The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-11-02
The Debt Of the State.

We are in receipt of a printed statement OF
the debt OF the State, in which is recited the
frauds by which the debt was increased TO an
enormous amount. with statements also as to
illegal acts by which they were Issued, and the
decisions OF the Supreme Court which de-
clared certain claims as worthless.
For the good Of the State we are sorry that
pamphlet was printed. The recitals therein
made should be allowed to go out OF memory.
The repudiatiop of much of that debt was
simply Ubiquitous and cannot be justified by
argument, common sense, or common hon
esty. and until South Carolina pay at least
portion of the debt which has been de-
clared fraudulent, she cannot successfully re-
sist the charge of wrong doing.
For instance: The State CT South Carolina,
before the war, guaranteed the bonds Of GER
tain railroads; we believe among others. the
bonds OF the Spartanburg and Union Rail-
road, and the Blue Ridge Railroad.
Well, now, as we understand the facts TO be,
the State of South Carolina gave some of the
securities-which the Court declared to be is-
sued without authority of LAWN exchange
for those railroad bonds which had been guar
anteed by the State. These railroad bonds
we're cancelled or marked paid. The Courts
then dec ared the securities not good, but the
Stale held and still holds the cancelled bonds
for which she paid nothing, except the sccuri-
ties which the Courts declared illegal.
VIII any man with common honesty, deny
that the State OF South Carolina. ought either
to return the railroad bonds TO their owners,
or else pay for them in good money This ed
itor regards such trickery as downright dis
honesty. v= :. ......
Again: when the repudiation or reducing oil
the public debt was going on-by the Demo.
cratic government, mind you-the State owed
the Judges and other officers of the State con-
Siderable sums on their salaries. These Of
ficers were forced to scale their claims down
TO one half the amount of the salaries allow
ed by law. Is there man in South Carolina
who believes such conduct Justifiable, except
on the ground Of Furnishing political oppo.
pents? -
Again: One Wesley in New York paid
three hundred thousand dollars in good mon
ey to the legally recognized officers or agents
of the State, who deposited a million dollars
worth OF bonds with him as collateral securi-
ty. Will any conscientious; disinterested
man deny that the State owes Wesley at least
an amount equal to the money which was le-
gally and properly applied to the uses of the
State?
We have made statements from memory,
but we believe them to be true. We should
not have referred to this matter If the State
Treasurer had not gone back to justify the re-
pudation.
That we put bad men In Office was our mis-
fortune, and we have no right 10 take peoples
money and then take advantage OF a techni-
cality 10 avoid payment.
About the same time that we suffered so
grievously, we believe the city OF New York
had some experience with crowd that put
fraudulent debt OF many millions on that
city. We do not recollect that that city repu-
dated one dollar OF the fraudulent deUt
{ The fact is, in our mind, The justification OF
the reputation acts Of tins State ale irrecon-
cilable with Justice and common fairness.
But the funding OF the present debt is quite
another thing from justifying the old repudi.
alton. After having brought our State debt
from eighteen million to six million, We
would hardly have the face to refuse TO pay
the remaining six millions.