Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-08-12
MISS BUSBY.
The Bind Girl who OWNS one of Senator
Harris Bonds

The Bind Girl who OWNS one of Senator
Harris Bonds.
We copy the following from the
Lawreneeburg Press of August I'd
LAWRENCE Co., TENN, July so,
1S82-S. A. Carroll, Lawrenceburg,
Tenn.-Dear Sir: ] address you this
open letter because / see you have
published a four-column letter in
the Lawrenceburg Press on the 10Th
ult., mainly on the State debt, but
in which you refer in a personal way
to myself, your language beng,
something has also been said about
the blind girl of Lawrence. If there
be any such girl who owns a State
bond, who knows that her bond
docs not belong to what is called the
State debt proper, or how much was
paid for it, or how much she would
be wronged by being paid fifty cents
in the dollar. Now, sir, il is
known to almost everybody in The
county that for years you have been
a shaver oil notes, and you are said
TO be one of the richest men in the
country. Did you ever allow your
debtor to abate or to take off even
Il fraction of the whole of his debt
to you, principal or interest? No
matter at what price you may have
purchased such paper, as bonds,
notes, county claims, jury tickets,
witness fees or the school claims of
poor school teachers, did you ever
take less than principal or interest,
but have you not always demand
sad Il
and the interest on it? My father,
in his lifetime, for me, gave full
price for my State bond.
In your article, in the Press, you
say: "When men speak they
ought not to suppose too much, but
speak from their knowledge of the
facts in the case, and not try to
hood-wink and deceive by any sort
of ingenious Misrepresentation"
That sentence must have been
prompted by your conscience.
What more ingenious deception
and misrepresentation than for you
to say ''if there is such q grip" You
thereby insinuate that you have no
knowledge of her, and you would
lead others to so think, when the
plain truth is you have known me
from my infancy, and you also
know the misfortune under which |
suffer in regard to my eyesight and
have known it from the first time
you ever saw me. You lived for
years during my childhood within
less than mile of my fathers
house, and you have never lived
more than three miles from my
home. Our families were intimate
all the time, and you have seen me
hundreds of times and knew full
well all the facts of my history.
Who are you trying to deceive?
Two years ago Gov. Hawkins, on
his visit to LawrenceDurg, during
his canvass, visited my mothe, and
saw me there. II you yet have
doubts as to "Whether there be such
a girl" go and inquire of your
neighbors and the Governor of your
State. They will inform you so
that there will be no 'ifs" about my
existence.
AS to my owning State bond
you were informed of the fact long
before you wrote your "piece" for
publication in the Press, and you
knew 1 had a Tennessee bond and
you could have seen it by simply
requesting it, but it must have
suited your purpose not to know
and not to find out, so that you |
could estimate that it belonged to
what you call the estate debt prop
err" or THAT it didn't cost much and
that / would not be wrOnged by |
giving me only fifty cents on the |
dollar for it. My father paid fully |
as much for my bond as you fire. |
quently pay for county warrants,
school warrants, etc. Ny under |
standing is and the people of the |
county understand that you are |
wealthy and that you have grown
so on county warrants upon which |
you demanded dollar for dollar and
6 or 10 per cent. interest, which was
it? And yet you propose paying
me on the little all that l have in
this world only 80 cents on the dol
lar and accrued interest. is that
Justice? Is it fairness or fraud =? It
leave it to you to say. You pro-
pose taking this advantage when
can't open my mouth, because you
can vote, | cannot. Il
So that you may know the char
for 81 900, No. 9,o77, dated July l,
1859, and signed by Isham G.. IIar-
ris, Governor of Tennessee, and is
impressed with the great seal of the
State. / agreed to-the compromise
of 60-3-4-5-6 before the bill was pre-
scented t., the Legislature of Tennes-
see. There left it cOnfiding in the
fairness of the representatives of the
people. shall in few days COM
ply with my agreem ent by funding
my bond. This may not be salts
factory to you, but it is TO me. l
know nothing about politics. AS
you know, my father was an old
line Wing. Respectfully,
MARGARET AUGUSTA BUSBY.