The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1891-10-02

+ privileges tn nunG demands that
lit sho.:ld be extended to all, or
abandoned. Bat the whole scheme
bristIes with objections. each one oil
which are fatal to it. need not
enlarge upon them. 1t would IN
my opinion he ,uinous to the gov
ernment. and more injurious to the
/ farmer than to any other class.
The land Ian bill requires the
secretary of the treasury to issue
and loan TO farmers legal tender
treasury notes to the extent of one-
half the value of the farm at two
per cent. interest per annunl, SCI
cured by mortgage upon the farm,
the loan to run not longer than
twenty years.
This proposition is met at the
threshold by the fatal objection
that the government of the United
States has no constitutional power
to loan money.
But suppose it had. The prop
osltion involves the necessity of is
suing ali unlimited and very large
amount of legal tender treasury
notes with no provision for redemp>
ton, which would necessarily seri-
ously impair, If it did not destroy
the credit of the government.
| 1t also involves the necessity of :
government attorney in every coun-
ty in the United States to determine
the question of title, and corps oil
appraisers to- ascertain the value of
the farms offered, and the necessity
of the treasury keeping an account
with every mortgagor, which must
greatly increase the force OF clerks
in that department.
| Under lis provisions the expenses
of its administration and the losses
sustained by It's policy come out of
the whole people, as they will have
to be made up by general taxation.
But its benefits, if benefits shall re-
suit, are confined to a single class.
They do not extend to farmers gen
orally, but only to,the men who VIZ
farms.
There is very large class, of far
mers who are so unfortunate as not
to be able to own farm. but are
compelled to rent farms from year
to year; and another class of farm
ers who do not own farms Oh even
aspire to rent them, but who work
ON the farm for wages. The reuter-
and the farm wage-laborer are GER
tainly more needy than the owner
of the farm. Why should the gov
eminent extend It's aid to the owns
err and turn from the more needy
and equally deserving of the same
class Why should 1t loan TO the
owner of the farm money at two
per cent. per annum, To enable hinl
TO loan it to the renter.or iaborer a
ten or twelve per cent?
This is class legislation of thu
most refined and classified chars.c
ter?
But this idea is not new. The
experiment has been tried before
with the invariable result of bank,
ruptcy and ruin TO the govern.
ments venturing upon it.
As TO the railroads aud tele graph
lines, | hold that they are COM
mercial agencies or instrumentallt1es;
that in respect To their Interstate
} business, they are subject to control
by act of congress. and in respect
to their business which is confined
to the limits of state, they are
subject to control by the act of the
legislature.
i / am in favor of controlling them
by law, so as to secure to the pub
lie the best and most expeditions
service at the least cost consistent
with maintaining their lines and a
fair and reasonable profit to them
upon the capital actually invested;
but / am opposed to government
ownership of either. Private enter
prise will construct and operate
either more cheaply than govern
ment could do.
And in addition to this, / am
earnestly opposed to adding some
two hundred thousand federal office
holders to the present large list of
such officials.
/ might extend this lettsr almost
indefinl tely, for it is a fruitful field
for argument and suggestion, and
involves considerations of the high
est Importance to the whole people,
but my engagements do not allow
me time to do so, or even to review
what | have hurriedly written TO
you.
The sub~treasurys and land loan
bills were considered. by me more
than year ago. In the first session
of the last congress the sub-treas~
nry bill. introduced by Senator
Vance, and the land loan bill, in
troduced by Senator Stanford, were
by the finance committee OF the
Senate referred to me as a sub-cOm-
mittee for report. / reported them
both back to the full committee
with the recommend alton that they
be reported to the Senate adversely
and indefinitely postponed, and by
the unanim Gus vote of the commit
tee | was direcLed to so report
them to the Senate, which | did and
upon my motion they were both in
/ definitely DostDoned. and some