Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-10-18

] EtllOh-lliALCA1o VI OdhAuoOh NOolAtf"
appear before you to-day for the first time
in my life as candidate for position il
the government in the State of Tennessee
! All my political action hitherto has been in
connection with the Federal Government
have been nominated, as has my compel
! itOr, the Hon. James ID. Porter, of TIE
county OF Henry, for the high Office Of the
! the Governor OF the State. He has the
| priority, in time, in his nomination, by
| convention assembled at this place on the
! 18th of August last. He is presented by
| his party as the representative of certain
principles, which are incorporated in what
is called in political parlance a platform.
! 1t becomes necessary, therefore, TO examine
/ that platform, and see where we stand, and
what is at issue before the people.
| have that platform before me, and
| find that the first four sections are mere pO-
1 litical platitudes that may mean, and were
perhaps intended TO mean, anything or
/ nothing. Then we have the national cur
rency and national debt, 10 the cOnsidera-
| ton of which | invite the attention of
! thoughtful men.
Then follows the banking system, of
which my competitor will say little, land
then the Civil Rights bill, of which he will
/ say much. But these are questions for the
/ Federal Government and have no connec-
| ton with this canvass. The only plank in
which we find anything pertaining to the
State Government you find to be this:
ssResolved, That his EXcellency, John G.
Brown, having faithfully carried out the
principles clearly set forth in the platforms
| upon which be was twice nominated, is en-
| titled to the gratitude of the people, for the
| alb e and efficient manner in which he has
executed the high and delicate trust COM
mitted to-his keeping, as Governor OF Ten
neSsee."
That is all in the platform upon which
my competitor was nominated that apper-
tains to this canvass.
The fortunes of the war-this Democrat
ic war-deprived the State of all civil gov
eminent. Her Governor had fed to Next
co, her Legislators were gone, the courts
were dissolved. Mr.. johnson appointed
Governor If the State, who issued prOcla-
nation for the people to come together and
reorganize the government; and in the lat
| ter part of 1866, they did come together;
and reorganiZed the State government I'M
| der Brownlow, chose their legislators, judges
were appoi nted and the courts opened, and
! the machinery of State was again Sc, in
| motion. This was the BrOwnlow admin
| istratiOn, of which yOu have heard so
much. That administration remained in
power until 1869, a Democratic Legislature
coming into power on the first Monday in
October, 1869.
From that day until this-mOre than five
years-DemOdacy has been in the ascend
ancy: and now let us inquire how affairs
have been managed, because, my country
men, this is a question in which you, at
this time, and until the day of election, are
especially interested in.
ABOUT TAXES.
On the 9th day of May, 1865, the Re-
] publican Legislature passed a law fixing a
| tax of twenty-five cents on the 500 Of tax
able property. Don't you remember how
my competitors friend, Etheridge, told
| about being crushed to the earth under
twenty-five cents taxes? But when my
competitors folks cot into power, they
made great improvements al once. They
passed law, on the 18th of February, 1910
| taking Off the tax on merchants, and re-
| ducing the tax from twenty-five cents &c
twenty cents.
Now that looked Well-that looked hope
full, and the people said: 'FThey are really
going in the right direction" There wa:
an election that fall, and you recOllect thi:
excellent man, John G. BrowI was can
didate against Mr.. Wisener. You remem
Der how he held up this law and said, ''Sec
how we have reduced your taxes. This j:
reform; 10! look at us and see what excel
lent, peaceable, good folks we are" Laugh
teri Well, the people said, 'lf these mel
have found a way of getting along without
taxing us, Wen try them," and so thel
elected John e. Brown Governor by som'
10000 majority.
When your legislature came tOgethe
again, by a single dash Ofthe pen, they raise
your taxes from twenty cents to sixty cents
What else had been done? Your politi
Glars had been talking about the BrOwnlOv
bonds, and SAYING they should never b
paid. Then those bonds went down, an
a man could go out at that time and gel
hundred dollar bond for every thirty dollar
he invested, or thousand dollar bond 70
every three hundred dollars he invested
Then the newspapers began singing anothe
tune. @The grand old volunteer State gran
in her precious memories. She must neve
repudiaie. We must not stop to ask how
these debts were created, but we must pa
/, them, every dollar of item" What wa
The effect? Our bonds went up, up unit
, they were quoted nearly at par. Then W
who had bought bonds went out and sol
and made great gains.
THE ASSESSMENT LAW.
On the 18th of March, 1873, the Legs
lature passed another law, commonly know
f. as the assessment law. Here is a taX-li:
. that is a beautiful love-letter to put befol
J. a man IS he sits down TO breakfast. 70
must make this list out straight, because
? YOU fail to make it meet properly, you wi
, be charged 30 per cent. additional.
Won fail 10 make out the list at all, you al
, charged % per cent. So you see it wOul
: he cheaper TO neglect making it out at all.
: Won don't nav the amount of your asses
, ment at the end of six months, you hay
q | 10 per cent added; if not at the end of Il
e wear. u per cent. more, making Y p
4 cent. in all.
, Times are hard, and you are not able
J. nav. Then the tax collector gets writ
/ possession from the sheriff and takes pc
It session of your farm, turning you gu
e You go out-with your family sick, poss
: bly,, but 90 ont you must. The tax &C
d lectOr comes in and takes your grown
n crops. If you are finally able to scrape I
the amount due, he can take the princlp
and interest, or he can take the principl
and hold the crops for the interest,
Now, gentlemen, this is not right; tax
sLOnid be imposed upon an article accor
o. ing TO the profit derived, and not accordil
o. to its nominal value. Take a bucket
N milk and bucket of whisky. The cost
S. production is about the same, but there
T. no profit in bucket of milk, while there
10 in bucket of whisky.
n STATE DEBT.
s. Much has been said about the State de-
d At the close Of the war our debt was 81
l. 100000. The Legislature which met
ar 1865, had no money, and 50 issued bon
Ie Then there were railroads to assist. T
h. question was, ''shall We step in and hi
er these roads, or let them go?" The Leg
Mt lature decided to help them, and so Fl
~ nished bonds amounting, ia the aggTega
of to Sl1, 100000.
v. We have sometimes been told that tn
v bonds were issued 10 Radical cOncer
Let ms see. One million was iSsues