Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1881-11-28
LEDGER.
Moaday ESssins. Nov. IS. Tssi.
yUDGE sNEED ON STATE
CREDIT.

Judge JOHN L. T. snecd delivered
an address to large numbered the best
citizens Of Fayettc countyat La Grange
last Saturday. the Goth inst After a
very happy allusiOn to that locality as
the scene Of his boyhood and school
days experienced, he approached the
subject Of the State debt. He said;
"YOu FAnt to hear nay views about
your public debt, about tho wrongs Of
which ye= are complaining. and about
your rights and remedies. l shall
speak plainly; and have that to say
which / think will set The people Of
Tennessee right before the civ
ilized world upon this question
he declared that ho did not believe a
dollar of the debt of Tennessee would
ever be repudiatcd, directly or indi-
recily. and be further predicted that il
there be no unnecessary hurry in
merging ~improyident legislation into
inviolable contract, that the question
Of the public debt will ultimately be
settled upon terms honorable audsat-
isfactory alike to the debtor and the
creditor. He spoke Of the people and
the States who live In glass houses.
aud have no right to throw stones at
Tennessee;-sf PennsylEania, ofloEa,
Illinois, Nebraska aud Minnesota,
whose bonds in times past we're dis
honorsd. Yet the people of these
Suites are not all tobe ostraeized from
the pale ofcommeFcial honor, for there
we're some ofthem who unquestionably
hsd plausible, ifnot legal, grounds tor
a refusal to pay, and only differed with
the courts upon the question of legal
liability. His object was not to impute
dishonor, but to invoke the exercise Of
that charity that lis not pulled up"
by reminding our Northern brethren
Of other notes and beams, than those
they seem to ~depreoats so keenly in
the eyes of the Southern people. we
are willing, indeed, to eohcede to these
people an honest confidence in the
Justice of their resistance to the pay
ment Of their debts, but We have q
right to demand that the motives Of
the people Of Tennessee in asking an
equitable compromise with their cred
itors, be not adjudged dishonest at
least, untaa they have been fairly helrd
at the bar of public opinions" HUI
man natEFe is the same in Tennessee
that it is in Iowa.
Judge Sneed holds hat when
honest men are able to pay their
debts, they pay readily and cheer
fully. But whether rich or poor,
if there be any circumstance inherent
in the obligation-or in the conditions
under which payment is demanded,
that would render it harsh and in
equitable for the creditor to demand
the uttermost farthing, il is not only
natural, but honorable and right, that.
the debtor should protest against the
exaetion. Aud this is the attitude Of
Tennessee to .dsy-the difference be-
tween her people growing, not out Of
a disposition to dictate, but 10 negO-
tate terms ofsettlement upon a basis
that would be acceptable TO TIE cred
itOr and eudurable by the debtor.
Now, it will doubtless startle those of
the Northern people who have made
indecent haste TO judge US harshly,
when we declare that there never was
an organized reputation party in
Tennessee, and never, indeed, s re-
spectacle faction Of either of the great
political parties here in favor Of an
out and out Reputation Of any portion
Of our acknowledged public debt. 1t
may be that there are here, as every
where, reckless and impulsiye indi-
viduals who have uttered wild expires.
sions upon the subject, bu. they stand
isolated and without a following.
Thespeaker thenproceeded at Ieagth
to discuss the equities that exist on
the side Of the people and the un-
friendly conditions that prevented an
early and FINAL settlements HekoW-
ever, draws a broad distinction be-
tween common disasters and the
equities of the people" lie very
strongly pictures the wrongs to shich
the people Of the Southern States were
subjectedfo the irst lew years after the
way. The debts Of several States were
enormously increased without any
adequate or corresponding benefit
The debt Of Tennessee, which in 1861
was in round numbers, had increased
to nearly $50, 900 900. The debt to BE-
funded NOW under the 1908 act he
sets down at about $50, 100000. He
goes into an analytical history of the
debt, which We cannot follow here.
He deplores the defeat Of the 5O-l act
before the people, but explains
it fully assigning various reasons and
influences, least Of which among all
was any inclination to repudiate the
debt. But he says.
OF all the calamities that have be-
fallen the State since the civil war
the result Of this election was the
greatest and the gravest, except the
enactment Of the act Of 1881. Oh 173,
commonly called the 1903. Ihaye No
intention 10 impugn the motives OF
any man who voted for the last extra
ordinary measure. Personal animad.
version does not sit gracefully, ever
upon the fierce polemics Of the bust
iDgs, and would i'll becomet the gravity
Of this inquiry into the wrongs and
remedies Of a deeply injured people
IL it be true that fraud, bribery an,
corruption did actually superinduc,
this legislation by its influence upol
the few who heldthe balance Of power
certainly WI are not precluded on tha
account from crediting the body {
Affirmative voters with honest an