Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-09-06

lOO1NSAOOAOsl
A great deal of the trade of Memphis Is
from localities where one planter has hereto
fore shipped bis products to Memphis and
his adjoining neigibor has shipped his to
New Orleans, and where the same planter
has shipped a part to New Orleans and the
other part to Memphis. The two cities al
ready know the same trade to great ex-
ten. Many merchants would leave New
Orleans and come to Memphis, hoping to
control the same trade TO considerable ex-
tent they had done in New Orleans. Men,
phis is contiguous AID accessible to, by
water and rail, the great bulk of the trade
New Orleans has ever done. New Or
leans Sc Is more cotton than any city in the
United States Memphis next. Memphis
is situated on the Mississippi liver, in the
midst of the great body Of alluvial lands
tie most fertile part the globe, the cream
of the cart ; and last but not least, she Is
situated in the southwest corner Of the State
of Tennessee-a State that is a white mans
State now and is going to continue to be
and get to be more SO. | think this state
ment of the real 81 ustion of Memphis
comes neaTe., so far, of FL ing the bill of
what q fleeing New Orleans man would
waut, than any city In America could pre-
sent. Bnt let US go a little further and
commence the moving and see if there are
any obstacles in the way. A banker in New
Orleans concludes he will leave,
and he gets on the cars or steamboat
with his so, 100, 200, 800 or 500 thousand
dollars of money or movable property and
starts out in search OF favorable spot of
earth to locate upon with The prop5ity. He
knows the geographical location of Mem
phis; he knows they do q business there SIM
liar to that which be has been in the habit
of doing, and consequently he concludes he
will stop there and investigate matters snd
things, and see what ara its attractions. He
stays few days and gets acquainted with
the bankers, investigates as to their pros
perity, and finds that they are not very
prosperous, that they are down in spirits,
and some of them are talking of leaving
there and going to st. Louis or elsewhere.
He finds out IN using money there that by
the laws of the State he is allowed to charge
10 per cent. interest Chat does very well)
for bis money; but 10 and behold the Stats,
equity and city taxes are d per cent. He
subtr cts A per cent. from 10 per cent, and
finds be has left 81 per cent. interest for his
money. BE says to himselfI can put it in
US. bonds and do nothing, and do better
than that. He finds furthermore, that the
last legislature passed law called the Gas
sessment law which makes a man come
up and swear to the last cent he has, and
that there is no way of lodging this tax,
and he finds that this swearing process has
driven away, or driven into bonds, the in
dividual money that heretofore lodged the
tax, and heretofore constituted considerable
of the deposits of the banks; so he would
have but little to hope for on the score Of
deposits-not enough TO pay his clerks,
boOkkeepers, tellers, etc. So he concludes
that is DO place for him with bis money or
movable property to locate; so be bognces
on the cars and goes further in pursuit of
q place that offers greater thrift to his mon
ey, and where they don't force a fellow to
come up and give in bis money and swear
1t 10 the last cent he has, and where there
is but small or nominal tax-and even
that by common consent not enforced.
And again we will take the merchant Of
New OrlesEs: he concludes to leave; he
actusted by the same causes-comes to
Memphis say he is a grocery, hardware,
dry goods, contton factor, or any other kind
of merchant, with bis large capital Gas many
of them have). Like the banker he invest
gates as to the inducements offered his
business. he finds that the laws require
him to pay five per cent tax on bis capital
which is fair profit of itself, and not only
on bis capital but on the largest amount Of
goods he may have on hand at any one
time during the year, no mstter if one
quarter, one half or all CT them are bought
on credit, and be is paying interest for
that credit. Further he finds that there is
hnf litg1a hanl-inr oar,ifpl fhGro TO VII nd
accommodations To hin at times when be
might iced them, as i.early all merchants
do sometimes if they keep their
own capital S-tively employed,
and be finds the me- chants there are no.
thriving as merchants at many other plscas
are, and that they are talking of leaving, and
that some Of the first merchants of The place
have actually left on account of the tax, and
in short be finds that Memphis, q city be-
fore the war quite as f Furnishing as any city
in the West, a city that was growing rapidly
is to Gay at q standstill or laDguishiDg, not
wilhstsnding her receipts Of cotton are
from q hundred to two hundred thousand
mo-! bales than before the war. Like the
banker, be concludes to look out better
place than Memphis. Thus it will be with
every kind Of movable properly that may
leave New Orleans, Vicksburg, Natchez
and host ofoiher places from which it will
certainly fee. Thus il has been already
and thus it will continue to &c so long as
we continue our oppressive and prohibitory
taxation on movable property at Memp his.
As has been said to me they tax at other
places, ST. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville, exc.
This is true, but their tax, by having es
capped the ruin the war, ard consequently
- = 4 L 4
prohibiiory. Besides their trade is larger,
and their facilities for doing large trade
are 80 much greater, that merchant could
better stand q tax in St. Louis than In
Memphis.
On the principle that the larger the trade
the smaller the profits, goods can be sold
for, q merchant who sells q million dol
lars Of goods per annum can sell for smaller