Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1876-04-08
Shall We Repudiate?
To the American.

The action of the State Executive
Committee in postponing the meeting
of the Convention to nominate a can
didate for Governor, etc, until August.
was wise, and as far as have heard, is
approved by the party. This will be
the most important convention that
ever assembled in the State, and time
is needed to discuss the great questions
that will have to be considered and de-
cided. The paramount aud all absorb
ing one will be, shall the State pay or
repudiate?
| desire to urge the true friends of
the proud Old Volunteer State, who
would save it from disgrace, from the
blasting and whitening influence of re-
pudiation, to arouse themselves aud
warn the people of the danger. Let
the press speak with its power in be-
half of honor and honesty. If the
question is properly presented and dis
cussed the verdict will be overwhelm-
ingly in favor of maintaining the honor
of the State. 1t must be met in the
next canvass; indeed, l may say at the
convention called to meet on the 9th of
August.
Some of the regulators and scalers
(the terms are synonymous, and | blush
that there is one in the State, will say
that this cry of honor and honesty is
old fashioned, not up with the progress
of the age and spirit of the times; that
the State is heavily in debt; that twill
Cypress the people to pay, and that we
must avail ourselves of the present
opportunity to make something off the
bondholders. Now, must be allowed
to say that this is wrong in principle,
unwise in policy and not sustained by
fact. The tax necessary to pay the an,
nual interest on the debt and support
the State government will not be OPP
pressive. Six mills upon an assess
ment of the property at two-thirds its
cash value with the present privilege
taxes will be ample. This can provo
by incontrovertible figures, but have
not the space here; indeed, the proba-
bilities are that five mills will be suffic-
lent Who will say that either rate
will Cypress the peopleP Who will
ever feel it, save few big rich men of
large acres of unproductive lands or
marble front palaoial mansions and
store houses, or perehanee, large lines
of bank, insurance and other stocks
paying % per cent dividends, all of
which are DOW taxed just here is where
the shoe pinches and where the repu-
diation ball starts and receives its mo-
tive power, aided by few railroads
and bond spectators. Then the tim
id, weak -kneed, would-be politician
catches at it as something with which
he thinks he can gull the people and
ride into Office, knowing the aversion
to all taxes high or low.
For the purpose of satisfying myself
as to the cry Of expressing the people
with taxes, ] have examined the tax
list of ona of the largest counties,
which ranks eleventh in amount of
State tax paid, and have failed to find
the name of one man that would be
by the tax above named.
With Voting population, according
to the census, Of 5,a7l, | found only
235 names assessed at 50, 900, and over
LIB of these were were in the city dis
trict found 3, 100 names that we're
assessed only for a poll or dog tax.
These figures do not indicate that the
masses are in great danger of being
by taxation.
The regulators, believe, propose
to repudiate about one third Of the
debt. This would reduce the tax
necessary to meet the interest about
Il mills; A payer assessed at So.
200 would save ~ so per annum, or If
assessed at 81 900, which is doubtless
l. ri u
erty tax, the saving would be sl 80 per
annum. Now to save these small sums |
md relieve a few dozen men in the
State who are worth their hundreds of
thousands and some their millions, and
enable few railroads to buy bonds
low to pay the debt they honestly owe,
and give boad-spsculat0rs chance to
bull and bear the credit OF the State,
honest men are called upon to dishon-
Or themselves aud their posterity. !