Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1873-02-26
THE BONDED DEBT OF THE STATE.

a few thoughts which seem to be pertinent
and practical. 1t is question OF great
! importance and magnitude in its effects on
! the people.
! There is now due, in bonds and coupons
something near five millions of dollars.
TO pay this debt at once is an impossible
! ty. True, the resources of the State are
sufficient to realize an almost unlimited
sum in very few years from q moderate
rate of taxation. And those who, pander-
ing to morbid political appetite, reduced
the revenues of the State.below the annual
demand to meet accruing interest and 9TH
er liabilities are censurable in morals and
| political policy. Yet, we have to deal with
existing facts. Those welding the politi-
cal power of the State permitted the OPP
portunity to pay the interest on this State
debt to pass. They proved incapacitated
to meet the exigencie5 for which a con-
! fding constituency had selected them.
With mean conception of duty and n
false estimation of public opinion, they
provided basis of revenue altogether in
adequate to defray current expenses and
maintain outside credit.
For more than three years repudidtioa
has been threatened. Practical population
was, in fact adopted by the two last legis-
latures in failing to make any provision
for the payment of either principal or in
terest on the liabilities of the State. Our
credit went down! Tennessee was looked
upon something akin to repudidting Mis-
sissippi. However, the recent political
revolution in this State caused a revolu-
ton in the money markets, and also as to
our State credit. And be it remembered,
that the change in the financial standing
of Tennessee, was not because John Brown
had declared policy in reference to our
debt. Not at all. What cause an =
vance in Tennessee bonds, was the fact of
the Republicans and independents" hav-
ing a controlling infiuencein both branch
es of the General Assembly. In other
words the anti-Democratic sentiment of
the legislature gave hope to our creditors.
Now that confidence should be fully met.
The Republicans and "Independent"
Democrats should see that no step back
wards is taken. Then the question is,
what can be done to meet our liabilities
and satisfy public expectation? If the debt
cannot be paid, what is the next best
thing to be effected? a tax
might be imposed, a sinking fund
created, and the future accruing interest
paid, while the already due debt could he
| gradually decreased until finally wiped
out. This would take series Of years.
But a purely cold-blooded sefishness
would dictate this as the less costly policy
And those who prefer to deal in the close
| logic of actual figures have great opportu-
| nifty to show the extravaganza of the fund
| ing scheme on the ten-forty principle.
The question of compromising interest for
! the benefit of bond holders is also of great
| force. Nor is the moral argument relied
| on a sufficient answer to the solid reasons
urged against the compromising of interest
and extending the debt forty years into the
future. However, there are other argu-
ments which address themselves to the
practical mind, which are entitled to great
weight in determining the action to be
taken by the General Assembly.
Are we better able to pay five millions Of
debt now uu" tran We will be forty years
from this nr TO pay three times tina
amount" IA we are not, then funding il
the true policy. How does history fix thu
matter? We have neither the time no
the exact data to answer this question
, The prediction is, however, made tina
Tennessee has more than trebled in taxa
bic property in the past forty years; AM
that, whereas, we now have less than tire
hundred millions of taxable property, @
l the end Of fifty years from this time W
3 will have more than thousand million
: of taxable property from which to deriv
q revenue to pay off the bonded debt whe
s compounded. If dollars tax to the on
- hundred dollars will pay the debt nov
why, by waiting forty years, twenty-fiy
cents to the one hundred dollars will pa
90 it then; and so, why not wait? This
:, the line of thought which has gradual
= drawn our mind to adopt the funding
"a the over due debt, in preference to NEE
/. ing il by taxation and a sinking fund.
/" There are other reasons of less force, an
Is yet not without weight. If we cannot pa
% our debt, then we should do nothing
2, injure the credit which we have now
It the expectation centered in US from II
,, recent elections. Whether true or nc
Of the public mind has been educated to b
/ lieve We should either fund the debt no
Or dino syiya "a nau hond or nav IL and II v