Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-06-28
TIE FUNDING Bill.

= THE FUNDING BILL
From the Clarksville Chronicle
The funding bill, like the assessment
law, has given rise TO god deal of real o.
slmulai ed Indignation, but we have lookeC
ia vain for the suggestion by some Of th,
opponents of the bill, of some plan by
which the ho2or of lhs a5e can b. better
secured, and the weight of taxation Light.
cred. We are so destitute CT financial skill
as not TO know whether that measure is
or is not the best that could have been de-
vised, and doubt whe her those most hos.
I'll to it are much better prepared to an
sweT the question. To denounce, requires
but little mental effort, and is, we regret to
say, weighiy argument with the unrea-
soning masses.
1t win readily be inferred, from the fore
going remarks, that we do not step forward
as the champion of the funding bill; stil,
we are unwilli z 10 [" il blind" against il.
When better financial scheme is offered,
every one will give it the preference; but
what is The use Of dis,racting the public
mind and planting the germs of priudice
and disc0rd 10 the popular heart, by mere
wrangle over a question that is definitely
settled2 No one can expect the repeal, ex-
capt by revolution, of contract between
the State and its creditors, that is already
perfected. IL this ba so, it is the part of
patriotic wisdom 10 make the most of the
situation rather than TO make matters worse
by embittering one portion Of the people
against the rest, and risking the common
good OF all In an unwise effort to promote
the pecuniary interest Of few.
IL will be remembered, unless we are
mistaken, that legislature preceding the
last, enacted law authorizing the railroad
companies indebted to the State, to liaui.
date their respective indebted ess with The
bonds of the State. Unluckiiy, or for a
sinister purpose, the law filled 10 designate
the kind of bonds he Safe won d receive
from the roads. And thus was lost, or
thrown away, the States opportunity to
repudiste the frEuduimt bonds issued I'M
der the despotic and infaq Gus rule of w.
g. Brownlow. As q matter of course, in
these days of devotion to Mammon, the
railroads hunted up and paid into the
Treasury the illegal lssues-they being the
cheapest bonds on the market, and thus
The State received, in payment of honest
debts, a batch Of spurious bonds which it
was under no obligation to redeem. There
are railos6 companies, however, that
failed TO reap their share of this golden
harvest and are still largely indebted to
us that, perhs ps, this anti-funding demon
stration is evidence of war of the indebt-
ed railroads UPON the bondholders-the
former striving TO depreciate bonds that they
may buy them cheaper, and the latter, to
increase their value, as "a matter of indi-
vidu2l interest and State credit. New, in
such contest, the people have no pecu-
MARY interest. The State is bound for the
face Of its bonds, and it matters nothing to
the people whether the railroads buy thetr
at par, or at forty cents in the dollar; but
when the credit Of the State is TO be serious
~ impaired in order t. cheaper its bonds
it becomes the duty of the people to crush
the attempt. On the other hand, if the
bondhol, ers-stigmatized IS the bloated sd-
vocates of the funding bill-belieyed that
they could best protect their private inter-
ests and the State credit, by such enact
ments, were they p t bound by honor
and selfinterest, 10 advocate that measure?
But, say the anti-funders, the money of
the,bondholders bought the passage of the
bill, and to this the bondholders reply that
the money of the railroa' paid for the OPP
position to tine bill. We would rather be-
heve that neither charge is true, but feel
assured that "hinging dirt" is neither the
sure, nor the honorable mode by which the
truth is to be brought to light; but in
whatever spirit the people may be inclin-
ed 10 view the c1ntroveTted points,
we must remind them that there are
chronic sgitators in every section and
community, whose purpose seems to be
TO distract and diyae public OPT ion
and thus defeat the ends of poi ical JUS
tice aimed at by the prudent and pa
triotic. We would suggest further
ar.oN to ~-s,f =. Il ELL
to the Inevitable, and mark Of wisdom to
avert the evils that may follow, rather than
TO make those evils inevitable by the fool
ish effort to prevent that which has already
happened from ever having happened. The
bonds are funded, and there is no alterns-
tive but 10 pay or repudiate them. If the
anti funders are for reputation, let them
come out squsteiy upon that platform; if
they are not for reputation, what are they
fussing about? Perhaps their noisy oppo-
sitioB to funding is simply cloak to hide
some flank movement in the battle for po-
litical supremacy; if so, the people ought to
keep an eye upon that movement, instead
of taking part in the rltse designed to cover
the fianking party.
The Obi ction most frequently urged
against funding is the fact that the interest,
unpaid for several years, is added to the
prime pal and therefore, compounded. This
is an ugly feature in the bill, and is suffi- |
Gent in the estimation of many, to damn |
all its provisions. But the interest was due |
and unpaid because the revenue was not |
sufficient to meet it. Suppose, therefore, |
no funding bill had been passed, would il |
not have been necessary, In order to sus-
tar the credit of the State, to levy tax |
sufficient to pay the iDterest due, as well as |
that falling due? Had this been done the |
cry OF oppression would have been raised
all over the State. In the case of an indi-
vidual ceb.or, under similar circumstan-
ces, he would have been forced into bank
ruptcy or sold out under execution. IL the
creditors of that individual had offered to
renew bis notes, with interest past due
aided in, and the time for payment extend,
ed TO forty years, would be have grumbied
about compromising interests? We think
not; and as Ststes are bns aggravated indi-
vidnsls, the supposed case, though not
strictly parallel, involves the same princi-
pies Of ECU ty, and is therefore slightly il
Illustrative Of the embarrassed condition of
the State fer which relief was sought in the
funding act.
Our object, however, in the foregoing
remarks, not to apologize for that bill,
but 10 persuade she people to sccept it as
an accomplished fact, and not 70 permit it
to be uses Aas a cloak for Interior designs
seaiust the Sace and dignity of the Com
To inquire whether the OPP
position does not come mainly from the in
dependents of the last election, and if so,
whether their disorganiz ng efforts then
ought TO inspire confidence in their patriot
Ism and craftsmanship now. Ii