to "run hemachine" when.
ever they wanted it. This was
the general understanding, and
was talked over frequently to the
passage of the bill making the
Tennessee National Bank the fis
cal agent of the State. This bill
was passed with the understand
ing that the Treasurer of the
State was to be influenced to des
ignate the Tennessee National
Bank as the depository of the
State, and Messrs. Arnell, Null
Inns, Richard and Wines and 9th
ers, did SO advise the Treasurer
of the State (to-wit Stanford, tt
make this bank the depository
The influences brought to bear or
Stanford were various. About
The time the bank was designated
as a depository Stanford and my
self were initiated into the Loyal
League, in the basement of the
capitol building, in Nashville
About this time he, Stanford, was
advised to deposit what was
known as the school fund with
the bank. At the meeting of
which | speak, the Loyal League
voted me q vote of thanks for
what | had done, and speeches
were made by various parties,
and the election for Governor and
members of Congress coming on
about that time, or soon efter,
the necessity for money was made
known in vigorous language, and
gave between $500 and $1,000.
They said that they (the Radicals
had every thing they wanted but
financial headquarters. All the
deposits made by the State in the
bank were general deposits, ex-
cept the State bonds, which were
special, and were returned intact,
and could not be otherwise consid-
cred, under the law making this
bank the fiscal agent of the State.
One deposit (the school fund) of
S6lS,25Q, was in United States
1905, the history of which of
which appears in full in my de-
position taken in 1868. The va
rious sums paid to legislators Tor
loaned came out of the general
assets of the bank and my per.
sonal funds. Some of the per
sons who received money from me
to conduct the passage of the bill
and to manipulate the affairs Of