Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1874-10-22
Tke Issues ReyieWed-Taxes, Assess
menls and Repndiati0n-A Trinity
Of Sham, Humbug and Dema-
gOgueTy.
The Funding Bill asd the Funders-
ahe Newspapers and the Ring
Plain Talk and q Long Array
Of figures.
ANDY JOhnsOR's Line OF Argument Over
Agatha Reading Lesson fer the
BOndhOlders, State as Well
as National.

number OF laGieS and large NUMBER OF ha1l
very DESTROYS 70 hear what Mr. EtheTidge had
70 say upon the topics Of the day.
Mr.. ETHERIDGE-s SPEECH.
Mr. Etheridge commenced by say ing that
the intelligence OF the audience would Of
itself prevent (even II he desired) 20 misrep-
resent any one. Men were liable 10 be mis-
Represented or misunderstood he was in the
interest Of no party no clique, no ring, but IN
The Interest Of the people. be was TO speak IN
the interest Of the poor, and be dened al the
parties when humanity demanded aid. He
was 70 SPEAK Of state Affairs, but fairly and
boldly, Tor the sword OF Damocles could not
deter him, and government, ike everything
else, Wai provisional, the failure OF
any governments ability being due to dis
regard OF the wants OF all the people.
he referred 70 the Piantagenets and TudOrs
OF England, Napoleon and the communists OF
France, Isabella Of spain and the Confederate
them on the condition of the State, because
the State, from one end 70 the other, Is In a
PROSTATE condition, which this city shares.
be was bold enough TO say thai ne had meas
ures OF relief. He said the newspapers had
threatened political denuuciatiOn upon any
one who would come out in behalf OF the tn
Journal had intimated that you shsII hear
something about the origin Of this third par
", and 20 you shall hear the origin Of the
CaTk-lantern party. In May Last number Of
man unless he were tncOrrupuble, and would
reduce taxation TO us honest rate They
thing else. Among those who headed that
lIsl Is John Overton, jr, who is a Democratic
candidate, investing the dark-lantern party.
On Il are the names Of Mr.. Marphy, Charles
B. M'lean and Sledge. Mkay 4 Co. Three
papers refused TO publish it. No other papers
N the state, except the Memphis 4 udtdnche
and the Nashville BdHne-, Published this card
(which also has M. Br1nkley s name 70 IT,
This was the origin OF the dark lantern party.
He didn't want 70 break up the Democratic
party; he could not II he wanted 10. But
To- al n
The people, then such parties should step
aside. He then quoted from the remarks q
the Democratic candidates at the city nall, as
reported By Journal IN the interest OF those
candidates. He agreed with the remarks OF
the gentleman upon the cause or the cOuu-
tryis condition. He favored Mr.. Peters's me-
chanlcs' lien Law. As 70 Mr.. Overton's asses, =
ment law opposition, he was more radical in
his measures. The reduction OF the
debt c7uld rot be made on a
funding party's platform. Mr.. Etheridge re-
ferred 70 The proposed WOrkhouse. The mar
who said the people should crash out the in
dependent movement was elected on the in
dependent ticket two years ago. The next
speaker Colonel Finlay) spoke Of Tennessee
being a bleeding realty He (Etheridge)
wanted 70 speak of this. II was good joke
f6r that gentleman 20 say that hundreds Of
widows and orphans with hundreds OF dollars
OF state bonds in their pockets were crying
for aid. The significance Of all this was great,
snd he dismissed such Insignificant things.
The people were more prosperous just after
the war than now, under the rule OF the
Democratic party, for he Was frank 10 say
that the DemOc attic party would elect its
governor anJ legislature and ign two years
more. Immense cheers To the great aston
ishment OF the people, he referred TO the fact
that men who supported Greeley on the third
party platform were now against this dark.
lantern party. he eulogi zed the congress that
adi burned last June as being one OF the best
and most economical the cJuniry has ever
had. The IN olfc debt Of Teuuess e. was con-
tracted before the war, ana tank God tue
federal collector was seldom seen IN TINS
tors caused all the trouble What was the
State debt, It's character and the
method OF its creations He passed
gently over BrOWnlOwis administration.
N lstg, when the legislature, OF which be was
member, met, there wasn't dollar in the
treasury, and shortly afler that S5s0,oO0 had
turned loose. AT his instance the tax lad
been reduced TO- 40 cents, and they in two
y ears red aced the STATE debt ., 0O0,OO0. When
Governor Brown, two years ago, recommend
ed the funding Of the debt, what did he mean q?
