The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-03-11
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| III Louisiana can do as well In the settle
ment Of her debt as Georgia has DONE no one
can complaint yet, when the Georgia cunven-
ton met, and the policy was first suggested
which has run her deprecated credit up to
seven per cent premium, the money-power
press of the East was wild and uncomfortable
IN Its denunolatlon Of Georgia reputation
and dishonesty. The Georgia statesmen and
fnanciers persisted however, In spite OF all
this clamor; and they find their justification
to-day In the redeemed credit of the State
and the emancipation of her people from
crushing taxation imposed by the thraldom
OF fraudulent debt.
The problem the Louisiana convention has
to solve liz not entirely dissmilar from that
which our sister State has 80 successfully dis
posed OF. Her debt and ours were contracted
under very nearly the same circumstances
and by pretty much the same authority. and
they both received the same ratification from
the fret Democratic legislatures that came
into power tn the respective states. Georgia
has sifted her debt and refunded the valid
portion Of II and repudiated the fraudulent
and In doing this she has. az once, placed her
credit OF premium III the money markets Of
the world, and reduced her taxation ID the
mere nominal sum Of four mills On the
dollar.
What Georgia has done Louisiana ought
to be able to do, with the advantage
OF Georgias example before her eyes
Under these circumstances It becomes
interesting to know what Georgia has
done. She began, Immediately upon the
accession Of the Democrats TO the control Of
Gtata he
millions Of her debt incurred by the Bullock
government and certain railroad Endorsed
bonds amounting to about one million more
Great stress is laid by Louisiana bondholders
who are opposed TO an investigation OF the
State debt upon certain resolutions passed
by the Nichols Legislature of 1877, affirming
the sanctity Of the State debt and declaring
II invoabe. Exactly the same resolution
was passed by the fret Democratic Legisla-
ture of Georgia. declaring the validity OF
the very bonds which were afterward repu
dated. As IN Louisiana, this resolution was
passed by the Democrats without an inves-
LEGATION. The people of Georgia very correct
" held that the Legislature had no right or
authority TO make any such declaration, and
they refused TO be bound by It. They investi-
gated the question for themselves and repu-
dated the very bonds the Legislature had
indorsed.
Numbers OF these bonds were held by
Georgians, who have besieged every Legis-
lature that has met since their reputation
for relief, but without avail. The utmost
that these holders OF Illegal bonds have ever
asked for is the enactment OF law allowing
them TO sue the State. but even this poor
i ~ rfvil har
Legislature would dare to go even this far, for
It Ia fact well known to politicians In that
State that any man who favors In any way
| the payment Of the Bullock hnnda cannot gat
into Office on Democratic votes. These bonds
| are worthless and the holders OF them dis
consolate; yet Georgia has not been hurt
nor has her credit by the act repudiating
them Her four per cents are at par, and her
six per cents are quoted at io7 premium.
The main argument however, Of the bond
holders. and IL was urged with the utmost
persistence and veherDence Is that Il IL i'm
possible to investigate the State debt. The
good and bad, the ante-belum and carpet
bag debts, they Say, are 30 Intern inably
mixed that they can never be separated
TO an ordinary apprehension II would occur
that this was about the strongest possible
argument that could be made In favor Of
absolute and unconditional reputation. Sft
a pound or go OF arsenic In a barrel of -four
and the entire barrel is very sure to lose Its
market value as flour, at least for family USE
The bondholders take the opposite view,
and insist that the little good has leavened
the whole mass. Upon this point South
Carolina affords us an illustration and an ex-
ap In hat atn ha adj a
garroters ran up an enormous State debt.
Just as they did In Louisiana. AS In this
State, the amount of the plumber was the
only limit to their rapacity. In the course of
a few years the credit of the State was abso-
lutely destroyed, her bonds were quoted at
IS cents, and could not be sold even at that
price. To mend matters. her Radical mas
tiers resorted TO the same funding process
that Kellogg foisted ON this State. They
scaled the debt to 80 cents on the dollar.
including in their new issue all the ante bel
lum as well as the new Radical bonds, and.
by making an extraordinary provision for
the payment of interest, they succeeded In
compromising with the creditors of the State
as Louisiana has done, at sixty cents, and
their consols were sold at from fifty to eighty
cents. This project OF mixing the good and
bad the anti-war debt with their own fraudu-
lent ISSUE the South Carolina Republicans
thought, was conclusive. In this fond hope
they were sadly deceived. AS soon as the
Democrats came into power they appointed
a committee, which sifted everything and
threw out about three millions OF new con-
solidated bonds. The Legislature allowed the
holders Of these bonds to test them before the
courts. This they did, and the courts, in
time, declared them all illegal and void.
These are facts which we commend to the
reflections Of our people. We do not see what
is necessary beyond the mere recital Of them
to impress the lessons they convey. We be-
Heve that Louisiana can investigate her debt
as South Carolina has done. and that she can
make her credit as good as that Of Georgia.
and at the same time relieve her people and
their Industries from the crushing taxation
under which they are now languishing. We
haIiaya tnn that IN orcar IN accom- nIish thia