New-York tribune., 1879-08-30
Total
STATE


United States taxes. Taken in connection with the
notorious fact that assessments are much lower Id
proportion to real value in the South than in the
North. these figures with others before given go far
TO rofute the assertion that the South is unable to
pay its debts.
As The Financial Chronicle forcibly observed in an
article or Southern debts in 1874. the great diff
Guilty with most of the Southern States is In the
fact that the State debt question is political foot
ball and proposal made in good faith by one party
is likely to be oyertbrown on change of admins
tratlon." This Is unfortunately true. and the DEM
ocratc party in the South is responsible for it, That
party seems to have utterly east aside consider
ations Of State honor and public faith and to have
thought Of nothing except to discover some way to
avoid the payment of debts contracted under all the
forms and sanctions of law, and the evidence OF
which is held by honest and innocent purchasers.
The prctexts which have been used, and some of
which have been noticed above, were dishonest rs
the acts themselves The real motives which have
governed the dishonest course of the Southern DEM
Ocrats may be very briefly mentioned here.
In the first place. the Democrats of the late rebel
States assume to be "t the people" of those States
They said that State Governments established
without their approval were "usurpatons"; and
they declared over and over again through their
orators and their press that they would not recog-
nize the acts of those Governments except under
compulson. They paid taxes. to be sure, to meet
the interest on the public debt under those Govern
oil x-Dta thax,
voted in favor of increasing those debts. But as
soon as they hal seized full political control the
Democrats began to dispute with and cheat the
public creditors for political reasons.
But even these reasons would not account for the
reputation OF debts contracted before recOnstruc
,tion took place. All the Southern States had such
debts About these debts there could be queS-
kion They were contracted by the Southern
whites and the faith and honor of the States were
pledged for the payment. To be consistent, not to
say honest, tho Southern Democrats were required,
at no matter what sacrifice, to pay these debts.
This they did not do and further reasons there
fore needed.
These reasons will be found in the extracts given
elsewhere from the messages of Governor Vance,
of North Carolina. and In the utterances of
prominent Democrat of Tennessee. These reasons
proved all-powerful with the people Of North
Carolina. Tennessee and other repudiating States.
In brief, they may be stated thus; These debts
were contracted at time when one-half OF our
property was in slaves. Our slaves we lost by the
war. The war was approved and aided by our
Duf ulo NAL loyp nart of
the security on which the loans were made and
that security no longer exists. We debarred
from claiming direct indemnity for our losses but
we can secure something, and ut the same time
punish our creditors for their loyalty to the Union.
by refusing to pay in full the debts incurred
whsn slaves we're property"
Evidence might be multiplied from the speeches
of Southern Democratic politicians and the utter
ances of the Southern Democratic press TO show
that such arguments have prevailed i'll the con-
sderation of questions affecting the creditors of the
Southern States. But these manifestations. and
the determination to which they have led in regard
to State debts, have still deeper significance and
broader application.
In political discussion at'an important town in
Georgia last Summer, the Hon. James r. Brown, of
Cherokee County. who has long been leader of
the Democracy Of Upper Georgia, made a speech in
which he declared that the South is not morally
bound to pay any part of the National debt,
"which." ho said, " was contracted to purchase
powder and lead TO shoot our soldiers with" This
sentiment was received with applause. and it ap-
pears to have been drawn out by the following cir
cumstanco DR.. FELTON, tho Independent
candidate for Congress against Judge Lester. the
regular Democratic nominee 1t was reported that
Dr. FELTON, had somewhere said that the South was
morally and legally bound to contribute her pro-
portion to the payment Of the public debt. Mr..
Brown, who supported Judge Lester, impeached
Dr. FeltOn's Democracy account of his position
regarding the payment of the National debt. 1t
appears therefore, that TO be orthodox Democrat
in Georgia man must advocate the repndaton of
The National debt the validity Of which is declared
In the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution
of the United States. Mr.. Brown has often beon
member of the State Senate the last time since the
adoption Of the Fourteenth Amendment. He
also a member of the Georgia Constitutional Con-
vention Of 1877. which repudiated large portion
of the debt Of his own State. He appears,
therefore. TO be a representative Georgia
Democrat, and by no means an obscure one.
The gentleman who communicates these facts is
an authority whose trustworthiness cannot be I'M
peached. and whose knowledge of Southern poti-
cal affairs Is thorough aud accurate. Ho adds that
'when speaking in obscure places, in the absence