The evening light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1881-1883, 1883-01-10
Folks DEGRADATION.

From the st. Louis Post-Dspatch
New YORK, January 6.-The news OF the
defalcation by the state treasurer of Tennessee
was received in this city through private dis
patches from Nashville late yesterday after
noon. 1t was known to very few persons,
and prominent members of the bondholders'
committee were ignorant Of the fact when a
Tribune reporter sought to gain from them
particulars of the case. The announcement
caused great surprise, for Mr.. Polk was well
known to some of the large bondholders, all
of whom spoke of him in high terms. They
were inclined to doubt the truth of the state
ment, and all agreed in saying that the amount
of the deficit in his, accounts must have been
largely exaggerated. Mr.. Polk spent several
weeks in this city last summer, when the chief
officers Of the state opened an Office here for
the exchange of bonds under the funding act.
He had separated from the political party
with which he had been identified all his life.
So far as the payment of the state debt was
concerned, he had been one of the warmest
advocates of the funding bill, and he was
always eager, apparently, to see the act car
ried into practical operation. Partly on this
account, perhaps, he was esteemed highly by
When the announcement was made. at the
end of last year, that the state treasurer had
decided not to pay the January interest on the
new compromise bonds, some OF the largest
creditors of the state excused his action in
part on the ground that he had been in
iuenced by political motives. knowing that
he had been an ardent supporter OF the fund.-
ing act, they refused to believe that his decis-
ion not to pay the interest was altogether his
own act. They had reason to believe, also,
that the money raised to pay the interest was
in the state treasury. The announcement
that Mr. Polk had been found to be defaulter
was received with considerable incredulity.
Eugene Kelly, chairman of the Bonholders'
committee, exclaimed: at is impossible.
cannot believe it. He may have lost
small sum of money, perhaps, for know
that he had great faith in the new bonds, and
it is possible that he may have become EN-
barrased by the recent decline in the price.
There must be some mistake about this re-
port" ..r .s.r
Other bondholders expressed similar sur
prise, but not all the same doubt. A broker
who had been largely interested in Tennessee
bonds said: Il do not know that | am sur
prised at this. A little incident that happened
last summer will, perhaps, explain the rea son.
them considerable amount of bonds for ex-
change. l wouldn't even trust clerk to do
it. When presented my bonds only one of
the state officers was present, and right before
my eyes he signed the new bonds for himself
and the two other officers whose signatures
were necessary. objected, Of course, to the
wholesale forgery, and the officer was rather
incensed by what he termed my unreasonable
carefulness. l had my bonds properly signed,
but made up my mind then that wanted no
more Tennessee in mine. This sort Of bust
ness may be the proper thing in that state, but
it is hardly suited to this latitude"
All the Tennessee bondbolders who were
| informed of the defalcation remarked Instant
ly: "No wonder that he could not pay the
interest. He didn't have the money" They
agreed that if the report was correct the
money must hpve been lost in buying the
states bonds on speculation. 1t was recol-
lected that Mr.. Folk, when here, had re-
marked frequently that he was a large holder
of the bonds,i but no particular importance
was attached to the statement then because il
was supposed to be made simply to show his
faith in them and induce exchanges by the
holders of the old bonds. 1t was suggested
as not at all improbable that Mr.. Polk had
been acting not altogether for himself, but for
ring" that might include, possibly, the
officers of the state A prominent merchant,
a large holder of the bonds, said, sorrowfully:
Poor Tennessee In trying to cheat its
creditors it has been robbed itself. 1t may be
just retribution."