New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-01-27
fnllIWs:


t.x If half a cent on each pound of cot
ton raised would more than pay the interest
ON the entire debt OF the SDut.cr States, ana
vet we are told that the South l, poor ana
PROSTATE. ard refuses 70 pay, NOT ii"m lac'' Oh
honor. nut from absolute inGbliy. Ana emil
ncrt bankers OF this and Othef' ciieS, at the
rcGucst Of unhappy b0ndholncrS VINO now get
u,il,iny have consented to act ~ committee
of arbitration. to see il Che dcfidItIng. States
cannot lee induced 30 pay some part OF
their honest debts. Thus far. their success Is
not very cncopraging They submitted to
North Carolina a mos; generous Pfop"3i'loH'
recurring only III increase from Il 10 ~ mills
in the raIe Of taxation, bnt the Le@''iHiuie
scorofully refused. Less tian mills or me
dollar would pay the interest on the entire
d4bf of Tennessee, but the mere Suspicion that
candidate fox United states Senator was "a
"b;.h-tax man"-in favor OF rlaing money
enough to pay honest dcbts-insured lis speedy
defeat.
If il true that this debt is ~ 70 means
caually distributed and the burden iailS very
heavily upon some of the STATES. ON Inc
present valuation. Il tax OF 3 mills world DC
needed to pav interest On the entire recognized
aud ,1,rpccgn2rd debit of SOrth Carolina, while
. tx of only one mill will pay thc interest Ill
Texas. In Virenia and Arkansas the interest
wcrld require abon. 10 m:iis; in. Alabama
oLour 3 mills in South Carolina and Lo'uslana
obout G r:l,5. in Georgia. Mississippi and Ten
pcs,ec about 8 mills, and in Florida about
mills. Let it be conceded thai in SOM eases
the burden is alarnhgly heavy. N"verthe-
less. that ard al other expenses OF govern
mcpt, State and local, would not involve III
uny State a. heavy taxation as the National
tanks OF this and some Other cities paY every
wear. A people kecnly alive to their honor
.Louid not plead inability to raise a sun not
exceeding even in the worst ease, two per
cert of very low valuation. Bat, Us We have
said, the bondholdcrs have offered extremely
liberal terms, and yet lhcy have been Spurhed.
II i, true that the Southern States have been
robbed. 80 has the CiJy oi Ncw-lork, vastly
more. The Vammany Ring stole or wasted
I for this single city more than the entire dis
put,d dcbt of Any Southern state. But what
| vouiI he thought OF thc people OF this City il
/ ibey should refuse to pay interest to innocent
creditors upon any part OF thcr debt on the
Mica that some part of it had been fraud
uicntly crcatcdi II is always possible for Il
d
irdrb.edncss: indeed, it has "A really unfair
advantage, since its officials can ne reached
! ONLY through it's own courts If state has
lust cause to deny the validity Of certain
part Of its debt, that may be done with ease
a. well AS with honor. But The refusal to pay
interest on any part, because some part is
deemed fraudulent is not an honest perform
ancc. In most cases, too, the money wIs ac-
tuaIly borrowed for purposes then deemed
| beneficial to the State. Ii WAS borrowed, and
was expended with the approval OF great
portion of the citizens, in the belief that the
! railroads, or canals, or other improvements
| thereby secured would greatly benefit them ;
and their only wcll-founded complaint is that
the money expended has not brought the cx-
prctrd ADVANTAGES. But when did it become
honest to repudiate debt because the Dor
rowed money had been umwiscly spcnti
! The nominal excuses are not the real reasons
which make reputation at the South so COM
mon. The truth is that political feeling is a
promipent motive. The hatred Of Republican
governments is intense; in some cases it is
! justified, because they have robbed the people,
| bat il is rot less bitter toward Republican
/ officials who have done everything in their
power to suppress corruption, prevent extraya-
/ gancc, and lessen the burdens Of the people.
/ This savage intolerance Of political feeling is
the curse Of the Southern States. 1t SO warps
The Judgment that men who would not other
wise countenance financial dishonesty do not
/ scrnple 10 counsel reputation of a debt solely
because hat debt was created by the "thiev-
ing carpet baggers" In some cases 1t was
fr,udulently crnated; in some the money bor-
rowed was mwisely spent, though expended
with the approval of citizens generally; in
other cases it was spent for the real good of
! the State. But craftsmanship does not discI1mi-
nate. 1t was carpet-bag debt" and the
chyalry of the South does not scruple to rob