Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-07-03

take her share IN that awful conihct
now in full blaze, and of which after
ages were to speak with a shudder as
the Thirty Years War."
DEFAUETING SOUTHERN STATES.
The Nelc York Bulletin has a
remarkably temperate editorial
upon the States south of us which,
unlike Tennessee, have no provision
for the payment Of. their debts or inter
est. While the Bulletin is clearly of
the opinion that these States are doing
less than they could do, yet it crit'ci-
yes the impotence of creditors as cal
culated only to breed in-wil. The lat
ter have gained nothing by demanding
100 cents from such States as North
and South Carolina on bonds that were
issued for % to 60 cents. Unable to
pay interest on the whole, the people
are meanwhile becoming famiharizedto
a scale of taxation that makes no pro-
vision for paying anything. and this
renders it more difficult each year to
secure their consent to be taxed at all
on account of State debt. The Bulletin
does not expect these States to recuper-
aterapidly. because the class ofmen who
formerly made the South wealthy, hon
orable and trustworthy are now i'm
poverished, disheartened and driven
from political power; and the laws are
made and the government administered
in a very large degree by either cor
rupt Northern politicians or ignorant
and equally venal negroes" 1t argues
therefore, that the best plan would be
for conference of creditors and the
representatives of the defaulting States
''to ascertain what amount of debt the
State can really carry and will duly
honor. both as to principal and inter-
est; and, that being aseertained and
agreed upon, the creditors should then
accept long dated consolidated bond,
to an amount representing such sup
posed ability, in pro rata exchange for
the bonds outstanding and the overdue
interest" The bondholders would gain
nothing by exacting more than the
State could pay, as that would only
lead to renewed suspensions. On the
other hand, no State can really profit
by trying to evade a debt that it is able
to iquidate.
There are some practical difficulties
to be overcome in the way of confer
ence between creditors and such States
for instance as South Carolina, Flor
ida, Mississippi and Louisiana
Are Moses and Kellogg to be taken as
representatives of their respective
States? Yet none other than such
men as these would be legally represen-
tative. So long as these States are
ruled by corrupt carpet-baggers and
ignorant blacks, the proposed confer
ences can have no practical result, IN
less indeed it be new schemes of cor
ruption and plumber. Such fellows
would agree oany thing to enhance the
market value of State bonds, and 50
increase the net proceeds of fresh is
sues.
The Bulletin does not apply its re-
marks to Tennessee, because this State
has been for some months past antici-
pating the interest due July l.
We escaped five years ago from the
Radical clutches which still hold our
Southern sisters. We had four years
Of such rule; they have bad nine years,
with no prospect for early release. Our
people are not disfranchised. Our
laws for the past five years have not
been made by corrupt Northern poll
ticians or ignorant negroes" We can
not take advantageof the misfortunes of
oilers and plead the pauper act, unless
we are likewise paupers. Neither can
we plead the "baby act" in regard to
the Legislatures of the past five years
for we had the making OF
them. If Brownlow bonds, issued for
43 cents, were bought by railroads for
so cents and turned into the State
Treasury tn Equidate a debt OF 100
cents, the railroads of Tennessee, which
are of daily advantage to US, made the
most by the operation. The Legisla-
ture which allowed the BrownlOw bonds
10 be retired in this way was response
BILE for the result. The thing can
hardly be undone six or seven years
after. and to-day the bulk of the out
standing debt is of ante-bellum origin,
some of it dating as far back as 1888
and the overdue interest. In 1867,
two wears after the war, the State tar
was ~ cents. In 1868 and 1869, 1t was
so cents. Those were years IN which
people shattered by war, were com
nelled to rebuild their fences and often
their houses, replenish 1--we stock, anC
begin life anew. We survived thes'
heavy taxes under the most depressing
circumstances. We have since ther
reduced the State debt almost one
half. and are to-day meeting all ON
obligations on tax Of forty cents. Ii
1875. ten years after the war; to b
marked in the calendar as the year IL
which Tennessee set up for che hrs