Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-02-10

on DANGEROUS GROUND.
The Democratic Legislature of Ten
nessee should ego slow" It is not
their business to furnish Radiealism
with weapons ready-welded for the de-
struetion Of u Northern brethren, or
to revive against our people the watch
word Of loyalty, or to furnish ammuni-
ton to the enemy. Every argument
put forth to the injury Of the States
credit is a stronger one against that Of
the nation. If Tennesseeans are IN
able to carry and gradually decrease q
State debt Of twenty-one millions,
what are we going to do,
when u party gets in power,
with our share Of the national
debt, three and a half times as large?
The latest ohcia' statement makes the
latter debt over 50, 100, OOO, 900, and the
last census gives Tennessee ~one-thirty-
eth Of the entire population. Our
share of the national burden is there
fore S70,000,000 If we cannot man.
age our own s2I,OOO,O 900, whatSare we
going to do about this S70,0O0, 900?
Thus the argument Of inability tells
with three-fOld force against the ma
tional credit.
Nor is the this all. It may be ar
gued with equal llausibility that the
forty million souls in the United States
cannot carry o pay this immense
national debt Of over two billion dol
lars, or more than S54 for every man,
woman and child in the country, Of all
hues ard races. The per capita Of
TENNESSEE debt is only SI7.
Again, the argument that a portion
of,our debt was contracted without our
consent, applies to the entire national
debt. So also of the claim that some
Brownlow bonds were sold down in the
forties. The came Is true If tens Of
millions Of the public debt.
These facts have a double bearing,
the one on politics and the other on
our industrial prosperity. IF the Ten
nessee Democracy make a false step,
these parallels viii be speedily drawn
by our enemies and Haunted in the face
Of OF Northern brethren. it viii be
set up as a precedent for the predicted
reputation Of the public Debt by the
Rebel Democracy" The Radicals
will be furnished freely with the sinews
Of war by the money-power, andaparty
tOttering from its very rottenness, viii
be prOpped up.
As to u material progress, what
honest man could invite the immigra-
ton of either men or money to Tennes-
see, if five years Of Democratic rule
should result in quasi reputation?
The plea Of inability w-uld not serve
our purpose. The intelligent immi-
grant would ask: what makes you
50 poor? Is your government bad?
Have you not been ruling yourselves
for some years? Or is it your
poor soil, Notwithstanding youy
glowing descriptions? And are
your people utterly thrift
less? There must be some cause for
It, and whatever keeps the natives poor
is likely to make ne poor also. There
fore I cannot go to Tennessee, not
withstanding all your varied fertility,
mineral wealth and delightful climate
from mountain-top to rolling savannah.
No sir, I viii go where people get rich,
not poor"
So Of the moneyed man, who is gen
orally more cautious than the man Of
muscle. He would argue: 81 cannot
trust nay money among a people who
cannot pay debts already contracted.
I cannot build factories among a peo-
pie 50 poor that they would be sorry
customers, OF, so dishonest that they do
not pay their debts. I cannot lend
money 20 Tennesseeans, because
the majority of them by ff-
ty thousand are dishonest, and
the chances ara that I would
strike q dishonest customer, as I sup
pose their Legislature was comoosed Of
men picked for their Intelligence and
worth and standing in the community.
You see what a system Of lodging ard
pipe laying and Jimfskian devices they
resorted TO, IN order 20 escheat the
creditors of the State out Of dues that
were fully recognized and payments
promised only two years ago. They
are too tickle. Their notions Of fnan-
cial morality are TOO loose. I cannot
trust my money IN such a State. I
can find safer places to put it, even if 1
have to be content with six per cent on
United States bonds"
That, too, is the way that many Of
our home capitalists argue also, thanks
to our imperfect collection LAWS, and
millions Of our home money is locked
up IN bonds or sent 10 other States
which, by proper legislation, could be
turned into the channels Of home en-
terprise to hasten the industrial pro-.
gress that everybody breaches and no.
body practices.
GRANT, ARKANSAS AND THE
THIN TERM