The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1882-02-15
500 and 3.

Three of our five Supreme Judges
have decided that this net, passed by the
last General Assembly, is unconstitu.
tional, and now the State debt question
will come, more prominently than ever,
before the people Of Tennessee in the
election to be held this year There
will be bitter feeling-there will be
strife between democrats upon this qucs.
ton alone, and, we think, it will be be.
cause they do not understand one
another, Just now the (so.called) Low
Tax element is jubilant, But the dec,
sion of the Supreme Court does not set.
tie the debt. The Home journal sane.
tons and is pleased at the decision, be.
cause the 1908 bill, it appears, was
passed by fraud. Besides, it dill give II
mortgage, so to speak, upon the State
revenue for longer time than any one,
now living, even the babe in It's cradle,
can hope to ever see 1t should be left
We think, to another Legislature, elected
by the people, to say what shall be done
in the way OF settlement. fla commit
tee of honest men cannot find ont honest
from dishonest bonds, then let US agree
to pay the whole debt ,chen re are ubte.
If fraudulent bonds are found, do not
pay one cent. In any event, let us steer
clear Of the school of Reputation. And
let us avoid the extremes Of "low.tax"
and "high-tax" men-men who are after
office, even if the public welfare goes to
ruin And do not, for the sake Of com
mon honesty in trading, try to make
the railroads responsible after they have
paid their Indebtedness to the State,
and the State has liquidated about one
half ot' her indebtedness thcre.rom. The
railroads that were sold by the State
were sold to innocent purchasers, and
those purchasers, in buying up the
bonds Of the STATE did no more than is
done every day by business men. We
have yet to find Il man who docs not
try to get the "bcst Of bargain. "
Christ.a iity has not Developed one such
in oUr travel through lie.
The Home journal is Of the opinion
that if cxtremism could be eliminated
from the two factions Of the Democratic
party there would be Il compromise et.
itctcd, alike honorable to the State and
the bondholder.
We are not, anxious as we are for
harmony in the Democratic party, try
ing to sail between two currents, for We
are no ofiicc-seckcr. We sincerely be
lieve, considering the misiortuncs Of the
war, and unconstitutional rme IN the past,
that equity demands large abatement
in the demands Of bondholdors, and Il
corresponding anxiety on the part Of the
Sdte to settle this matter. We have
thought 5O-and-i was good basis and
Il fair one-cven little less, or, II little
more. And SO Seem to have thought
the Supreme Judges and others ofequul
ability and influence. We abate moth
ing Of our opinion. We want the same
honesty to rule in the settlement Of the
State debt that is made by our Courts
to rule in matters of individual indebt-
edness.
Enough for this issue The decisions
of the Supreme Judges are able and
conrinciug on both sides, especially
Judges Turney and Ewing. And the
able argument of Albert s. Marks for
complainants is rcplete with research,
labor, argument and point that stamps
him AS Il judicial statesman. We have
no room to say more this week.