Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1880-12-28

u law authorizing railway cOupaA1eo
to pay their debt o-the state in any of
the state bonds. Some of the bonds
were worth only nominal rates in
market, and the solvent railways,
whose bonds made up considerable
| worthless bonds floating on the mar
ket and liQuidated their accounts with
| the state"
We have scarcely ever seen a
greater number of gross errors
grouped together in that short
space. To begin, his statement
about the distinction between "high
tax" and Glow tax" parties is very
wide Of the truth. The "high ia"
party is in favor of paying fifty to
sixty cents on the dollar on the
debt, while the slow tax" men IA
vor the absolute reputation of the
bonds issued to railroads, which
embraces about nine tenths of the
entire debt.
He says: "The erratic and des.
perate BroWulow made himself goy~
ernor by union bayoneth,'' etc.
| This is not true. When Governor
Brownlow was elected the first time,
it was under the administration OF
Andrew Johnson, who was then
military governor BY virtue of an
appointment from Abraham Lincoln,
president of the United States.
IF ''union bayonets" were used,
which we do not admit, except to
preserve order, it was by order of
Mr.. Johnson.
Then he says the legislature
chosen was composed of "some
honest union men, some skulkers
from both armies and an assortment
of negroes" The statement about
the "skulkers" is not true. Nine
tenths Of the members elected to
that legislature were native union
men. A very few of them, not ex~
ceeding half dozen, were men Of
northern birth, and there was not a
single colored man in the legislature
during Gov. BrownloW's admins
tration. Only one colored man was
ever elected to the Tennessee legis>
lature until this year, and he served
during the administration of Gov.
John G. Brown, a democrat. He
says Gov. BrownloW elected himself
to the senate. This is not true. He
was the almost unanimous cholce Of
the people and the legislature.
His statement about the contest
between Gov. Senter and General
Stokes is so far from the truth that
it appears ludicrous as well as
ridiculous to those who know the
facts. Gov. Brownlow was one of
Gov. Senter's warmegt supporters
for the nomination, and he sup
ported him openly in the canvass
and at the ballot box.
And again he says the Grown
low government after more than
doubling the debt" &c., ''passed a
law authorizing railway companies
to pay their debt to the state in any
of the state bonds" This is with
out the slightest foundation in fact
The laws of which Col. Mcclure
speaks, was passed by democratic
legislature, nearly year after Gov.
BroWnlow had been elected United
States senator. Every Tennesseean
who has the slightest knowledge of
political history knows this to BIZ
true.
But there is another gross mis-.
representation of facts to which w
will call attention. Col. Mcclure
says:
In 1877 q committee representing
most of the bondholders, proposed t.
scale the debt at sixty cents and in
ak per cent. bond Two years befOr
the people would have gladly accepte'
such proposal, but the republican
tiger had tasted blood; the low ia,
party had organized; the republican
votes had been voted solid for the re
pudiation ticket, and the legislator
rejected the proposition.
The republican votes at the bal
lot box and in the legislature hay
invariably been against Reputation
The republican party in Tennessee
is state credit party, 50 recognize
by all who know anything at all c
the facts.
Thus we havo pointed out no les
than seven gross misstatements
| e. ~ &bo niuor N