The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-08-26
TIM RAILROAD BONDS.

bonds were issued under the Act OF 1907 u
md il, amendments, for the benefit oi |
railroad corporations, and this Act eX' f
plcssIy provided that the railroad com
Ianics should pay the interest as il ielt
due and the principal at maturity, the !
bonds to run not more than forty nor
less than thirty years,
1t was not intended by the LegiSla-
ture Of 1892 that the people should be
taxed to pay one dollar Of these bonds,
and the Act itself /, the best evidence
Of the sentiments of the people at that
time.
The railroad companies paid the in
tcrcst up to the beginning Of the war
without questioning their Obligation 10
do 50; but eleven Of lhem, 10 whom
about fifteen million dollars i'll bonds
had been issued, ultimately proved III
solvent, and the solvent roads, to whom
about the same amount had been issued,
determined to make speculation and
transfer their debt to the shoulders Of
the people by purchasing the greatly /
deprecated bonds Of iusoyent roads for
Il mere song and getting permission from
the Legislature to turn them over to the |
State Treasury in payment OF their III !
dcbtcdnc.s. The Legislature, however, !
refused to give lis consent, but never
thclcs3 large number Of the bonds OF
ins5lvcnt roads were turned over to the
State Treasury by solvent companies in
violation Of law; and now we are scri-
ously told by railroad lawyers and sub
sidizcd newspapers that the people ought
to tax themselves to pay the debts Of
solvent roads, or refund the amount
that the solvent roads paid for bonds
Of insolyent companies. Such an idea
/ is absurd and ridiculous. The people
were never under any obligation to pay
dollar Of these bonds and no liability
could be created in this way.
A suit is now pending in the Federal
courts to compel solvent ro'ulT to pay
the interest which is due upon bonds Is
sued for their benefit, and the attorneys
for the bondholdcrs stated frankly in
their arguments at Nashville that it was
never expected by the Legislature or
the people that the people would be
taxed one dollar to pay for these inter
nal improvement bonds. "The rail
roads were to pay the interest and prin-
cpal, the bonds were constituted liens
upon their property, and the State was
vested with the lien to secure these pay
lucnis by the companies"
Why, then, should any man who pro-
fcsscs 10 be Il lover Of his country urge
the people to take upon themselves Il
burden which even the bondholders adj
nit thcy never agreed to carry and arc
under no obligation to assume
Nearly all the railroad. Of Tennessee
were unconstilutionaIIy exempt from
taxation for twenty years; the people
have bccn unjustly taxed to pay millions
Of dollars for their benefit since the close
Of tho war; and | am unaltcrably OPP
posed 10 taxing the people hereafter to
pay another dollar Of this railroad debt.
IIlI ri ATE Dl.bl lkDl Eli.
| Now, then, let us SOC what ought to
hc done in relation to the State debt
proper
More than siA thousand of what are
termed State debt proper bonds have
been issued ut various times, beginning
in 1888, but only 2,lO5 are now out
standing.
or these, 80 were issued to the I'm
ion Bank in 1888; pa to the Bank Of
= Tennessee in 1888; 72S for stock in
turnpikc>, beginning in 1898; 1872 for
stock in three railroads, beginning in
1898; 1913 for lhc construction Of the
Capitol, beginning in 1913; 80 for the
purchase of the Hermitage in 1896, and
Is for the benefit Of the Agricultural
Bureau in the same year.
Nearly all Of these bonds We're issued
before the war, and, according to Mr..
Jci'crsons theory, even if they had
been legally issued, We are under no OBJ
legation to pay II dollar Of them, upon
the princip pie that one generation has no
right TO bind another.
But let us see if they were legally is
sued
We have already referred to the state
mcnts Of Mr.. johnson upon this subject
in his Murireesboro speech. We now
desire to call your attention to what was .
said by Hon. Frank Wilson of Sumner
county, in speech at Franklin in July /
1879. Mr.. Wilson was chairman Of the
State debt investigating committee at
the last session Of the General Assembly
and an earnest opponent Of the ratifica-
ton by the people Of the 30 and ! bill.
His speech at Franklin was a mastery
effort; and in that speech, speaking of
the State debt proper bonds now out
standing, Mr.. Wilson said:
81 speak by the record and by the
light of incontrovcrtiblc evidence when
| say that the internal improvement
companies, turnpikes and railroads, re-
ceiving the bonds of the State in pay Z
ment for the State stock in them receiv- i,
ed them through cvaslons and in fraud '
of the law authorizing their issuance, :
and that they sold them in violation of ,
law and applied them in violation of
aw. Why, my fellow-citizcns, in look =,
ne over your old records found that J
corruption had become 30 prevalent '
way back in 1896 that Il legislative
ommttee was raised to investigate the
natter, This committee investigated !,
very company that had received bonds y
nd made its report. This was in the y
nnl old Irys of Wbirrorv and Dnr,o p