Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1878-10-05
THE CANVASS COMMENCED.

which the nominee of the Demo- O
cratic party commences the Guber- e
material canvass. Judge Marks oc-
cupies i'm this canvass a peculiar g
position as the nominee of a party /
within the ranks of which wide c
diversity of opinion prevails on a $
most important subject-of course t
we speak of the State debt. This {
tonic occupies a very limited space 1
i'm the platform of the convention ]
which nominated him, but it is well
known that it occupied by far the
priority of consideration in the
minds of those who constituted that
convention, in which the matter
was finally compromised by an
agreement that the subject should
be referred to direct vote of the
DeOple for final settlement. That
this was the leading and controlling
subject of consideration in the con-
vention, and is so still among the |
people and i'm the mind of the can
didate himself, is a fact fully demon
strated by the speech of Judge |
Marks, which our readers will find |
on another page. In that manifesto
the State debt is the one subject OF
discussion throughout, as it no doubt
will be to the end of the canvass.
To this we take no exceptions on
the contrary it is right that it should
be so. If the question is finally to
be referred to the popular vote 1t IS
right that the people should receive
full information upon the subject,
and from no one can that infOrma-
ton more appropriately come than
from the person who, if elected, will
necessarily be the medium of COM
munication between the State cred
itors and the people. We only de-
qJldJld that the lchOle case Shdtt6e tdid
before them. This demand is i'm
Derative. Judge Marks is the nom
inee of the whole Democratic party.
1t is true that he has chiefly been
known in connection with that
section of it which looks more to
the burdensOme pressure OF the debt
upon the people than to the oblIga-
ton of providing for it, but he Is
not the nominee of that section
alone: other members of the party,
whose opinions and principles 1t
would be both unjust and unwise IN
him to ignore, are pledged to his
support and are working zealously
for his election. He will hardly sci
them aside, as Col. Savage does, as
the representative of a pensionec
Dress and of the blOated bOndhOlders
They are his supporters, and thus
much Difference is at least due Il
them that, in laying the case before
the people, all the facts shall o'
fairly and impartially stated, 50 tina
the whole subject may be before
them. with light thrown on it from
every quarter, when they have t.
make their mOmentOus decision.
We examine the speech, then
wishing and hoping to find the sub
iect treated in this broad and franz
spirit. the whole truth fairly lal
down, hingeXaggerated, nOthin
suppressed, but all stated IN IN
candid spirit which conciliates tn
dispassionate attention of all partle
concerned. Is it there? We mus
confess our bitter disappointment
A large portion Of the speech IS o.
eupied with what purports to be
history of the debt, but when "
come to anaIyze it, it is, whetht
correct or erroneous, only a histor
of that small fraction of the del
which was incurred since the WI
while the Republicans were in pc
session of the State Government
from 1868, that is, to 1868, an
which, according TO his own con
putation, does not amount TO mo
than a million, while the who
debt is over twenty-five million
Nevertheless he so expresses hln
self that his hearers will be led
apply to the whole debt the arg
ment he bases upon this sma
fraction OF il. He points out tn
this, the carpetbagger's portion, W
incurred when the State was I'll
franchised, when the taX-paye
could not say yes or no TO it; that
was sold largely under par; that
was not applied to the purposes
tended, but absorbed by carpetba
ners under the guise Of legis!atC
and contractors that the guar
which were thrown around 1t
preclude fraud in the disposal OF
were disregarded and the bon
were in many respects sold In &C
prevention of the law, none of viii
allegations we will now disput
but starting from these allegatic
he argues rs if the stigmas he G.
upon the one million sold since
war applied to the twenty-one N
lions sold before the war. Tn
were not placed out against the W
of the people; the people clamoI
for them. These were not sold
low par; many of them WI
taken above par. No private p
son rot the handling of this MON
but it was applied honestly to
building of our railroads, our tn
pixies and our capitol. Surely
speaker who desired to lay
whole case before his hearers wol
have said less about the one mill
and more about the twentyand o
Again Judge Marks speaks
length about the right of the PEG
TO settle the matter for themsel'
whether they shall pay them in
or only a small per eentage on the
and when they shall besin to 7
i,+erest on them. 1t was Mt ne
81 - tell the people all this. n
luA ~ hoe