Ia 1852, William OF Orange, was wsging war,
one million OF pounds sterling were grsnteu
in annuit ties al 10 per IT, Interest; four years
after the debt had grown TO 5000 C0O, and az
the time Of William Pitts 70 EliO,OOO,Col. They
wsnted TO thrust II upon the colonies which
rebel cd and were lost TO England whose ceot
has Increased sOOL0OOO0. scotland and Ire
land could tel what the funded debt had
done. All Europe could tell what funded
deOts had Done Funded debts had never
funded. The Democrats did not nave the
proper platform. He admired Porter, bis OLD
friend. he didn't think the Radical platform
right IN one respect IS II wanted 10 pay al
honest debts. Tine speaker here told several
Iokes, and illustrated them by moving about
on the stage.l England had often funded her
debt from slogdown 70 cents; The state debt
d Tennessee had been funded up 10 its full
value, not down 70 its real value. The people
couldn't pay this debL-they ought not
20 pay it. MPherson's book says the whole
iebi State and natiOnalj is three Thousand
lne hundred million dollars. The annual
axes are three hundred and thirty millions.
rhe annual interest at seven per cent would
De two hundred and elghty-One million, max
.ng six hundred and eleven million dollars
'oF the debt, which is sixteen dollars per
,sput 70 each person ia the United states.
Each man would owe Is on this debt, which
with interest, Is s5l per capuL The debt of
Memphis per capita Is equailed only by that
splendidly go erued city Of New YORK gov
=rned by Democrats, not BY Kellogg. New
Orleans owes next. New York owes Sl2s per
sapuL; New Orleans. SIG; Memphis, Sll0 per
saput; Chicago, with all her nres, owes bat SO;
81; Cincinnati, where they make
all the whiskt, but 81 per caput. NO body
olames Mayor League because he denies the
debt. The debt imposed on The State BY the
ast legislature is s25,o0oUO0. the Interest being
81 $4,000 per annum. These men would pay
he January interest TO the funders, but nS
more viii ever De- paid. Iuey couldn't pay u
II they would; they wouldn't II they could.
HIS pan was 70 buy up the bonds, for the
money paid out ann ually would buy up S2,500-
700 OF bonds! But this was dark-lantsrn
process Yet the plan was started by the tax
payers CT this city. A man who had voted
iof tie funding bill had his bankrupt certif-
cate in mis- pocket. In 1870 the land
10000, now they have It up 10 $500 100000.
Inc tax was raised over his vote co cents 10
~ cents. The land was8alued on the credit,
according TO the United states census. A Pu-
laski letter was published IN the APPEAL,
saying that Tennessee's rate OF taxation was
lower than any other state. He signs himself
'Occ Asional." 70 was not Governor Brown,
but somehow or otner his spirit breathed IN
II: for the governors spirit, somehow or 9TH
sr, Infused itself INTO all suburban pOliti-
clans. He read he letter, and the article
from the Nashville Union and american,
which he says wa once edited, not by Hobbs,
but oF y respectable mani The Democrats
81 lakes from ) to 10 cents. The speaker then
re al the rates Of valuation and property tax
alton IN various STATES In shelby county, be
said, land was valued Al SO per acre, aud taxed
AZ 90 cents. He was never IN the Democratic
party, and was not responsible for the debt.
The people OF Tennessee were now bankrupt.
The annual expenses Of the state are g SJ,-
To-. The receipts. according 70 the funders,
were 81 ,si0,O0o. The same rates OF taxa ion
last year existed as do nOw, and yet the
comptroller could not pay the July interest,
except by warrants There viii be, according
10 the fuDders, a deficit OF $4,000. Because
ne raised Ms voice In behalf OF the people,
who were suffering, and becoming more mis-
cradle each day ne and MS ulends were De-
nounced - great disrupters. Al the men, eX-
ccpt Colonel Hayes aud Mr.. Oyerton,
were elected on the Independent ticket. 10
ten lOverton and Baynes Included voted
AGAINST the funding bill He heard Governor
Brown say, In MS speech % Dresden, few
days ago, that the supreme court had decided
that the coupons which they funded bore in
terest. He deemed Il unfair 70 make bond
holders iavoriIesi and 10 make the people pay
de bts created by the war, which 10 the pollti-
cal and social world Is precisely what storm
or the flames would be 20 this city. Peace
reigned now, but nothing save the wreck and
ruin OF the war wefG 10 be seen. At the lose
OF the war the Federal government asked the
people Of the south 70 accept the situation
and recognize the success Of the conquerOr.
Tue people hesltaUsd 70 do this. The bond
ho.dor al the close Of the war should have
been treated exactly as the people Were.
George Washington. Of K 5berlson county, one
Of the weaillisst men in The state, it was
co. $4,000, cried out Governor Jesse BrownL
De was one OF the men who wanted the bonds
raised in value. BUTT was not night that those
who lost all BY the war should be made TO paw
the deficit in the vaiue OF the bonds. M.
Etheridge then referred 70 Colonel Finlay IS
that Little orphans and widows were
crying Tor justice % the legislature
For every one, he could show him ten thou
sand orphans and widows Of men who sleep
IN unknown graves, where they were semi by
men who caused this debt. The widows and
orphans be represented looked 70 the people
he wa addressing Tor Justice ana Eelp. There
was talk OF nepudlation and dishoDOr, but be
defed the gentlemen 70 show where fund
ina-debt ives ever paid. The people OF Ten.
nessee could be masters OF the situation, fui
the constitution prevented the state from
being sued without her consent and this con
sent was Withheld by the same power. kepu
4 iations were ts numerous Rs independent
InOvesnents- A. early As Henry VII, kng
iaud bad repudiatrd. France had repudiate,