Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-08-23
JUDGE FREEMAN ON THE ANTI
COMPROMISE VOTE.
Our present course in reference

JUDGE FREEMAN ON THE ANTI
COMPROMISE VOTE.
Our present course in reference to
the recent vote is to gain all the |
information we can in reference to |
the true meaning of that vote before
we decide upon the adoption of any
policy as its result, and in pursuance
of that course we have been care
fully examining what has been said
by men of various schools of politics
about it. Judge Freeman, who Is
Tennessean, a Republican and an
employee of the present Govern
ment, has been giving his views on
the subject, and we propose to scru-
tinfze them in the present paper.
For this purpose we clip from the
Baltimore American a communica-
ton which purports to be the result
Of an interview with the Judge.
The same in substance has appeared
in Tennessee papers, but the paper
now extracted by us is evidently
the form in which the Judges
opinions are to be impressed on
people outside of the State, and we
therefore give them exactly as they
are reported in the paper we have
named:
wAsHINGTON, August l2.-The recent
Tennessee election continues to absorb at
tention here, and difference of opinion
seems still to exist regarding the significance
of its result. Judge Freeman, the Assistant
Attorney-General for the POstOfiee Depart
ment, who is native of Tennessee and a
Grant Republican, takes rather a different
view of the matter from that expressed by
POstmaster-GeneralK Key in the interview
which appeared in these dispatches on Mon
day last. Judge Freeman, like nearly every
other Republican IN the state, belongs 10
the state credit party. He visited Tennessee
during the recent canvass, and was opposed
TO the proposition to compromise the state
debt. He Travelled through Eastern, Middle
and Western Tennessee and heard Senator
Bailey and Savage, the two champions for
and against an honest settlement of the
debt, and Judging from all he heard and saw
he is Of opinion that the issue presented in
the recent election was not representative
issue. The proposition was opposed by a
large number of State credit men because
they regarded the scheme as one of direct
population of half the debt, with no addi-
tiOnal assurance whatever for the payment
of the other lalf. They also fell, he said,
that the plan was "a cOerciVe one Judge
Freeman admitted that there was also a
large number Of state credit men in favor OF
the compromise, thinking il the best they
could hope to do, and that majority of the
repudiatOrs were opposed to the scheme In
the language of one of the regulators, they
hope to kill half the debt first and allow the
other half to die afterwards; or, as was aptiy
illustrated by him, you cut snake in half
one part may die at once and the other
crawls away and dies afterwards. Yet not
withstanding this, Judge Freeman holds 70
nnfnfpn that The defeat of the
mise was the best thing that could happen
for the state creditors. He thinks that
adopted, the Legislature would not have
been disposed to make provision for the
payment even of the half, and Gov. Marks
himself, who Is a repudlator, would nave
done nothing towards securing the creditors
Judge Freeman thinks that next year a de-
ctSiVe stand Will be taken upon the PROPOSE
ton Of the creditors to accept sixty cents ON
the dollar, at six per cent. interest, and that
arrangement he thinks will finally be agreed
10. He predicts that the state credit men
without regard to party, viii meet In con-
yentiOn aud nominate candidates, from
Governor down. As the mass OF anti-repu-
diatOrs are Republicans, these nominations
will be supported by nearly every Republ1-
cam as Wen as by AZ honest De,hogTatsl ah1
he thinks, will be made upon the issue OF
honesty and good faith. The issue, thus far,
cannot be said to be a party one, but it is a
notorious fact that the Fepudiators are com
posed almost entirely of Democrats.
In conclusion. Judge Freeman expressed
tional election Tennessee should be num-
bered as a doubtful State. He thinks il
quite probable that that state may go Re
publican, with the aid of such honest Dem
Ocrats as have become disguised with the
weak and uncertain course of their party Oh
the debt question.
The attentive observer of this
statement will, we think, come tC
the same conclusion as we did
which is that the Judge was more
intent upon making capital for the
Republican party than upon any
satisfactory settlement of the State
debt. We are informed that Judge
Freeman used his influence, and
we believe, voted against the pro.
posed compromise. We will dc
him the justice to infer that he die
so from the motive he assigns tC
other Republicans and to some
State credit Democrats who also
voted against it, namely, that he
regarded the scheme as one of di
rect Reputation of half the debt, ,
and that he considered the scheme
ga cOercive one" as it affected the
State creditor. At the same time
we cannot shut our eyes to the fact
that the defeat of the measure was
directly conducive to the very state
of affairs which in his view is sc
favorable TO Republican interven
ton in State affairs, with the cheer
ing hope that sin the coming ma
tiOnal election the State may &C
Republican, with the aid of such
honest Democrats as have become
disguised with the weak and uncer
tain course of their party on the
debt question"
We here part company with the
Judge altogether. "The wish was
father to the thought" which led
him to that conclusion, and his
opinion is based upon estimates
erroneous in several points. We
will point out some of his erroneous
assumptions. He assumes that the
"mass Of AUTHORIZATIONS are Re
publicans," and by implication that
the State credit Democrats are q
small minority in the Democratic
party, and that these few will fall
in as the rear guard of the Republi.
can party, which is to carry the first
compromise at sixty and six and,
at the same time, help to carry the
State for a Republican candidate in
the Presidential election.
Neither of these assumptions is
true. The Republicans do not con-
Stitute the mass of the anti-repudia-
tors, nor are the opponents of repu-
diatiOn a minority in the Demo
cratic party. So far Is this from