Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1873-09-27
THE PRINCETON RAILROAD AND
THE CHRONICLE.

As it seems to be the business of the
Ring-mediums to call up, every now
and then, the ghost of the buried
Princeton road, and to make it reite-
rate the charge, that the Chronicle
was its murderer, and to make this
charge the pretext for warning upon
its pecuniary interests, we propose to
repeat the reasons why we did not ad-
vocate the voting of bonds by the
county. And this we do, with no ex-
pectation of sbating ring"-injustice,
or ring-opposition, but that the far
mers of the county may appreciate our
motives and the validity of our
reasons. With the lesson taught us,
by the construction of the Louisville
and Memphis road, that a railroad
will build up no town whose capital
and energy sleep the sleep of COM
mercial death; with the experience
before us, of the heavy debt and endless
taxation entailed upon the county
by its liberal contribution to that en-
terprise, we had every reason to ap-
prehend like result from a similar
experiment, and hence our unwilling
ness to advise it.
But, apart from this consideration,
there were questions of abstract right
and political economy involved, which
suffced to determine our course in re-
ference to the proposed Princeton road.
In the first place, we could not see the
equity ofconferring upon non-taxpay-
ers the power to impose upon property
holders a debt, for the payment of
which, those who imposed it, would
not contribute dollar. Every farmer
in the county might vote against such
a proposition, and yet it might be car
ried by those without property and
altogether irresponsible for principal or
interest of that debt. We may be re-
minded that majority of two-thirds
was required to authorize the appro-
priation. Our reply is that constitu-
tons are framed, not for the prOtec-
ton of majorities that can. take care Of
themselves, but. to secure the rights
and privileges of minorities. The re-
lative proportion of numbers has moth
ing to do with the abstract question of
right. No majority, however large,
has the right to force the minority TO
take stock in any enterprise, against
the will of that minority. Legisla-
lures may make it legal to do so, but,
in theory and practice, it is wrong.
In all matters pertaining to the ad-
ministration of government, it is right
that majorities shall rule, because such
is the theory of the constitution, and
because there must be some general
rule whereby that theory can be made
available in practice. But that theory
cannot, by any fair Interpretation, be
made to sanction the idea that major
ity, in private enterprise, can, as a
guardian, invest the private means of a
minority in a joint-stock company's
speculations. We know, from bitter
experience, that minorities have no
political rights that majOrities are
bound to respect, but there are private
rights that ought, in law and equity, to
be secured against majority rule. Ii
the county court, representing each
civil district, had submitted the pro-
position to vote of the people, we
would have published these views for
the consideration of the property hold
ers, and had they disregarded them so
far as to vote for the proposition, the
responsibility not being ours, We should
have rejoiced at the success Of the en-
terprise; but as the court acted other
wise, upon that body-not upon the
Chronicle,-rests the responsibility for
the defeat of the Princeton road.
We do not expect to exercise the
ghost of the departed by this restate-
ment of our objections; but until
those, who still make the course of
the Chronicle the pretext for a raid
upon its business prosperity, refute
these objections. we think a sense of
decency, if not of justice, should miti-
gate the bitterness of their opposition.
If we would make an assignment of
all our right, title and interest, in and
to, free thought and speech to those
who practically deny us both, we might
convert opposition into favoritism.
whilst we seek to be no mans mas
ter, we will be no man slave, and hence
the conspiracy to deprive US of our
daily bread.