Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-08-31
THE HOME OF REPUTATION.

The Democratic national platform adopt
ed at Cincinnati, pledged the party, among
other things, to "the strict maintenance
&c of the public faith, State and National.
As the only sure way to ascertain the
trustworthiness of professions is to find
out how those who make them have acted
in the past, it is in order to inquire what
kind of a record the controlling elements OF
the Democratic party have in this con-
nection. The controlling elements of the
Democracy are the Southern elements and
it is therefore of the utmost Importance to
all practical men to know how the South has
acted in regard to the maintenance OF the
public faith, so far as it has had the OPP
portunity to exhibit its disposition and
tendencies. 1t is well known that there
has been a tidal wave of reputation in the
Southern States during the past five or six
years, but the Southern press and speakers
have sought to justify this recourse by al
leging that the Carpetbaggers plunged these
States into debt illegitimately, and that
the people were forced to choose between
Reputation and ruin. Fortunately for
the cause of truth the Louisville Courier
journal has. recently undertaken to fortify
this view of the case by series of auda-
ciously garbled statistical articles, the pur-
pose being to convey the impression that
the Southern reputation had been con-
cerned with carpet bagging fraudulent
debts alone. This has given the Boston
AdrerttSer an opportunity to analyze the
whole subject of Southern debts, and the
result is showing which completely over
throws the Courier Journals position, and
proves that by far the larger part of the
Southern regulations have been resorted
to in the absence of any excuse,
good, bad or Indifferent, and that
they can only be regarded as
wholly dishonest refusals to discharge
just and legitimate obligations. The total
amount of Southern reputation thus far
aggregates the enormous amount of $780,,
000,0 900. That immense sum has been
sponged off the slate arbitrarily. The most
solemn covenants have been disregarded,
the most binding pledges have been bro
ken, in effecting this process. No distinc-
ton has been made between debts incurred
prior to the war or during the war, and
those incurred subsequently. Reputation
has been applied to the old debts as well as
to the new, and it is perfectly apparent
that the sole motive for the shameful
measures resorted to was the desire of get
ting free from honorable obligations. Take
the case of Virginia for example. AT the
close OF the war that State owed in round
numbers $50, 000,0O together with
large amount of interest arrearage, which
being funded in 1866 brought the total
debt up to s43, 1888, GO. The whole of this
debt was incurred by the people of Vir-
ginia, without any interference from out
side. No Carpetbaggers can be saddled
with the responsibility for it. But never
theless it is now proposed to repudiate at
least half of it, while powerful faction
demands that it shall all be repudiated.
In 1865 the debt of North Carolina was
over Sl4. 100000. Arrearage and funding
processes raised it to 500, 900, 900. Since
1865 about $4,000, 900 have been added.
But the regulators have made no distinc-
ton between old and new liabilities.
North Carolina now pays interest on no
more than 81, $50. 000.