The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-08-26
MISERY LOVES COMPANY.
Memphis Appeal.

The regulators are trying to make
it appear that they are initiating the
example of Alabama, which repudia>
ted nearly every dollar of her State
debt. But the truth is Alabama new
er rejected or repudiated one dollar
of the bonds issued on authority of
law for the use of the State. A year
ago the Virginia State debt was un>
der discussion and it was asserted by
the readjusters that Alabama had re-
adjusted her debt from thirty>six mil
lions Of dollars down to seven millions
w. w. Screws, secretary of the State
and editor of the Montgomery Gala }
Advertiser, exposed this falsehood in
a letter, in which he said:
At the close of the war we owed
bonds to parties in London and Amer
lea amounting to S4.066, 100 Gov
Patton issued during his administers
tion, $500, 200 making the total bond
Indebtedness, Oct. l, 1868. S4,726,~
800. Since then bonds to the amount
of several millions were issued by
Governor Smith, Lindsey and Lewis.
When our debt settlement was made,
the bonds of the State for State pur-
poses and endorsements Of railroads,
including accrued interest, amounted
to nearly $30,000,000. The State
made a settlement by which the hold
ers of the State bonds agreed to ex-
change old bonds for new ones without
abatement of one cent of principal,
but at Il reduced rate of interest. We
settled with the largest bond interest
some Sl0,000,000, the Alabama and
Chattanooga, by surrendering the
States lien OH the roads and lands and
telegraph line, and giving 1,00O,0 900
of new bonds, and received back the
bonds issued by the State in aid of the
road. The road is nearly 800 miles
long, and is in straight line from
New Orleans to New York, and on
the shortest route VIA the Cincinnati
Southern to Cincinnati. There are
some bonds bought through the leg
islature for railroads from 1868 to
1878, which the state has never rec
ognized, but they do not amount to
$1,000, 900, and the owners have new
er pressed them. The States bonded
Indebtedness to-day is S7,271 200,
which will bear 2 per cent. interest
until July, 1881, then 8 per cent. for
1--WE years; then 4 per cent. for ten
years; and then 3 per cent. for ten
years-making an average of about 4
per cent. Alabama has:: never scaled
the principal of her own bonded debt
one cent, bur has bonds out to-day,
dollar furH; dollar, to the full amount,
and will pay all interest the day it is
due, ana warrant is never presented
at the State Treasury that is not JIM
mediately cashed, and our present
rate of State taxation Is 10 cents on
500 of property and 80 cents for
county purposes.
Georgia made an honorable COM
promise with her creditors. The peo-
pie of florida and South Carolina,
staggering under the load of taxation
imposed upol. them by Radical vii
iainy, are united in efforts to mains
tain the credit of their State. There
are no repudiators in either of these
two states. Heavy rs is the load, they
Indignantly scorn the idea that repu-
diation is possible. There is Il bitter
and exciting contest for Governor in
North Carolina between the Demo-
ocrats and Republicans, and onerous
as is taxation and large as is the State
debt, repudiation is never mentioned
or suggested as Il remedy. 1t is only
here in Tennessee that open and fll
grant repudiaticn is advocated. If
Louisiana, Florida and South Caroli-
ma, SO long ruled by the robbers, eau
provide for their credit, Tennessee,
which passed from under Radical rule
in 1869, ought to be as prosperous and
honest as her more unfortunate sisters.
For the next two months there will
be a general howl by the Tennessee
demagogues about the burdens of tax
alton, hut the hypocrisy Of this com,
plaint will excite universal contempt
when it is demonstrated by the figures
that there are but three states in the
Union that pay less taxes than Ten
nessee.
Tho RnSton Herald an irdenan,