Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1881-01-08

market, and the solvent railways,
whose bonds made up a consider
able portion of the old debt, bought
up the worthless bonds floating on
the market ana iquidated their &C
counts with the state. BY this pro-
cess and the selling out at almost
total los~ of the railroads invented
by plun0erers, the actual debt was
reduced to $2l 900, 900 instead of
s.bout so, 100000 before the war,
and the debt was funded at six per
cent. and the interest paid for one
year. In 1874 an additional debt of
s., ,O00, 900 was precipitated upon the
state for immediate payment, by
| the supreme court of the United
| States making the state liable for
that amount of the notes of the
Bank of Tennessee. The notes were.
receivable for taxes, thus reducing
the revenues s., 900, 900 in one year,
and that was the feather that broke
the camel's back. That was the end
of the maintenance of credit in Ten
nessee, and the gate once opened,
the flood has increased with each
year. In 1877 a committee repre-
senting most of the b0ndholders,
proposed to scale the debt at sixty
cents and in six per cent. bond. /
Two years before the people would |
have gladly accepted such a pro- /
posal, but the reputation tiger had /
tasted blood; the loW-tax party had I
organized; the republican votes had /
been voted solid for the reputation
ticket, and the legislature rejected (
the proposition. In the same year,
Gov. Porter submitted the PROPOSE
ton of number of bondholders
agreeing to accept fifty per cent. in
a six per cent. bond; but the legis-
lature rejected that also. In 1879,
the legislature proposed to the
bondholders to pay fifty per cent.
in four per cent bonds and make a
constitutional debt by ratification of
the people. About half the bond
holders accepted the offer, but the
holders Of some ten millions of rail-
road bonds, who believed that they
had a lien on the railroads, pub
lished notice that they would not
abide by the adjustment proposed.
The result was the defeat of the pro-
position by the people, and the
whole issue was thus remanded
back to chaos, where it remains.
Now a republican governor comes
in who is pledged to maintain state
credit, which means in Tennessee to
pay sixty instead of fifty cents on
the dollar, and to pay six instead of
four per cent. interest. The COM !
mittee of eastern bondholders have !!
very unWisely assumed that they !
n ]
they greatly hindered an adjust !
ment by recent publication de- !
claring that they now expected /.
more than they would have taken
one year ago. That manifesto has I,
changed many high-tax man to low l
tax men, and Il settlement under
the new administration is possible !
but not probable. 1t is quite likely |.
that Gov. Hawkins will flatter the
by insisting upon pay i.
ing what he knows the legislature
will not accept, and thus defeat !
payment entirely, and give the
state another lunge toward repudia-
ion. If the debt issue shall be un- l
settled, what issue :
will Gov. Hawkins and his party
nave left to divide the democrats
md slips into power? Bondholders '
will do we'll to view the whole po- q
itical situation very intelIigently I
md dispassionately before they as I
ume to stake their cause with a !
governor who has every interest of
lmbitiOn to prevent them from at ;
aiming any settlement. If they l
hall be able to secure from the con- o
used political elements of the new a
government what they proposed to ?
.ccept last year, they will be lucky, v
md may be glad to save so much a
rom what must be certain repudia- +
ion if the issue shall longer con- q
inue as q foot t-baIl for reckless poll s.
icians. o