Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1876-09-23


!. moment, but which, assuredly befor
the present century shall close, vii
be embodied in the pages of authenti
history, and which some future Shak
speare may dramatize for the entertain
inent and instruction of future gener
ations, when the admirers of Macbeth
of Hamlet and of Richard the Third
| will discover that in the capital cit.
of our country and glorious Republic
and in the full brightness of the nine
teenth century, dark plots have beer
concocted and horrid deeds enacted
such as neither the early and semi-bar
barious annals either of Denmark Of
! of Scotland have recorded"
An Open Letter to the Hon. Dorsey b
Thomas.
NASHVILLE, Sept. 7, 1S76.-In the
year 1862 | was summoned to the bed
side of an old college-mate and there
received his dying injunction to be-
/ friend his two daughters, who were
about to be bereft of their father
This injunction | solemnly pledged
myself to obey, and, though [ did not
assume the legal guardianship of my
friend S orphans. yet they always looked
to me for counsel, and | considered
the trust more sacred than if | had
been surrounded by legal obligations.
My friend left considerable means,
and as war was threatening it was a
serious question as to how the money
should be invested securely for the
benefit of my friends children. / con-
sidered it unsafe to lendit to either our
merchants or planters, as their for
tunes might be swept away by the
vicisitudes of war, and, after giving
the matter anxious thought, | finally
concluded to advise that the money be
invested in Tennessee bonds. Ny ad-
vice was adopted and accordingly 800
600, the fortune left by my friend was
invested in Tennessee bonds. | took
the precaution to buy of the series
which had been issued to the East
Tennessee and Georgia Railroad Com
pany. The war came on Fortunes
were swept away and almost all my
neighbors were bankrupted. The in
terest on these bonds was not paid and
the bonds themselves were almost un-
saleable, at any price, in the market.
Still did not regret having made the
investment, for [ believed whatever
might happen [ had the honor and
faith of the State of Tennessee
pledged to the payment of these bonds,
and, besides, | had what some might
consider more substantial, a first
mortgage on the bed, rolling stock and
franchises of the East Tennessee and
Georgia Railroad Company. / fatter-
ed myself that nothing could be more
secure.
The war at length ended aud my
friends daughters, now grown women,
had managed to live without disposing
of their bonds. Though urged by
other, and perhaps wiser parties to sell,
they followed the advice of their old
friend and held on. A few disappiont-
ed politicians of the Etheridge stripe,
had mooted the question of repudi-
tion, but | did not pay much thought
to this, because | remembered, the
bonds were a mortgage on the East
Tennessee and Georgia Railroad. One
night, however, in reading the rather
dull proceedings of the Legislature in
the Nashville Union and American,
saw something about bill to permit
the railroads to retire their debt IN any
series Of bonds. / did not think much
of the matter at the time, but some
how, [ could not dismiss the subject
from my mind. The more [ thought
of il, the more nervous and anxious [
became. | finally became so restless
| determined to visit Nashville. | re-
member that you, an old friend, was
Speaker of the Senate, and that you
could relieve me of my anxiety. |
must confess that on my arrival in
Nashville my forebOdings of evils in
creased rather than diminished; for
there [ found not only the principal
the measure, but also railroad men of
other States and of New York city, all
active friends Of the measure. 1t
seemed to me strange, if this was SO
innocent and fair u measure, as it's
friends asserted, why was it neces-
sary to have so many influential per-
sons working for it, both night and
day. 1t seemed to me there must be
some ulterior object kept from view.
l sought you out and soon found you
were warm friend and most active
promoter of the measure. Without
informing you why | was so solicitous,
[ asked you if granting this privilege
to the railroads would not release them
from the mortgage which the bond
holders held against the road ? The
substance of your reply was that wheth-
or it did or did not was immaterial;
that the State was pledged for the pay-
ment of these bonds, and that without
the guarantee of the State you would
not give a copper for the bonds; that
the State was liable for all of its bonds;
that nofraudulent bonds had ever been
issued, and that the railroads were
merely asked not to be required to
search the markets of the civilized
world to find the identical bond is
sued to them, but to let them have the
privilege of paying in an equal amount
of any of the State bonds; that this
was reasonable request on the part
of the railroads that no interest
would be comprdmised By granting
the request, and that you would not
vote for it, if you believed any holder
of Tennessee bonds would suffer In
the least degrae.
On this assurance I left Nashville
with my apprehonsions not entirely al
layed,
And now havingaskedy your influence
and vote to take away the one taugi-
BILE, binding and legal hold. which
my friends children had on the East
Tennessee and Georgia Railroad Uom-
pauy, you now advocate taking away
what you once assured me was more
relia BILE, and my only dependence, the
faith and honor of the State, more
valuable, as you asserted, than all the
mortgages on all the railroads. In
mockery you say you are not repudia-
zionist, well knowing that not to pro-
vide for the payment of interest is re-
pudiation of the bitterest kind to my
friends children. You have the repu-
tation in your county of being LONG
headed man, and you claim to be
consistent one, and | am compelled to
believe your former scheme and your
present one, are but the parts of one
whole, that years ago you conceived
and set about this scheme of repudia-
ton which you are now attemnting to
carry ont, sf that you were then and
now the blind tool of deaigning men.
AN OLD NEIGHBoR.
The Expense of the Schools.