Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-09-06
Tennessee's Folly.
St. Louis Globe-pemoerat.

The State of Tennessee ought to
be and perhaps it is becoming, the
paradise of poor men. Under the
laws of that singularly governed
commonwealth there is absolute
exemption of every mans property
from State taxation up 10 81 900 in
value. Inasmuch as the average
wealth of heads of families in the
State cannot much, if at all, exceed
81 900, and as the poor always ex-
coed tl.a ~ieh- in numbers. il must
follow that more than hall OF llS
population of Tennessee pay no
State tax whatever. And, as will
always happen when an inequality
in taxation exists, those citizens
who feel that they are unduly bur-
dened will evade what they can of
their load, it follows naturally that
the heavier property-holders in
Tennessee have resOrted to all pos
sible articles to defeat the assessors
and tax-gatherers in their efforts to
get State revenue. 1t is no doubt
due to the extraordinary exemption
from taxation of so large a proper
ton of the citizens of the State that
Tennessee owes her inability to
meet her obligations to creditors.
And so dense is the ignorance of
the voters of that State, or so de-
PRAYED its demagOgues, that, ac-
cording to the Nashville American,
it was the tactics of the speakers
who canVassed the State recently in
behalf of total Reputation to depict
the distress and despair of the poor
man, whose last COW, whose last
ploW-horse, and whose last bedstead
should be taken-the latter perhaps
from under a sick wife-tO satisfy
| the remorseleSs demands of the
bloated and heartless bond-holders
of the Northern States. Yet not a
soul of this class is required, under
the laws of Tennessee, to pay a
penny of State tax.
But what ignorance and folly on
the part of State government to
create any such exemption in its
revenue laws. Tennessee needs i'm
! migration but she needs capital as
well. She needs immigrants with
capital to develop the vast resources
of the State-and few States have
greater or better to offer in climate,
soil, minerals and easy access to
markets-far more than she needs
the "poor trash' of other States that
may drift thither as to a benefcent
refuge from taxation. But what
inducement has capitalist to 60 to
Tennessee or to plant his money
there, seeing, as he does, that it is
the policy of her stupid Democratic
rulers to put all the burdens of tax
paying on the few whose thrift has
given them means, and to offer
bounty on laZiness and profiigacy
| by exempting all small holdings
from any burdens whatever? Will
not the leaders of the "solid South"
ever learn that it requires common
sense and common justice to govern
commonwealth so as to promote
its happiness, its honor, its wealth
and its general prosperity.
THE tail end of Grants letter to
Mr.. Elihu B. Washburn is all that
is left of the GID. IS tOW-line to tie to.
The eX-President says that in his
official term of eight years he has
received whatever honor that at
taches to the position, and that he
does not desire to be President again;
neither does he conceive of"any pos
sible circumstances which could in
duce him to consent to be a candi-
date" BY way of postscript, how
ever, he adds that if it should hap
pen at any time that "the Republi-
can party should need him for any
purpose he would not fail to re-
spond."
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