Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-05-31
TILLMAS,s FINANCIAL pANACrA.

L
Head, of Sumner, hints that their
ideas of the management of the State
debt are mot greatlyidissimilar," and
Intimates that he has tried in his hum
bic way to get these views before the
public for some time past. We are
sorry we have not space to give his
brochure, because with the full text
before the reader. we would be freer to
make comment. His new style of
funding is as follows:
would have the State create bonds,
bearing 7.30 interest, of denominations
ranging from ten TO thousand dollars,
a million or some definite amount to
fall due annually, and receivable in all
dues to the State after maturity, un-
less the State failed to redeem prompt
ly.
Taking Mr.. Tillman's calculation
that the entire State debt is twenty
five millions, he proposes to pay off one
million, interest and principal, at the
end of the first year, leaving unpaid
the interest on the remaining twenty
four million. He would pay off anoth
er million, principal and double inter-
est, at the end of the second year, leav-
ing unpaid two years interest on the
remaining twenty-three millions. AT
the end of the third year, he would pay
off third million of principal and
triple interest, leaving unpaid then
three years interest on twenty-five
million dollars. In other words, he
would pay off a million a year
of the principal by leaving unpaid
each year about a million of interest
to accumulate. This amounts to con-
verting the debt from interest-paying
bonds into non-interest paying cou-
pons. 1t would be a clever operation
for Jim Fisk, but the times are sadly
out Of joint when such tricks are sober
ly discussed among honorable men.
Besides, the burden of the people would
be annually increased atan aceelerating
ratio. The thirteenth year, for in
stance, would call for the payment of
million principal, with thirteen years.
interest, which at 7.3O per cent. would
double the amount. The present law
proposes a steady burden, not to be in
creased till the State develops strength
to bear it and decrease the principal.
But coupons are promises to pay a
certain amount semi-annually.
Schools and families invest in bonds
for the sake Of the semi-annual pay
ments of interest. Mr.. Tillman's de-
vice would drive Tennessee bonds out
of what is called the income market,
and remit them entirely to the mercy
of spectators. Its author seems to ap-
preciate the inherent injustice of the
plan, and hence the proposal to raise tn
rate of interest to $50. In this con-
nection he says:
l hold there is no injustice in sup
posing that those who bought our out
standing bonds greatly below par,
could and would Of they needed money
badly give a handsome premium for
the new; and if they did not need
money badly, viii afford to wait, and
take any of the new at par, bearing
80 interest.
The supposition that men who need |
ed money badly would give hand
some premium" for bonds, the interest |
payments on which are to be postponed
for indefinite years, is simplicity itself.
We commend to Congress, as a substi-
tute for initiation, this latest mode of |
relief for men who "need money badly"
Mr.. Tillman confesses that his calcu-
lations are based on the supposition
that his new bonds could be exchanged
at par for the old, and he thinks the
bonas falling due the first two or three
years would bring a premium. He
fails, however, to inform us where, on
the face of the earth, market could be
found for bonds on which no interest
is to be paid for twenty-five years.
Finally, Mr.. Tillman proposes to
cinch the whole business, and protect
the purchasers of his new-style bonds
against all coming demagogues, by a
constitutional provision, for which pur-
pose a convention is to be called. We
submit that present hold
ers have all the guarantees that such a
provision could give. They hold bonds
either funded or registered, by virtue
of law passed constitutionally and
executed by the constitutional author
tiles. The present organic law forbids
the Legislature violating contracts, and
those who have faith in constitutional
provisions do not expect the State to
set the example of violation. Besides,
coventions are, in these
latter days, becoming as common and
as Legislatures. Mr..
Iillman's convention might be over
turned by subsequent one, as easily
as he proposed to overturn the funding
aw of the last Legislature. The only
true basis of security for the purchaser
IF Tennessee bonds, whether for the en-
lowment of schools, the support of wild
owed families, or the luxury of bloated
lies in the native honesty
# Tennessee people, and there we rest
t without hesitancy.
THE kOTTH LABOR QEESTIOS.
Oneof our best agricultural exchanges,
the Rural CdroIinian, published in
S. c., has a correspondent
who defends "Sambo" as plantntion
aborer after this fashion:
To use familiar phrase, "Berkley"
s not yet reconstructed. He has prob
IDLY grappled the bull by the horns and
,aon ,rnrnd L apoa ba ic ont with 4ba |