Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-03-17

the Banner and the AUdbtRche are 0ne
organs of this class. They do not
brayely and openly advocate repudla-
ton as do those gentlemen in Memphis
who propose to pledge candidates Tor the
LEGISLATURE to vote for no higher tax
than twenty cents, and boldly say, let
the interest 90: it has not been paid IN |
several years anyhow But they are
trying to make it appear that repudla-
ton is honorable, for what purpose we
cannot conceive. We say Reputation,
because failure at this time to pay the
interest on the State debt is nothing
more nor less than Reputation we
are not poor, we are not oyer-taxed'
even at forty cents on the hundred DOL.
lars. but we do not believe tax OF
more than thirty cents will be neces-
sary next year. Instead OF pattlng re-
pudiators on the back the Banner
ought to expose to public scorn, the
fallacy of this low tax outcry, and
keep steadily before they people the
fact that no wiserinvestment OF money
can be made than IN paying taxes to
meet the interest of our honest debts,
sustain our schools and pay the run
ming expenses of a State government
economically administered. Let us
call things by their proper names:
If the Banner is IN favor OF
Reputation let it say so. 1t 1t Is
in favor of paying the interest on the
debt. let it say so. But its actions
sneak louder than words. ii it re-
allied the Importance of sustaining the
States credit, and was actuated by no
sinister motives, it would hasten, on
the first appearance of any indications
of Reputation, to show its advocates
the evil of their ways. and to warn the
people not to be misled by their falla-
cies. 1t Is impossible TO conceive OF
any good motive inspiring any person
to repudiate his debts, while abundant
ly able to pay them. 1t is equally I'M
possible to attribute the war upon the
credit of the State to any other motive
than the desire of bear ring to buy
Tennessee bonds at half their value, to
sell at their par value"
Our Chattanooga contemporary is
not alone in its suspicious. We have
before us private letter from a prom
inent gentleman in West Tennessee,
who writes under date of March Is:
Tread your article headed 'MarplOts'
in Wednesdays UNION AND AMERI-
CAN with much interest. There Is a
repudiating party in this State, and
the Banner and AudtaHche are pander-
ing to that party. Emerson Ether1dge
is It's head In this region, but he has
many followers. They do not intendto
act with the Democratic party, unless
that party adopts their repudiatlng
doctrines. They will not ayow them
selves as regulators, but they advo-
cate their doctrine under the cry OF low
taxes, by which they mean reputation.
We are not sure that these gentry
could get their own consent to act with
the Democratic party even in the pre-
posterous contingency mentioned by
our correspondent. Werather suspect,
if the funding bill had been defeated
last year, these same identical fellows
would now be denouncing its failure,
and accusing the Democracy of block
ing the road to prosperity and material
development, by neglecting to restore
the State credit. Their trade is agita-
ton, and their agitation is destruction.
Never, by any accident, do they turn
their energies to the work of building
up. Their ambition is to phil down the
works Of their betters. They are never
content. The millennium would make
them more restless than ever. They
would growl at its monotony Of happi-
ness. Some of the brightest intellects
that God ever created, raised row IN
heaven itself. So of these, repHdiation
shows the eloven foot.