Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1871-11-17
CUR NASHVILLE LETTER.
Election OF Public Printers Vacancies
Filled Visit TO EX-President Folks
WIdOw-The Railroad Interesis-Power
of the Lobby.
'respondence Of the CHRoXlCLE.l

of the Lobby.
Core pondence of the CHRoMcLEl
NASHVILLE, Tenn. Nov. IA.
The Legislature is now complete. With
in the last few days the two vacant seats in
the Senate have been filled, and there are
| now the full hundred legislating for the
people.
ELECTION DE PUBLIC PRINTERS.
The two houses met in joint convention
to-day to elect Public Printer. Jones,
Purvis & Co. were reelected on the first
ballot. The Republicans voted for Thos.
Waters, of the Tennessee Tribune. Jones,
Purvis d Co. embrace the West Tennessee
Wing and Tribune, Knoxville Press and
| Herald, Memphis Press, Republican Ban
| Her and Union and american. Of course
there were but two things for the Demo-
Gratis to dO-either to defeat Jones, Purvis
* Co., and thus repudiate the whtewash-
| ing majority report, or to re- elect Jones,
| Purvis q Co., and thus endorse the MAORI
! ty report. The Democrats have drawn an
| elephant Now let them feed him.
VISIT To MRS. PRESIDENT POLK.
| The General Assembly made their bien-
NAL visit of respect to Mrs. President Polk
| to-day. Mrs. Polk was looking better
! than at the last visit, and she and Mrs.
Fall, who did the honOTs," recognized
gentlemen presented more than year
| ago, and not seen since. SGch powers of
memory are truly wonderful. But Mrs.
| Polk is altogether a most extraordinary
woman, extraordinary alike for her men
| tai and moral qualities, her beauties of per-
son, still lingering like sweet memories of
| her charming youth, and her excellence in
| all those graces that adOrH the life Of the
| noble Wine, cake, fruit and other deli
| cate refreshments, intermiXed with the
smiles and pleasant voices of a few enter
| tanning ladies, with the portraits of the
great looking down from the walls, all
combined to make the occasion exceeding
ly delightful and to imbed the recollection
thereof intellectually into the memory of
all who had the good fortune to be present
Both Mrs. Polk and Mrs. Fall possess the
rare and charming faculty of making
strangers feel perfectly at home. Verify
our American ladies are perfect types Of
wOmanhOOd, possessed of all the beauty,
grace and ease of the purest nobility with
| out the hauteur and appearance of condo
| scensiOn too often observed in ladies Of
rank
THE RAILROADS AGAIN.
4 resolution was introduced into the
| House yesterday, and one into the Senate
| to-day, in reference to the fees claimed by
| the counsel for the State in the Railroad
suits. These attorneys claim sd 900 each
| in bonds; and have had lien declared on
| SIS, 900 in bonds to secure these fees. The
most intense feeling of Indignation Is
manifested in the Legislature, and all that
can be done to save the taxpayers will be
done. The last Legislature limited the
compensation of these attorneys to ttCO
| thousand dollars; and an attempt is now
made to show that the act containing this
] limitation was not cOnstitudOnalIy enact
| ed. The truth IL the action of these attOr-
| neys in asking for lien on these bonds,
| and the action of the Court in granting it,
| could only mean one of two thing-that
| the State was dishonest or was iHSOLUeBt.
! In either event this action of the counsel
and the Court, here at the Capital, at the
| very doors of the State Treasury, was as
! direct and terrible blow at the State credit,
as the act of the last Legislature reducing
taxes to twenty cents on the hundred dol
| lars.
A great deal has been said about the wis
| dom of selling the States interest in the
railroads; but the manner in which some
| of these roads have been sold is unfOrtu-
| nate. If the bill to guarantee these sales
now in the Senate on its last reading be-
comes law, predict that the State will
| be obliged to pay out more money than she
| has received from these roads. New suits
are being brought every day, or being pre-
| pared both in the State and the United
| States courts. The stockholders, creditors
and mortgages are buzzing terribly, and
! the State will soon feel the sting. When
l look around the Senate and the House
and see the lobby at work, l can only ex-
claim, MAY God help the taxpayers :"
| The influence of the lobby is almost ire
sistabIe Mr.. This and Mr.. That, Col. So
and Col. Thus, General Which and Gene
raj What, are always on hand working
cunningly and ceaselessly, and before a
member knows it he is convinced or COM
mitted.
| Now, the railroad bill before spoken of,
| is claimed to have been drawn in the in
terests of the State, and for the benefit of
the State. But if you were to see the rail-
road men, and railroad influences, brought
| to secure the passage of that bill you would
at once say that bill is for the benefit of a
Railroad Ring. Ind so 1t is. The pas
sage of that bill will cost the State hun
dreds of thousands of dollars in the case
of the Northwestern Road alone. Senator
| Gibson openly denounced the lobby few
days ago, and declaredthey were stronger
than the Legislature, and were ofteneT
! listened to than the people. Some mem
| bers think it is in bad taste to insinuate
! that members are influenced by the lobby
and say that the lobby is composed of hon
orable gentlemen. But repeat, the great
fact stares us in the face. The lobby are
stronger than the people. YOURS"