Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-02-12
THE STATE CREDIT.

a New source OF
Facts for the Poorer Glass Of Tax,
payers
Nashville correspondence tFeb.s)Of the Chatta'
A test vote was had In the Senate
this morning upon the question Of sus.
tanning the State credit, which resulted
in a manner not as favorable as could
be wished. A bill to take away from
the Governor, Comptroller and Treas
Urer, the power which is now vested in
them. to anticipate the receipt of taxes
by temporary loans, passed its third
reading by a vote of IA to 10. Next
to a reduction Of taxation to a
figure which would barely pay the
current expenses Of the State Gov
eminent, no deadlier blow could
be levelled at the State credit than
this. Very few States, none whose ex-
penditures approximate so closely to
their income as those Of Tennessee, are
able to have In the hands Of the Treas
urer on the first days of January and
July a sum sufficient to pay the inter-
est falling due on those days. For Ten
nessee, where the bulk Of the taxes are
not collected till after the first day of
January, and the sales for delinquent
taxes do not take place unit the
first Monday in July, 1t is an utter
impossibility to provide for these
payments without anticipating the
collections. The credit Of the SUtae
does not rest only on the conf
dence Of her creditors In the ultimate
ability and disposition Of the people to
pay their honest debts, but upon the
promptness with which their obliga-
tons are met upon the hour and day
stipulated.
If the State agrees to pay the cou-
pons of its bonds upon a certain day,
and fails to keep its agreement, its
credit must suffer, no matter If the de-
lay be but for a day or two. To men
doing business in a community where
the laws Of business are rigidly n
forced, a postponement of a payment
due On one day, even to the next day,
may mean bankruptcy and dishonor.
If this power, wisely conferred upon
the State officers by previous legisla-
lures, is to be taken away, even though
no evidence has been, or can be, ad-
duced that it has been misused, some
other provision must be made to meet
the interest or change the form of the
coupons and the date upon which they
are payable, or the credit of the State
will be seriously impaired.
But the bondholders are not the only
parties who will suffer from such a Law.
The warrants Of the State are now at
par, because the Governor, Comptrol-
Ter, and Treasurer have for the past
two years, under the law now sought
to be repealed, provided for the pay
ment of all warrants upon p~resenta-
ton. The repeal of this law would de-
preciate warrants below so cents, and
would reduce the salaries of all State
officers, judges, clerks, attorney-gene-
rails, etc, and of all employees of the
State, by one-ffth or more; while the
mass Of the taxpayers would not be
relieved at all. The only men who
would benefit by the law would be the
large taxpayers, who have money and
yet postpone paying their taxes to the
last moment. While the small tax
payers would have to come forward, as
now, with greenbacks, these men
would buy up the deprecated warrants,
and save thereby, twenty per cent. on
their taxes.
In this connection it is interesting
to refer to the Comptroller's report,
and see how West Tennessee, and Shell
by county especially, stand, whose rep
resentatiYes are foremOstin advocating
this and all other measures calculated
to depreciate the credit Of the State.
The total taxable property of East
Tennessee, according to the Comptroll-
er's report for 1874, Is S4S, 228, 255;
Middle Tennessee, 500, 1896, 98I; West
Tennessee, S102, 547, 495. The total
amount of delinquent taxes due from
revenue collectors from 1865 to include
1873 is Sal, 1899. OF this Shelby
county alone is responsible for S.
524.08 In 1866; SS7,2S8.53 in 1867;
S4,9I437 In 1868; S5,551.84 in
1869; &,3S4.91 in 1870; and S47,-
1870 in 1871; a total of Sl54,8O6.S3,
Or more than oneJifh of the uvhoIe
amount due from the State. In addi-
ton to these delinquencies, a large
amount Of taxes have been settled BY
the sale of lands bid In by the State
and not yet redeemed.
The poor men" the honest farmers,
the hard-6sted laboring men, the SOM
of toll, the men who drive the pillow and
WELD the hammer, whose property is
assessed at from one to five thousand
dollars each, are not those who benefit
by these schemes looking to repudia.
ton and the depreciation of State war
rants. They cannot afford to wait for
che accumulation of penalties and per-
tentages to take advantage of the de-
probation Of warrants, but are the first
to walk up to the Tax Collectors
Office and settle. If they could only
see this, and work for their true inter
ests at the polls they would never suffer
the rich men and large land holders to
run In debt to the State for taxes to the
amount of ten thousand dollars each,
as some have done, while they them
selves T compelled to meet the rich
mans delinqueneies out of their hard
earnings. 1t would be wise in the
people, when they hear a man prating
loudly about the right of the people
and the oppression of taxation, to in
vestigate carefully what kind Of an ak
he has to grind and whether their
grlnd-stone may not be worn out In
grinding it.