Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1878-07-13
MR. xANCEY AND COMMUNISM

misunderstood MIN, IL Is q curious
coincidence that several other gen
tlemen who were present understood |
him as we did.
We adhere, however, to the posi- |
ton we have before taken, that in
principle there is no distinction be-
tween reputation and communism,
between the cOnfiscatiOn of debt and |
the cOnfiscatiOn of property. 1t is
true that there are more property
holders than bond-holders in this
particular community, so that repu-
diatiOn is more popular than COM
munism, but there is no moral prin-
ciple which will sustain the one
which will not also justify the other;
and it would be just as easy for a
demagogue to call those who have
no property the people and the
property-holders their oppressOrs (as
is done by communists as to make
thecOrresponding classification with
respect to bOnd-hOlders and those
whose bonds are held by them. We
will say more, the one is always
liable to lead to the other. Once
tamper with a peoples convictions
of right and wrong, as has been
done so persistently in this State for
the last four years, and there is no
principle left to appeal to in arrest
of any further perversiOn of moral
judgment.
We can imagine our readers here
laughing at the implied possibility
of communism becoming a mOoted
question in Tennessee. Let them
look back on the gradual changes
in public opinion as regards the
public debt and ask themselves
whether a similar deprivation is
not possible in other matters. Ten
years ago it would have Deen
thought as absurd to suppose that
reputation would become n cher
ished doctrine in Tennessee as that
communism or any approach to it
would be entertained as a possible
theory; and yet Reputation now
stares us so impudently in the face
that the bOldest of our Office-seekers
are afraid to face it. There is no
security against the cOmmunistic
doctrines taking the same course.
The obstacle to their prevalence in
any place is the number of property
holders. In this country the voters
who hold property are probably in
a majority, but there is a very strong
minority of those who do not, and
among these is a large number who
have vivid remembrance of the
promise made to them after the war
(and still unfulfilled) of "forty acres
and a mule" This is just the pop
ulatiOn in which the demagOgue
works most to his satisfaction, and
we have only to SUPPOSE a dissatis-
fled batch of politicians resolved on
office by fair means Or foul and des-
perate as to any othe' means, max
ing common cause vi tn this always
disconnected element to give it
prepOndcrance in political affairs.
We deny the improhability of this /;
the best test of probability is eXpe-
rience, and this is exactly the way
that i'm San Francisco the commune
lists have recently elected their men
as delegates to the convention for
revising the State Constitution. If
further confirmation is needed of
the possibility of such coalitions
here, few men can have forgotten
the shameful coalition of radicals
and regulators viii ch so nearly de
feated the Democratic nominees in
1876. Men who could be parties to
such a coalition as that are not
likely to be scrupulOuS about any
coalition.
We commend all thiS as matter
for serious consideration to those
voters who were cheering Mr.. Yam
cey's sentiments so ivociferousIy in
No. Saturday before last. 1t may
seem a small thing to them to be
voting away other mems property,
such as State bondst but in so doing
they may be putting men in power
who will treat theiI property with
as little ceremony.
As to Judge Tyler's opinions, it
would make no difference to us if
he and all the candidates took the
same ground with Mr.. Yancey; but
he did not. All that he said was
that the people would be called up
on next August to express their
preference for county officers, and
that State and National questions
were not relevant az all in the pres
ent canvass, and so he declined to
discuss them. Had we understood
him to take Mr.. Haneey'sposition we
should have been just as free in our
comments upon him.
One other point in Mr.. Yancey's
paper may be brIegiy disposed of.
He speaks of the claim that the
Federal debt is payable in silver,
and was (before the conversion of
the 5-2Os) payable in greenbacks as
parallel with repudIation, which
claims that a public debt ought not
to be paid at ALL This is either
very shallow or very disingenuOus :;
il confOunds a position wherein the
literal fulfilment of the original con-
tract is rigidly insisted upon with
one in which the original contract
is torn to pieces and given to the
winds.
EDITOR CHRONICLE: In your issue of July
etb won give, editoriallyi an account of the
Speeches delivered by candidates at Jordan :
S!pringS on the last saturday in June. In
4baf account, speaking OF me and my speech,
S-oI, saw: "HoweVer, taxes and the payment
SStba debtor Were not tine only grievances
~ ~ i,,si,,fed on Property is another" Then
fII,,,, in italics: ale openly aNOwed that
III ,,,ritd in the cOmmtniStic movement"
ne 49, 81 xroIY sat Withfu hearing of every
WV r. = Uttered YOU heard me, and heard
WOIu = s.bich any man not blinded by
notnln.s ". actnafad by willful intent to
H..F..