The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1894-07-09

having purchased certain bonds after g.
resolution OF the general assembly OF Geor-
gia recognizing their validity. The attorney
general thought that under the law OF
New York the question Of unconstitutional
| ty could not probably be considered, though
under a technicality savings banks could
not invest in the bonds. He took pains to
say that there was nothing in the investi-
| cation which Should, n the slightest de-
gree impair the credit Of the state, and
| this decision, and particularly the last
! statement referred to, was complained OF
( severely at the time by those who were
| seeking to discredit the state, they charging
| that it was voluntary endorsement Of the
| state of Georgia, which the attorney gem
| eral of the state of New York went out Of
| his way to give.
| AS for development, railroad and other
| wise. the answer of Georgia and other
! southern states completely refutes the
argument and annihilates the conclusion
| that reputation has reduced credit, and
reduced credit has retarded development
! Proof of the fact that more outside capital
! has sought investment in the development
| OF Georgia than in probably any other
| state of the union of the same population, in
| the past fifteen years, Is absolute proof o.
| the Uns0undness of Mr.. Hume's charge
| that withered resources awaiting develop
| ment are the indirect result of the repuda-
| ton by the state of unauthorized debts.
| Let us look into this For the past ten
| or fifteen years the record of railroad build
| ing in the United States shows that Geor-
| gia has led almost every year, in the mile
age of new roads. Taken as a whole during
| that time and the mileage of railroads
| built in Georgia by far surpasSes that of
| any other state in the union. Most of the
| capital put in such development has come
! from the outside and the Reputation "sIzele-
| tom had no terror for it. Some CT the
greatest railroad systems in the
| United States have pushed their
! lines into and through Georgia
and the remarkable advance made in the
railroad development of the state has been
but the index of that which has kept pace
III the Improvement of other resources. AS
has been with Georgia it has been
With other southern states the railroad
md general development of the south At
santic and gulf states having been more
marked, for the same period of time than
hat or any section of the country NIL
ions upon millions of d0lars-Inost of it
outside capiral-has been invested in I'M
locking the mineral resources Of Tennessee,
EGeorgla. Alabama, Virginia and West Vir-
Slnla ana to a greater degree than in any
4. other territory of the same area have the
PutolG iron, coal, mineral, marble and hard
GOD industries OF these states RESPONDED
to the Quickening touch of outside capital.
In Florida which Mr.. Hume says sis
responsible for four or five millions ,oora,,
Of repudiated bonds, and the DEVELOPMENT
of which, from the decentralization OF
reputation, Ii Mr.. Hu1ne's argument
, be true, would be seriously retarded
by the loss OF credit incident 10
reputation, we find the most renlar1a bio
evidence Of the recent work of
outside capital to be found proha h,v
> III any state in the union. Eminent north
ern capitalists, ranking among the greatest
/ fnanriers of the country, are there wing
with one another in the apparent effort to
Sc no
! transforming that beautiful land of sun
shine into the garden spot of the CONT
mont. Untold millions of northern capital
, have been expended in building vast railroad
systems, establishing steamship lines, con-
! structing the most beautiful hotels on
! earth, and in otherwise adding to the mar
vicious gifts which nature had bestowed
upon the state Of perpetual summer. Meth
er MIR. Plant. nor Mr.. Flagler nor Mr.
DisSton, nor Mr.. Duval; has stopped to
| inquire into the issues involved in F'lordas
repudiated obligations. nor has the credit
Of the state been lessened one whit bv such
Reputation. The men who are spending
. their money there in such abundance that
it IS impossible to keep up with the details
- - the progress of the state, have satisfied
themselves that the past is a matter of
record, and that the present is an open book
of brilliant promise for Floridas future
Whatever may have been the conditions
! leading to reputation they do not exist
toby, nor they exist again under
the wise restrictions of the reOrsayiZad
| fundamental law of the state which, as
other states have done. has thrown every
possible safeguard around its credit. render
ing it, like that OF every other southern
state, secure as that CT any state in
the union.
in this connection it may be well to call
attention to the fact that the power Of
the states of the south to contract debts
was, before the war, practically unlimited,
as compared with the restrictions placed by
the states, upon themselves. after the war.
! The necessity Of this limitation was evolv-
ed from the dear experience bought from
rcc0ns tructi0n legislatures. which would
have broken the Bank Of England if they
had had the same opportunity to trife with
its credit that they did with that of the
states which their usurped charge came
near banl1ruptirg. The fundamental law
of most Of the southern states. like that
Of q large majority of all the states of the
union, inhibitS state endorsement of
corpora ton securities-a fruitful source OF
corruption and plumber before the war,
and particularly during the reconstruction
era-and forbds the use If the states credit
for any other than administrative, educa-
tional other such emergent purposes.
am aware that 8 favorite argument Of
those who hold the states responsible for
al repudated obligations even though
admitted to be unconstitutional fraudu-
that innocent holders of the state obliGa-
tons should not be made TO suffer the
penalty Of the misuse OF the states credit.
And yet to hold the state responsible for
an obligation, in the making Of which 1t
had given no authority Whatsoever. would
be 10 put premium on corruption which
would, if such a principle held good in
law, imperl the credit OF even the strong
est and richest Of the states Of the union.
Carrying this argument to It's logical con-
clusiOn would force the United States TO
redeem every dollar of counterfeit money
in the hands of innocent holders. on the
ground that they accepted the money On
their faith that the government was back
OF it, and was responsible for IT.
The government Itself established the
precedent that the innocence OF the bond
holder was not to be considered as over
coming the illegality of the issue OF securi-
ties held, in the adoption ct
the fourteenth amendment to the
constitution, which compelled the re
quotation of debts contracted either
FOR direct or indirect aid OF the rebellion.
Millions of dollars of bonded Indebtedness
of the southern states were thus repudiated
by the federal government Itself after the
war Nor were the debts so repudiated
incurred directly In aid of che rebellion,
though they were placed Constructlveiy.
In that category. Vast HmCEnts OF money