Whig and tribune. [volume] (Jackson, Tenn.) 1870-1877, 1873-06-21
From the Shelbyyille Commercial.
HOW TO PAY THE STATE DEBT.
And ia Doing so Afford soIne EI-
mancfRI Relief 10 shc People.


At present the State has its bonds
out for over twenty millions Of dol
lars, and il is presumed but few are
owned or held by citizens of the
State, aud none of them circulated
as money in trade and commerce
among the people of the State.
Now, il we had five millions of
State bonds, idue by the milkon, year
after year, bearing 7-S0 per cent. in
terest and exempt from taxation,
each million consisting of or divi.
ded into five denominations Of equal
amounts; that is, two hundred thou
sand of twenty-five dollars, two
| hundred Thousand of fifties, two
hundred thousand of one hundreds,
two hundred thousand of five hun
dreds and two hundred thousand of
| thousands.
l say suppose we had five million
| of bonds in existence, is II not NOR
ally certain that, no matter to whom
! they were first issued, numbers of
them would soon be in the hands of
citizens of the State, aud good to
purchase lands; good for short or
longer investments of monies for
minors, and sought for 10 pay State
and county taxes?
Such a character of bends would
be strongly domestic, aud there
would always be the two or three
millions first falling due, performing
the functions largely of a circulating
medium, when they have to run four
years or more. l dare say many a
| landhOlder of the State would be
/ 4 a.. Of N,a 1-nIa
for such bonds.
In an article of last week L sug-
/ gested such bonds be authorized
and sold to the highest bidder of
these holding our present bonds, in
exchange, without regard TO the
date of issuance or maturity.
The only thing necessary to in
sure the purchase of ten millions of
the old bonds by the first five mil
| lions of the character suggested, is,
be made for the prompt payment of
each million, aud interest, as fast as
due and presented.
Less than forty cents per hundred
dollars on q taxable property of
three hundred millions, would pay
the million first due, and 1 am Of
the opinion that such an improve
ment would Immediately follow,
that never more than 40 cents would
de necessary.
If five millions of such bonds
were put into the market for the old
every five years, aud the new
promptly met and paid, the State
would be out of debt in less than
twenty-five years, and we would
not have to be hiring people either
to stay or come here. They would
do both without either begging or
hiring. EEfFr
LEWIS TILLMAN.
Z. 6.-Perhaps through q misap-
prehension Of the printer my article
of last week was rendered almost
aRintelIigtbLe in regard to the rate
of interest / would have my sug-
gested character of bonds bear.
l wrote 7-90 as the proper rate,
meaning seven dollars and thirty
cents interest on every hundred dol
lars for every 1855 days.
The same idea or rate would be
expressed by writiDg7 $40 per cent.
per annum.
My reasons for adopting that rate,
besides being an inducement for old
8 per cent. bOndholders to exchange,
was that interest on any of the
bonds suggested would be so easily
counted, being just two cents day
on every hundred dollars. So please
have the rate printed as have writ
ten, tO-wit, $50 per annum, or z $40
per cent. per annum- i. 7.