Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1879-09-21
zTHE STATE CREDIT DEMO.
GRATIS.

q ~
We disclain any intention of
saying anything whatever, that
reflects on the integrity of indEid-
ual men in the Democratic party in
Tennessee, who have stood up hero
ically for State credit in every
assault that has been made upon
the good name of the commons
wealth by the reputation wing of
their party. We give them all
credit for honesty of purpose and
that adhesion to principle which
characterizes all patriotic citizens.
But as journalist, our duty to the
public requires US to state facts as
we understand them, and if in doing
80 we have given offense to our es-
teemed contemporary of this city,
the Tribune, We can not help it.
Certainly we did not intend it. But
after reading the editorial in that
paper Of yesterday morning, in
which fault is found with ours of
Friday morning, we see no reason
to retract anything We have said.
In speaking of the Democratic
party in Tennessee as a "Debt-
Sinking party we speak of the
results which have followed Dem>
ocratic administration of the State
government, extending through a
period of ten years.
The Tribune cites our support of
the 5O-4 proposition, and commends
our action i'll the premises as non>
partisan, but it must not suppose
that in doing SO we in any way ems
dorsed the acts of the State govern
ment which made it, as we thought,
the interest of the creditors of the
State to accept. We steadily kept
it before our readers, that the
proposition was not such an one as
We would have made; that it was
a humiliating one. We took the
view stated by the New York TIL
bune in the article upon which we
based our remarks of Friday morn
ing. 1t says
1.-THE Republicans, and small mi.
nority of the Democrats, who were in
favor Of the honest payment of the
entire debt, were in dilemma. If
they voted against the law it's defeat
was sure, and it's defeat meant the alb
s0lute reputation of the whole debt.
Most of them were compelled to vote
for 1t, as choice of evils"
That the laundering, inefficient
management of our financial
affairs, together with the dem
agogical cry Of Glow taxes"
INDUCED in by Democratic Office
seekers has been the foundation
upon which the reputation senti-
ment was built up, is fact SO pa
tent as to require no proof what
ever, in the estimation of intelli~
gent, unprejudiced minds.
The Tribune says:
1.-The regularly organized Democrat.
ic party OF Tennessee is not in favor
of reputation, as Capt. Rule ought to
know. In the late canvass the Sena-
tore, Supreme Judges and Congress
men elected by that party all favored
an honest and honorable settlement of
the debt"
We know that the last Demo-
cratic State Convention adopted
reputation platform, nominated
and elected reputation Governor,
and we know that majority of the
two last Legislatures was composed
of repudiationists, and that they ran
as Democrats, were elected as Dem
ocrats and called themselves
Democrats after they were elected.
They call themselves Democrats
still. We admit that so far as they
have spoken, the Senators, Repre-
sentatives in Congress and Supreme
Judges are State credit men. We
believe they are such. But one of
the most influential men in the
party, as was shown by the August
election, spoke of the Judges of the
Supreme Court in the most con-
temptible terms during the sitting
of the last Legislature, and there
are Democratic newspapers IN the
80