The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1894-07-25
rHE BOND QUESTION.


plleQ 10 the QQeStl0nS asked by senator
Butler at Charleston about the State
debt. lie prefaced his speech by say
ing that Batter had pTaRced forward
at Charleston, telling those people how
he loved them, and warned the Cole
ton people not TO be fed out Of Buffers
spoon, but TO spit It ont, as it had Has.
kellite quinine in it. Butler out the
questions in a decent way, and he con.
graduated him on the improvement in
his manners since the Chester meeting
He had put his fuse to his little bomb
and nothing but liZ2.e resulted. Repl!
iDg 10 the question he said. 81 have
never heSitated or expected to find fault
with any criticism Of requests for in
formation concerning any official act
Of mine, and | will cheerfully make
such reply to Gen. Buffers questions as
/ can, away from the official documents
III Columbia. First, as to the S6,030.-
80 charged in the treasurer'S books
to the redemption Of Brown consols
expenses, the larger portion of this was
paid for the engraving and printing of
the bonds themselves. The balance was
the expenses Incurred by DR.. Bates and
myself, when we went to New York
for two weeks. begging up and down
Wall street aud every item, with vOuch-
ers, can be had in the treaSurers Office.
This is what was spent OF the $4,000.
TO the second Questlon, how mucn of
the funds Of the sinking fund commits.
sion were expended, and for what. |
answer, not one cent.
Third, who received the SI24, ,16l Go ?
This should be S118,12s, the IA per
cent. SeTni.annual interest on the new
bonds. [ answer that | do not know.
We did not, as everybody knows, fund
the bonds IN New York, because we
were antagonized by the Charleston
banks, and the feeling there appeared
to be for a gold bond, which we were
not authorized to issue. and which |
was unwilling to have the State issue.
After cur failure TO do anything in New
York, we authorized Mr.. Rhind to
negotiate the loan OF So, ,22o,O 900 of 1-2
per cent. bonds at par, and expressly in
formed him that If he could sell them
so as to get anv commission it would be
all right, but that the State would not
pay him one cent. So far as Mr.. Rhind's
financial standing was concerned 1t did
not concern US. We were dealing with
him as broker who apseared to know
his business, and who had discretion
and Judgment His associates in the
work with the syndicate, and who got
part Of whatever commission he re-
ceived, were MeS5rs. Lancaster and
Williams, Of Richmond. ! say this,
however: That Lancaster, Williams,
Rhind, or any other man, has ever paid
one cent. of his commission to anybody
in South Carolina that know Of, and
| defy anybody on earth, under the
earth, or anywhere else, TO trace any of
this mony to South Carolina, or say that
Bates or got one dollar of it.
\ Foice-Are you a POpulist or
Democrat?
The Governor-l am white man
and Democrat, but you are white
man with black heart. Laughter)
| wish you people had been at Char
lesion lost night, and Seen.me spit fire
at those hounds, Chico and Cantini and
Nolte. The present aristocTacy Of
Charleston were out with their under
Iings, but | Salted them down good.
Foice-What about the dispensary
shortage?
The G0vern0r-I told Gen. Butler he
could examine the Joks if he was hon
est in that matter, and we will send
you along to wash the spitt0on. QLaugh-
ter
In regard to Gen. BatIer's statement
that the times were favorable to fund
ing the delt, and that Georgia fun
hers st per cent, say that, while
the candidates for Governor and others
who had been members Of the Reform
party. bOaSted Of the rafunding Of the
debt at a reduced interest 2s an achieve
ment worthy CT praise, ! have never
pened my mouth about it. l know how
difficult the operation was, and how
the scheme should fall through. Ia
fact, early in June, the nervous strain
on Dr.. Bates was SO great that he left
me the whole burden to bear, and went
to ne springs, being completely pros
trated. During the time be was absent
the stringency in the money markets
and the impossibiiity of obtaining cur
reDcy was SO great that the last week
in June money on call 10 New York
commanded 50 per cent. interest, and
but for the fact that we had bonus Of
$4,000 as a forfeit should the Baltl-
more yrust Company fail to take the
10 nd h,1r for thn fIrt no f1nt N 9f
/ assumed the responsibility of ship
ping the bonds G. O. ID. by express, Sc
that they could be deposited IS collate-
raj upon which TO borrow the money to
pay for them, there would have been a
failure to complete the transaction.
Gen. Buffers lamentable Ignorance of
the financial condition un1er which
the transaction was completed shows
that he isn't even lit TO 60 TO TIE L2gis
lature.
Georgia's State debt is much smaller
than ours, she is twice as large and
her assessed value is over S425 100000,
while South Carolina IS assessed at
S170,000000, Georgia has a white ma
jority ensuring a continuation Of good
government, while we have 10000 negro
FOI6S III EXCESS VI IIlc WulGeS. luIS
means that under certain conditions
which have at times appeared immi-
nent there might be struggle between
the white factions which would make
the negro vote the arbiter that would
inevitably bring return of the condi-
tion Of affairs which caused John Pat
ter5on to say there were five more years
of good stealing in South Carolina.
Georgia owns the Western and Allan
tic railroad worth S9,000,0O0,and which
rents for S450,000, an asset nearly
double her entire public debt so tnat
any comparison of the financial stand
ing and credit Of tie two States is
simply farcical.
| say it in no boasting spirit that we
consummated the finest financial deal
ever made by a farmer and a clodhop-
per'-Dr. Bates and your farmer Gov
ernor-in reducing the annual charge
by $4,000 and every man of any char
acter or honesty in the State whose
heart IS not gangrened with political
venom gives US credit for it. AS to
the yelled charge or insinuatiO0 that |
received any OF the commission, l de
nounce as d malicious SANDER and |
can only say that those who are ready