Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-01-18
THE MONEY POWER.
How Public Affairs are Manip-
ulated.
Singular Change of Mind of the Pres
ideRt ON the Louisiana Questi0n-A
hit of Inside History.

,
born and persistent in His determine
ton to support the Kellogg Govern
ment In louisiana. This unwaverine
support was an Administration meas
ure, and was ably defended and sus
tanned as such by Senator Morton ant
Others of the Administration statesmen
During the recess, however, a changt
of mind was betrayed by his ExceIlen
cy. He wavered as to the justice OF
the cause, and finally, after interviews
with Carpenter and Ben Butler, he an
nounced that he was in favor of a new
election in Louisiana, to be held under
the auspices of Congressional Com
mission.
The announcement fell like thun.
derbolt upon the Kellogg committee,
and created great CONSERVATION in the
minds of the Kellogg Congressman,
who hold their seats by virtue of the
election of 1872. AS soon as they heard
it they called upon the President and
| begged to know If the Tumor was cor
rect. Grant replied without great cir
cumlOcution that it was; that he had
come to the opinion that the last cleo
ton IN Louisiana was an organized
fraud; that no proper count of the vote
had ever been taken, and that it ought
to be set aside by Congress and a new
election ordered, to be held under the
State laws, but sup ervised by a Con-
gressional com mittee. He seemed to
be immovably set in his opinion, and
without endeavi ng to change his posi-
ton the crestfallen Congressman with
drew from his presence.
The matter coming to Senator Nor
toms ears, he, too, sought the presence
of the Chief Magistrate. The inter
view has not been officially reported,
but enough of it has transpi red to in
dictate pretty definitely that it was of a
stormy nature, while it was necessarily
brief. But few words were used, but
they were to the point. An interview
was had with the President by one of
the interested parties subsequent to the
Morton interview, IN which it transpir-
ed that Grant had again changed his
mind, or was IN fair way to the re-
sumption of his former policy. The
substance of the Morton interview. as
near as 1t can be got at, was that the
Senator represented in strong colors
that he had undertaken the defense of
the Kellogg Government with the I'M
derstanding that the Administration
would support him in doing so, and he
desired to have explained whether the
Administration now proposed to leave
him IN the lurch and 90 back on the
previous understanding. The Senator
- 80, Al = i
termined In tone and manner, with the
result already stated.
The explanation of the manner in
which this change of the Presidents
mind was brought about Is somewhat
lengthy and complicated. The State
of Louisiana is involved in a debt of
over S53,000,0O0. Of this debt thirty
or more millions of dollars is claimed
to have been Illegally and uncOnstitu-
tIonally contracted, but there seems to
be no dispute that the remainder is le-
gally due. The taxable valuation of all
the property in the State is S250.00O,-
900. The interest on the legal debt, as
it is termed, of the State amounts an
nually to Sl,500,000. Louisiana has
three times as many State officers as
New York, and had that many before |
the war, and they are all paid good sal
aries. The expense of carrying on the |
State Government Is about a million
and a half more. This makes three
millions of dollars that must De raised |
annually by taxation on a valuation of
two hundred and fifty millions. To |
paw the annual interest on the entire
debt of fifty-three millions is probably
impossible. The Illegal portion of the
debt was incurred principally under
the Warmoth administration. The bonds |
representing the debt are held In New |
York and abroad. almost all of them. |
They are now valued at fOrty-six cents |
on the dollar. The people feel that they |
can not pay the debt, and the question |
before them is whether they willrepudi- |
ate or whether they viii pay part of it. |
Nearly all parties are agreed that the
thirty millions illegally contracted debt |
must not be paid. a bill is now pend
ing before the Kellogg Legislature to
issue bonds for the twenty-three mil
lions at the rate of sixty cents ON the |
dollar. They argue that the holders of
the bonds which make up the legal
debt will gain the difference, between
forty-six and sixty cents by making the
change, while the debt will be reduced
to about fifteen millions Of dollars.
Then they propose to pass a cOnstitu-
tional amendment limiting the debt to
that amount. This proposition is said
to be favorably regarded by all these
classes in the State, who see no other
way out of the difficulty, and is in
dorsed by the entire press of the State.
Brother-in-law Casey has been in
Washington nearly. all winter manfully
the duties of his Office, Col
ieotor of the port of New Orleans. He,
too, has lent the aid of his weighty sup
port 10 the Kellogg government. No
one has been more loyal to it than he,
but strange to say, he also experienced
a change Of heart on the question dur
ing the holiday recess, and possibly a
little prior to the conversion of his Elk
the head of the family. The
holders of these bonds in New York
and elsewhere are and have been Bit
terly opposed to the compromise pro-
posed in the funding bill, now before
the Kellogg Legislature. They are
using all the influence they can COM
mand to defeat the bill Morton, Bliss
& Co, Of New York, represent those
parties, mainly, and singularly enough
they have made Washington the thea
ter of their fight against the bill They
have not only written letters here, but
they have also called in person On meln-
bers Of Congress and on the President
at the White House. Frequently War
mouth has also been here for weeks
without any apparent business.
Last week Butler and Yarmouth to-
gether prepared bill providing for a
new election. They asked the opinion
of certain Republicans as to the merits Of
the measure These Republicans re-
piled that they would oppose the bill.
Butler asked them what they would do
iits it should appear that the measure
was an Administration one. Their re-