The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-05-03
EX-GOVERNOR RUSSELL TALKS

pudiated bonds of Southern States has
Governor Russell, which was printed
in a Raleigh newspaper yesterday. He
is quoted as saying:
1--WE shall not seek to enforce
against North Carolina any bonds that
were not honestly issued, nor will l
attempt TO collect from the State the
Itot eCGs O. bonds that were fran fu-
lently disposed of by State or railroad
officials, except to the extent of such
amounts as went into the treasury OF
the State or of the railroad companies
and were used for the benefit of the
State in railroad construction or other
wise. / am confident that ex-senator
Butler will concur with me in this
statement The bonds which the
North American Trust Company is
collecting are generally those of States
other than North Carolina
Bear in mind that this statement
comes from a man who, while Cover
nor of North Carolina, betrayed his
II ust and prevented the state Trea+ir-
er's redeoming certain bonds offered
for redemption at twenty-five cents in
the dollar in order to compel the
He is the same man, too, who con-
spireG with Butler and PettigreW to
induce South Dakota to sell it's SoVer
eighty in order to compel North Caro-.
lima to pay for bonds Oh which it had
received only twenty-five cents in the
dollar. There is no parallel in history
to this infamy on the part of Russell
and Butler--the one the Governor of
the State and the other Senator from
the State, taking advantage of posi-
ton given them by the State to con-
spire to make it pay bonds that it had
always been willing to pay on the
basis of every cent received! If the
matter had been discovered before
Russells term as Governor expired,
steps would have been taken to bring
about his impeachment.
With the settlement of the issue of
bonds like those upon which South Da-
kota brought suit North Carolina has
settled all it's outstanding bonds that
had any binding effect upon the State.
1t never repudiated those bonds but
compromised them by paying every
dollar received by the State. But there
are outstanding millions of dollars of
North Carolina bonds conceived in sin
and brought forth in iniquity by the
Carpet Bag Legislature of 1868. AS
to these Russell says he will not try
to enforce the collection of what he
calls fraudulent bonds except to
the extent of such amounts as went in
to the treasury of the State or the
railroad and were used for the benefit
Of the State in railroad construction
or otherwise The meat in the cocoa
nut is in the words 'Or otherwise
which is broad enough to include
money paid to the Reconstruction
legislators When the Democrats
drove out the ScalaWag- Carpet-B
crowd in North Carolina that issued
these fraudulent bonds, one of the first
acts Of the Legislature was to submit
an amendment to the people forever
forbidding the payment of any of the
interest or principal of these fraudu-
lent bonds After thirty years, up
bob Butler and Russell seeking to
compel the payment of a portion of
those bonds
The attempt to convince the people
that these two traitors to their State
would not enforce" the payment of
any except amounts received by the
State is a piece of gall that is worthy
of these two ignominouS enemies to
the State that paid them money to
look after it's interest while they were
conspiring to injure it. In the matter
of the South Dakota bonds they
face value of the bonds with thirty
years interest, though they we'll knew
that the State had only received TWEEN
ty-five cents in the dollar due to the
general decentralization due to the ras-
cality of the party with which Russell
conspire to compel such payment would
for a consideration force the payment
of every dollar of the fraudulent
bonds, which the people by vote have
declared were fraudulent and never
shall be paid. If they were loyal to
love-they would be satisfied with
their former moral treason and not
add to their former conspiracy
another attempt to "hold up" the
State.
All these proceedings show what
this paper has always declared, to-wit:
That the South Dakota suit was but
the entering wedge in the attempt to
compel all the Southern States to pay
| the fraudulent Reconstruction bonds.
Behind Russell, Butler. and Pettigrew,
| the trio of repudiated politicians who
proved enemies to their States, are a
powerful coterie of rich men who had
enough influence to force into the Ar
| bitration agreement a clause that
| would have validated all those fraud
| ulent bonds. But for the insistence of
! Southern Senators that clause would
| nave been ratified and the Southern
| States made bankrupt Having failed
at least for the present-to secure
/ the recognition of these bonds by in
direction, these interests are using
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