The Russellville Democrat., 1877-09-13
LATHAM, ALEXANDER X co.


 then exhibited at our State Fair. LATHAM, ALEXANDER & co. This firm, bankers and money brokers of New York City, and for merly financial agents of the State of Arkansas, have seen proper to address lengthy letter to the Ark ansas Gazette pretendedly upon the subject of the loan of money to the State, but really to add another strengthening spoke to the crazy old wheel by which the scalers seek to get their unrighteous adjustment scheme patched up.
 A perusal of the letter only con l firms us in our former belief that the refusal of the former lenders to renew the loan is made for the pur- pose of bull-dozing the State into adopting measures for adjusting her bonded indebtedness which will leave huge margin for spectators. The State has been skinned pretty we'll in the former loans, notwith- standing Messrs. L., A. & Co.'S asser- ton that they raised the two former loans on really most favorable terms," and the taste which the money sharks have had has sharped their appetite to such degree that the profits on loan no longer satis- fies them. They now want com promise funding arrangement where by they can make bigger haul than the loaning process affords.
 The answer which Messrs. Latham, Alexander & Go. put in the mouth of those who refuse to renew the loan exposes the whole scheme. They say: 'sYou have cut down your revenue nearly one half, and yet upon the faith of means thus dimin- ished, ask to borrow more money than before. You have practically ceased all efforts to satisfy the old creditors of the State, while promi- nent citizens in official place, and aspirants for popular favor, openly advocate sweeping measures of re- l pudiation. Further, the bonds which you offer as collateral having no present current market value in New York, would seem to have slight prospect of better future standing under retrograde financial policy which has displaced the finan- cial policy of the Finance Board" l This IS all sham-a pretext-a subterfuge. Cutting down the item of taxation for general expense pur- poses does not affect our resources to repay the loan in the least. The item of taxation upon which we de- pend to meet the loan was increased, and our resources thereby increased. We have no more ceased all efforts to satisfy old creditors of the State than we had done when the two former loans were negotiated, and the statement that prominent citl zens in official place, and aspirants for public favor openly advocate sweeping measures of repudiation" is not true. We know of no man of any prominence in Arkansas who advocates or desires SWEEPING REPU- DAYTON. The so-calied repudiation- lsts simply insist upon IGNORING those bonded evidences of indebted ness which the highest judicial au- thorities say we do not owe. That is all.
 The bonds which we offer as col lateral have to-day just about as great current market value as they had when the former loans were obtained; and we deny emphatically that there is any "retrograde" in the financial policy of the State which has displaced the financial policy oi the Finance sBoard. The financial policy of the State is the same as it has been and the Finance Board has endeavored to carry out its same policy of borrowing currency to pay current expenses. The same collat- eral security has been offered, with increased currency taxation to repay the loan, but the money lenders have refused.
 The letter of Messrs. Latham, Alexander x Co. totally fails either to give a satisfactory reason for the refusal of the money lenders to renew the loan or to strengthen the scheme of the scalers.
 ti
 BE NOT DECEIVED.