Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-04-06
Poverty No Crime.

APRIL 4, 1882.
Mn. EDITOR: The Tribune of this
date asks the question Who are
the Republicans and proceeds to
answer the question by charging
them with the enormous crime of
poverty. Says We can well afford to
be honest, because we are poor Ny
experience is that the poor man has
q great many Inducements to be
dishonest that the wealthy know
nothing about.
Speaking of the public debt he
says we have very little taxes to
paw. This is in the main untrue
But suppose it is fact, is it not the
history of this country that the
wealthy men and families of this
decade are the poor of the next, and
that the poor of this decade are the
thrifty of the next Shall we. the
poor white men, "niggers and
sinking carpet-bagSers. be en>
tirely ruled out, because we didn't
happen to have large landed estates
and droves Of negroes before the
war, and did not JOIN the rebellion to
protect our slave interests. Nor did
we have any negroes to be freed by
the Internal bondholdine, blue-
I bellied Yankees, and hence we owe
them no special ill-will, and are
willing to pay them what we owe
them. We. poor trash as we are,
have aspirations for our children.
We expect to see our little barefoot,
ragged boys acquire honest, indus
trious habits, and maybe some day
they, like the editors of the Tribune
may run great newspaper, and
possibly may go to Congress, or be
sent among strangers in foreign
country; and we do not wantit thrown
at them that their ancestors, by force
with pistol in hand, without provo
cation, had robbed certain parties
out of millions, especially when the
same parties had proposed to give
them ten or twelve millions
/ must confess / do not under
stand this kind of robbery. The
definition of robber in my school
dictionary, is "a taking of property
without consent And this is Jus,
what these thermometers propose to
do. If / were going into the rob
Ding business | should consider thai
[ had hard life before me. Ishould
expect to be looked on, as I would
be, as robber. l should expect to
show 1t in my face and feel it in my
heart, aud would try to make the
most of it. | certainly would not
let my victim off with few millions
left. Hence, I suggest to the har-
monizers to make clean sweep oil
1t, for it may be the last chance they
will ever get. The State, under NJ
emergency, will ever have credit
again so rs to give them another OPP
portunity to rob i'll the name of tn,
State. Better take it all, gentlemen
the stigma is the same.
[ do like to see brethren dwell to-
gether IN unity Harmony is truly
great institution, but it appears Il
have strange effect upon the pres
ent thermometers. 1t makes them Sc
visions and dream dreams. no doubt
For instance, you no doubt remem
Der how the Tribune used to sa,
; when it advocated honesty, that Tia
: property owners of the country, VIII
were most interested in our pros
perity, were for paying the debt, an
: he feared the poor men would repu
, date it, through the influence {
demagogues, dc, &c.
=. The property men must then hav
been on the side of the 'sbulls, an
now upon the side of the bears. TIL
l poor man is now where he has a.
. WAYS been found, on the side OF homes
| ty, and the Tribune and all other
who profess to be half honest ma
fear him, for ''his name is legion,
l and be will be heard from next No
: vember.
want, before closing this letts