Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-10-24
ETHERlDGE5:
The George Francis Train of
Tennessee Politics on
the Stump.
His Speech at Memphis "wednesday
Nfsht-Characferist Display of Ee-
centric Demagosuery.

Nfghf-Characferisti Display OF nc
centric Demagosuery.
Memphis Appeal, Oct p.
There was large crowd at the Green
law Opera House last night, to hear Mr.
Emerson Etheridge make speech. Quit
a number of ladies and large number o
Radicals were present. The crowd wa
! evidently very DESTROYS to hear what Mr.
Etheridge had to say upon the topics of thu
day.
Mr.. ETHERIDGE's SPEECH.
Mr.. Etheridge commenced by saying thai
the intelligence of the audience would o.
itself prevent (even if he deSired) his mis-
representing anyone. Men were liable TO be
misrepresented or misunderstood. He was
in the interest of no party, no clique, nc
ring, but in the interest of the people. He
was to speak in the interest of the poor,
and he defied all the parties when human
| i.y demanded aid. He was to speak Of
State affairs, but fairly and boldly, for the
sword of DamOcles could not deter him,
and goveI nment, like everything else, was
provisional, the failure Of any governments
ability being due to a disregard OF the
wants of all the people. He referred
TO the Plantagenets and TudOrs of Eng
land, Napoleon and the communists OF
France, Isabella of Spain and the COnfed-
crate government at Montgomery. He adj
dressed them on the condition of the State,
because the State, from one end to the
other is N a PROSTATE condition, which
this city shares. He was bold enough to
say that he had measures of relief. He
said the newspapers had threatened politi-
cal denunciation upon any one ThO would
ont I'm ha1,alf Of fha Indarlafadanf
movement. An independent journal had
intimated that you shall hear something
about the OriLin of this third party, and so
you shall hear the origin of the dark Ian
tern party. In May last a number of promi-
nent citizens resolved to support no man
unless he were inconuptible, and would
reduce taxation 10 its fOneSt rate. They
pledged TO reduce taxes irrespective of any
thing else. Among those who headed
tat list is John OvertOn, Jr., who is a
Democratic candidate, investing the
dark-lantern party. On it are the
names of Mr.. Murphy, Charles ID. M'Lean
and Sledge, M'Kay X Co. Three papers
refused TO publish it. No other papers
in the State, except the Memphis Ar0-
Ianche and the Nashville Banner, published
this card (Which also has Mr.. Brinkley's
name to it, This was the origin of the
dark lantern party. He didn't want to
break up the Democratic party: he could
not if he wanted to. But when parties
failed to accomplish the aims of the people,
then such parties should step aside. He
then quoted from the remarks of the Demo
cratic candidates az the City Hall, as re-
ported by journal in the interest of those
candidates. He agreed with the remarks
of the gentleman upon the cause of the
country's condition. lie favored Mr..
Peters mechanics lien law. As TO Mr..
OvertOn'S assessment law opposition, he
was more radical in his measures. The
reduction of the debt could not be made
on funding party's platform. Mr.. Ethe-
ridge referred to the proposed wOrk-house.
The man who said the people should
crush out the independent move
ment was elected on the independent
ticket two years ago. The next
speaker (Col. Finlay) spoke of Tennessee
being bleeding reality. He (Etheridge)
wanted to speak of this. 1t was a good
Joke for that gentleman to say that hun
dreds of widows and orphans, with hun
dreds of dollars of State bonds in their
pockets, were crying for aid. The signifi-
canoe of all this was great, and he dis
missed such insignificant things. The
people were more prosperous just after the
war than now, under the rule of the Dem
Ocratic party, for be was frank to say that
The Democratic party would elect its Gov
ernOr and Legislature and reign two years
more. Immense cheers. To the great |
of the people, he referred to |
he fact that men who supported Greeley, |
IN the third party platform, were now |
against this dark-lanteTn party. He eulO- |
,ized the Congress that adjourned last |
June, as being one of the best and most |
economical the country has ever had. The |
public debt of Tennessee was con- Tacted |
before the war, and, thank GGd, the Fed |
sral collector was seldom seen in this State. /
The State, county and city taS-collectorS |
,aused all the trouble. What was the |
State debt, its character and the |
method of its creation? He passed /
gently over Brownlow's administration. In
leg, when the Legislature, of which he
vas a member, met, there wasn't dollar
n the treasury, and shortly after that
100000 had turned loose. At his instance
he tax had been reduced to forty cents,
md they, in two years, reduced the State
lebt S2,000,OO0. When Gov. Brown, two
ears ago, recommended the funding of the
lebt, what did he mean? In 1862, Vii
lam Of Orange was waging war; one mil
ion pounds sterling were granted in annui-
les at ten per cent. interest; four years af-
er the debt had grown to f5,0O0,OOO, and
It the time of William Pitts to flj0,OOO,-
100. They wanted TO thrust it upon the
,olOnies, which rebelled and were lost to
England, whose debt has increased f90O,-
Nh D1n Scotland and Ir-olanH an,r11 f.all 1
What the funded debt had done. All Eu-
ope could tell what funded debts had done.
funded debts had never been funded, and
7ere never intended to be funded. The
democrats did not have the proper platform.
lie admired Porter, his old friend. He didn't
hink the Radical platform was right in
ne respect, as it wanted TO pay all
Onest debts. The speaker here told sew
raj jokes, and illustrated them by moving
bout on the stage.l England had often
Inded her debt from 500 down to three
ents. The State debt of Tennessee had
cen funded up to its full value, not down
D its real value. The people couldn't pay
his debit ey ought not to pay it. Nc
'herson's book says the whole debt (State
nd nationally is three thousand one hun
red million dollars. The annual taxes
re three hundred and thirty millions. The
nnual interest at seven per cent. would be
wO hundred and eighty-one million,
laking six hundred and eleven million
Ollars for the debt, which is sixteen dol
RS per caput to each person in the United
tates. Each man would owe 1913 on this
ebt, which, with interest, is S51 per caput.
he debt of Memphis per capita is equalled
My by that splendididly governed city of
lew York governed by Democrats, not by
Kellogg New Orleans owes next,
lew York owes SIPS per caput; New Or
cans, SIG; Memphis, S11O per
lput; Chicago, with all her
res, owes but S54; Milwaukee,
IL; Cincinnati, where they make
II the whisky, but So per caput. No
Ody blames Mayor League because he de-
les the debt. The debt imposed on the ;
tate by the last Legislature is S25,00O,OOO,
he interest being Sl,50O,OOO per annum.
hese men would pay the January interest $
} the fundeTs, but no more will ever be
aid. They couldn't pay it if they would; [
icy wouldn't if they could. His plan was l
buy up the bonds, for the money paid out ,
lnually would buy up S2,500,OO0 Eof 1
~ - aN.m n