The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1879-06-12
THE STATE DEBT.
Shall We Accept and Ratify the 5o-4
Compromise or Repudiate
the Debt?

not vote for the proposition to settle
the State debt on the basis agreed
upon by the Legislature. Some say
able to pay, while others say we
owe the whole debt and ought to
pay dollar for dollar. Some oppose
it on one ground and some on an
other, and when you come to ana
lie their reasons and see them in
their true light, you will generally
find that they want to get rid of
the debt without paying it, and yet
they do not wish to be classed as
repudiationists. They have hardly
gotten far enough along to openly
claim to be in favor of repudiating,
and yet it is evident that they
would be more than willing to get
the debt off of their hands without
paying it, or any portion of it.
Now, when you look at the diff
culties the Legislature had in ar
irving at the basis of settlement
rroposed-that is, so cents in the
dollar and 4 per cent. interest-it
does not give these very high State
credit men much room to hope that
a more favorable settlement can be
arrived at for some time to come, if
ever, if this proposition is rejected.
To say the very least of it, it leans
on an exceedingly unsatisfactory
basis as to them, and it seems to Us
that they would be acting very I'm
wisely not to favor this proposition,
although it may not meet their
views as to what the State ought to
pay. And as to those who claim
that the State is not able to pay the
amount proposed some time ago,
we did not think that any one would
so stultify himself as to that posi-.
ton, but we find that there are
| those who take it nevertheless.
According to the statement re-
Gently made by the Comptroller,
the tax required to pay the interest
if the settlement is made would not
be more than 80 cents on the hun
dred dollars, and not more than 40
cents at most, and at the latter fig
ures it would create a sinking fund
that would extinguish the debt be
fore a great many years. Now,
when we compare that tax with the
tax paid by the Southern States we
find that it is less than any one of
them pays, except Missouri, which
pays 40 cents on the hundred dol |
lars, and if we put ours at 35 cents, |
which would pay the interest, it will
be less than Missouri. We find in |
looking over the amount of taxes
paid by these Southern States that
some of them pay more than twice
what the tax would be in this State |
if the debt was settled on the basis |
proposed. Alabama, our near neigh
Dor, pays state tax of 70 cents, |
and has been paying it for a nun
Der of years. If we were to under
take to pay off our whole debt our
tax would not be more than hers.
That State recently compromised |
its debt. Her taxable property at
a recent valuation was one hundred
and thirty millions, and yet she
agreed to settle her debt at ten mil
lions. The valuation of our prop
erty at the last assessment, and it
was a low valuation, was two hum
dred and twenty-five IG;;ii!llons, near
ly one hundred millions more than !
the property of Alabama, and yet !
what we propose to pay, according
to this settlement, would only be |
about two millions more than what
Alabama proposes to pay, and she |
is paying it and her people are de-
lighted with the settlement. They
did not ask for anything less.
Mississippi pays tax of 65 cents
on the hundred dollars; Arkansas
one dollar, or that was the amount
only short while ago; Florida 80
cents; South Carolina 70 cents
Georgia so cents, and Louisiana has
been paying $1.45, and if a change
has been made it is recent. Vir-
ginia has been paying 80 cents, and
it may be that the tax of that State
has been raised by the Legislature
that recently compromised her debt.
That old State, though poor and
without much resources and though
it was worse overrun and more
nearly destroyed by the armies than
any other State, found herself at
the close of the war, notwithstand-
ing her lands were poor and her re-
sources gone, with a heavy debt
upon her. West Virginia had Sc
coded from the State and refused to
pay its portion of the debt, and it
does seem that if any State had
reason TO repuoiste, Virginia had.
No State had suffered so much by
the depredations and vandalisms of
the war, and yet her Legislature
only few months ago compromised
her debt. She owed thirty millions
of dollars in round numbers. The
debt was bearing six per cent. IN
terest, and the basis of the compro-
mise was that only one-half the in
terest was abated, leaving the prin-
cipal as it was, and they have gone
to work to pay it off.
This shows how that people re
gard the honor and credit of the |
State. This shows how they re-
gard the shame and disgrace of re-
pudiation.
4
fore us can men come up and claim |
that we cannot pay a tax of thirty |
five or forty cents on the hundred |
dollars, when it is so much less |
than any State South? Why is this? |
Are our people worse than other
peopie2 Have we lost our honor,
our pride and manhood, that we
should say to all the world by our
actions that we are willing to dis
grace our State2 Surely no. Ten
nesseans are not ready to take this
step. You may call it what you |
will and frame as many petty ex-
cuses as you please for voting
against this proposition, but the
world will call it reputation, and
reputation in its worst form, for it
would be rejecting a proposition to
settle this vexed and disturbing
question On a very low tasis.
Eurrah for Ohio.