Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1879-04-04
FRIDAY, APRIL 4. 1879.
TENNEssEE'S PROPOSITION

As we apprehen ded, our Eastern
exchanges do not speak well of the
action of the Tennessee Legislature
on the State debt question. We
were not pleased with it ourselves.
1t is a miserable make-shift that
does no credit to the State. The
proposition of the bOndholders ought
to have been accepted and stood to
in good faith. But a large majority
of State credit men in both Houses
of the General Assembly voted for
the bill because they believed moth
ing better could possibly be adopted
by that body. The highest vote that
could have been given in the House,
in favor of a compromise at sixty
cents on the dollar, was twenty-six,
out of seventy-fve. This might
have been done, but certainly moth
ing more. The question then was,
will the bondholders prefer to take
their chances without any action by
the Legislature, or fifty cents
and four per cent. ? If the
former, the clause which
makes the bill imperative until
accepted by the boAdholders saves
them, but if they believe that fifty
cents and four per cent. is the best
they can do they may accept it.
There is no coercion about it, and
they are required to do nothing that
will in the least affect their status
before the courts or the country.
Speaking of this bill, the Baltimore
San, q Democratic paper, says:
The Tennessee papers see more
cause for C0ugTttulsli0n in regard to
the settlement of the State deb, than
the press elsewhere can de,ect. The
Memphis appeal says il Is the best hat
the people eau co. and hopes tuat the
bondhOlders will accept a, and so
end controversy lhas hGs brought the
State To the verge of FspudiatiUD.'
But if the bOSdhOldeTs should not
accept the so cents on the dollar, at 4
per cent. practically but $50 per cent?
offered them, will not the sO-CRltCd
settlement smack Of Reputation
anyhow? The hBndhoiders had for q
year past voluntarily offeTed TO release
TO the State 40 per cent. Of their
claims, therefore ii il not to
be expected that any Of them
Legislature except under protest
and because thinking themselves
in peril of losing even the pittSnce
offered them. The Nashville Amerj-
can, which has hithert1 s,auachly
advocated the payment Of the deb,
now says that the creditors should
look very carefully before they decide,
and promises them that If they do ac-
Cept tHe bonds will he at par in six
months. In view of Tepnessee's COP
tinued depTavity OF credit under the
manipulation Of her politicians in the
past nine years this is not very prOba-
bl-, especially ~ money gets TO be
more IN demand. The buudhulders
are nu' HACuahEltE one 4 eli LCeees sc
curily for another Of half the face
value Of the one surrendered, and with
no feature Of guaranty greater than
the eli one"
The views expressed by the S'ua
are perfectly natural. The bill does
no credit to Tennessee. 1t is the
puny offspring of well>meaning par
ents, but it is deformed, unnatural
and not calculated to give pleasure
to even those who assisted at its
birth. They will be glad to see it
dsselop well, but are not proud of
it all.
As a matter of principle we
could not advise the bondholders to
accept it. As a matter of dollars
and cents to them, we believe it is
the best thing, under the circum-
stances, they will get. We shall
look with a great deal of interest to
the result of negotiations that are
to follow.