The Goldfield news. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1904-1911, 1910-03-26
Beware the Greeks Bearing Gifts

CURIOUS situation has arisen at Carson City. Eastern bond
"a holders are trying to force the state of Nevada to accept
100000 in bonds of the state of North Carolina as a gift and
the governor is preparing to go into court to resist the forced ac-
eeptance of the gift. And thereby hangs a tale.
During that disgraceful period in American history Immediately
following the civil war, known as the reconstruction period, when
northern carpet baggers were sent into the south to reconstruct the
various states, a reign of profigacy and extravaganza held sway such
as was never known in this country before. Bonds in unlimited
amounts were issued to raise money ostensibly for the purposes of
rehabitating the states, but a greater part found their way into chan
nls that resulted in little or no good to the various commonwealth.
North Carolina was one of the states that was made to bear a large
bond issue for reconstruction purposes, but never, when the state
again came into the hands of its own citizens, did that state recognize
the validity of these bonds and never did it make any provision to
redeem them Or pay the interest thereon. In other words, they re-
pudiated them, These bonds were bought at the time by northern
spectators at a very great discount and ever since they have been
endeavorng in some way to get North Carolina to recognize the
bond, and provide for their payment. Finally a bond-holders commit
tee was formed, representing all the owners of these bonds. They
could not sue the state, for no individual or corporation o II company
can sue a sovereign state. A state can only be sued by another state.
So it became the business of these bondhoders to interest some state
in their behalf, and this is the way they went about it: Their agents
went into various states, among them being North Dakota and Ne
vada. They had bills introduced in their legislatures, making it
mandatory upon the state through its governor, to accept any gift of
land, buildings, money, stocks or bonds that might be rendered the
state, and made 1T obligatortory upon the state to defend title to the
same. Only two states of the entire number passed the bill, all other
refusing. The two Were North Dakota and Nevada. The Nevada bill
was passed in 1901, and became law. The exact purpose of the bill
did not become manifest at the time, but it has since. both in Nevada
and North Dakota.
In North Dakota a tender Of a gift of bonds to the state was made
under this law. 1t turns out that they were the same bonds, offered
by the same committee, as in the Nevada case. BY accepting these
bonds, it became incumbent upon the state to sue to collect, and in
suing, it was to establish the validity of the bonds. This was exactly
what the b~ond-holders committee wanted. The validity of the bonds
once established, they could collect on the millions of bonds in their
hands, whereas without the intervention of a state, they could get no
action. They could readily afford to give a state 100000 in bonds
as a gift, to validate the millions in the bondhoders pool.
The state of North Dakota got onto this scheme that was destined
to involve it in trouble with a sister state, all for the purposes of a
crafty syndicate and a session of the legislature repealed the bill be.