The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-08-13
stnte Credit NEust Be sustaineN.
LEw1sBURG, Tenn, July 10th, 1875.
q. Ill EI...,Id and Mil.

LEWISBURG, Tenn July l9th, 1910.
To the Editor of the Herald and Mad:
I see that some of our people are be-
Ginning tn awake at last when / fear 1t Ii
too late, TO remedy the evil to our State
Credit Some five or six months ago, You
and |. and few others i'll different parts
of the State, sounded the notes OF alarm OF
this question Among the gallant State
Credit men it gives me much pleasure tc
mention such names as Kirby and James
of Chattanooga. The speeches of james
at Sparta, and Gov. Brown at Pulaski,
were bugle-blasts worthy the men, and
the times. They were pilot calls III the
coIlied night They are both in retire
ment to-day, and the heresies OF dt-
ferent school obtains. Brown lost the
United States Senatorship because OF ms
devotion to the Honor and Credit o. his
State, and now that our July Interest
goes by default and leaves black re-
voting stain on our fair name, let not
Tennesseeans begin to squirm and grum-
HE, for it is their own deliberate work.
We had lust as well tell the whole truth
and face the consequences, wlthO ut tn
culver of muscle or the batting OF an
eve. There are numbers Of men all oeer
this State, aChO are aU0tCed Democrats al
that, tUorking NTH might and man to
prevent the paying OF q dOttar Of eatheF
The Debt or Interest on that De6t. Inc
most cold-bloOded scheme ever carried
into partial execution was that OF the
18th General Assembly, which by an culn
ting away at the very vltals OF the ota'e
early in the session, and finally closed by
tieing the hands of the officers to prevent
them from making any show OF resistance
How MANY Public Journals in the state
stood by and held the clothes OF these
men while they stoned their victim? Who
raised a voice then to save the sinking
Cassius? The writer Of this has walked
streets of Nashville, night after night, and
wondered why there was so much apathy
on this, to me at least, great question?
Why talk of calling that same Assem-
bly, back to complete the work already
more than half finished? If Gov. Porter
has the head on his shoulders that !
think he has, he will think twice before
doing this thing and not do 1t at all 1t
is too late It is too late even as a party
measure This thing must 60 back to
the people and to the solid principles cf
Right. Put enough such men as Boyd,
Lea, East, Bond, Cummins, Anderson,
Giers, Cole and Adams, in tle 40th Cen
eral Assembly of Tennessee, and you may
be able to retrieve the follies of the past
It must make a good Tennesseean Jingle |
all over with shame to think of hIsState |
as defaulter! And yet the evil is at
home. We are daily educating ourselves |
in very loose school of political morals. |
However sacred and binding an obhga-
ton, we can always be found trying to |
flank it instead of marching square up TO |
il. We crow Justly over every proposition
which reeks to save us a dollar at the eX-
penSe of our good name. The disease IS
deep-seated-much more so than many |
imagine. Our remedy must be sharp,
severe, decisive, or Democratic Principles
and prestige is gone. We cannot longer
stand this pig and puppy business. 1t
is unworthy cur manhood. If we mean
to pay, let us do so at every sacrifice; if
not, in dccency's name let Us tell our
Creditors SO and save our candor, if moth
ing else. Nothing is more unmanly and
than dupicity.
We think it most iujudiciOds to con-
vene the present Assembly at this time.
The one grand effort in that body last
winter was TO destroy the Credit OF the
State and preTent the paying OF this very
interest. There is a fearful responsible
ty resting on that Democratic Assembly
for the work done and failed to be done
on this question. l we'll remember that
only one vote was cast against the Re
peal of%he Sd section Of the Funding Act.
If that section had not been repealed the
Interest would haye been paid and our
Honor sacred-I well remember what few
names and arguments were heard in the
House, on the Bill preventing our State
officials from borrowings well remem
Der the passionate appeals to save the
dear peepur' by postponing the taX-pay-
ing day and lowering the tax rate ali
this and much more is fresh in my mem
Dry 1t all had one object, one aIm-not
TO pay this Interest and finally not pay
The debt.
Here is the bane Of the Democrats
c Party, and if it does not slough it of,
Death, final, remediless, Eternal, must su-
pervene, Delta.