The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1873-05-21
Who Arc The Regulators i?


it is not uncommon for funding jour
mails to intimate that the anti-fund
ers are regulators if not directly
indirectly in effect. The funders
have it all their own way-the Gov
ernor has declined to call the Legis
lature together while it would be
possible to repeal or modify the law
and still they stop occasionally III
their lofty duties to give the van.
qaished anti-funders a whack or two,
and to call them names for not fall.
ing into ranks. They should hardly
expect us to be converted on as short
notice as some of them were. The
opposition to the funding act after
| its passage was urged until the Gov
ernor's circular came out, with a hope
that an extra session would be called
before the bonds were signed and
registered, and an opportunity thus
afforded to undo some of the wrong
fastened Oh the people. But that
time has passed the bonds will soon
be issued, signed and registered, and
the State of Tennessee bound ire
vocably to pay the interest for forty
years, unless, able after the first ten
to begin to retire the principal debt
Hereafter we can only protest at the
manner and spirit in which this load
was put upon the people without
their consent. Not a man in the
State, to our knowledge, certainly
not paper. favors repudiation.-
Yet because certain papers and mem
bers of the Legislature happen to
occupy about the position that some
Of the present funders held two
years ago, they are denounced by
the latter as regulators. A CO.
temporary remarks that ''if we are
not now able to resume payment Of
interest we never will be-" The same
remark could have been made with
equal force two years ago. State
finances have not improved in that
time except that the debt has been
diminished by selling out assets. nor
has the value OF property assessed
for taxes been increased. On the
contrary. the Comptroller report
shows that values have been greatly
diminished in East and Middle Ten
nessee. The new assessment law,
although not much better, if any,
than the old one, may, under. the
pressure Of the Governors circular
letter-designed for that effect
somewhat increase the aggregate
value Of property. The interest
will be met, of course, while Cover
nor Brown remains in office; but
other claims almost as sacred to the
people, such as appropriations for
the blind and insane, the deaf and |
dumb. and even the salaries Of State
officers ~ may have to be passed |
unpaid. We hold that it is as great |
a crime, morally. to defraud the |
helpless objects Of charity in our
State out of appropriations made to
them by the Legislature as to post
pone the payment of bonds or past |
due coupons. Who then are likely |
to be the repudiators-those who
would give the preference to legiti- /
mate current expenses Of the State
and to the unfortunate classes
thrown helpless upon the public, or
the flinders who gives the preference
to bondholders, even if not 8 cent |
remains in the Treasury after exees-
sive taxes have been collected? 1t |
is true. as we believe, that the fund
ing law cannot be made an issue in
future contests; but the funders will |
find serious personal issue to meet |
that will lay many Of them high and |
dry on the political shelf. The law
is about to become fixed fact, and |
many Of the authors of it will find
themselves fixed to stay at home if
they come before the people any
more.