Year: 1879

|


from which we make some extracts
which present some new views OF
| the question:


Question-What do you think,
| Major, said we. of the probability
of an adjustment bv the Legislature
at its present session?


Answer-I can aot say 1t is
very doubtful whether they will pass
the fifty cents bill through both
houses, as the session is near its
close. -4
| Q.-Suppose they do, will the
4 Governor approve it, and will the
bondholders accept it? 3a7i


Al think the Governor will
gladly approve it. Whar the bond
holders will do, I do 9Aot like to
venture an opinion. If tie new
bonds were made secure in any
manner, by appropriatlng portion
of the revenue of the. State to the
! payment Of the interest, think they
might accept it, if approached in
the proper manner bv the proper
|
levied to paw the expenses of the
State Government should be paid
in anything but money. There
should be special tax to pay the
interest on the State debt, and in
payment of this tax the coupons
might be made receivable the very
year they become due. can not
see the necessity of collecting mon
ey to pay counons, where the cou
pom itself might be used in pay
ment. This would make the cou-
pons useful in transact ng the ordi
nary business of the country if the
! bonds were made of small denom-
ination, and even if they were five
hundred dollar bonds, the coupons
might be used In large transac
tions.


Q.-Suppose the Legislature fails
to make a settlement, what then?


A.-The people must and will
take it in hand. A settlement must
he had during the present YEAR
The people demand it. If there is
no settlement and no prospect of
one, then the suits against the rail
road companies will be pressed
with vigor, and suits will be insti
tuted directly against the State
upon all bonds issued during the
time when bv her own act the State
allowed herself to be sued, and
these amount, as learn, to eight
or ten millions of dollars, principal
and interest. Mr.. Eugene KELLEY
told me he had said to Gov. Marks,
that if no settlement we're effected,
it was the intention. of the bond
holders to sue the State directly
Mr.. Kelley said the same thing to
me. in letter which | showed you.
Gov Marks told him they could do
nothing in a suit and Mr.. Kelley
said to him that some very good
lawyers thought they could. If a
suit were brought against the State,
we could not and would not plead,
as the lawyers say, MI debit, non est
fdctun, fraud or failure of consider
alton, but merely the plea of the ju
risdiction of the court or that a





be like a man pleading infancy
upon contract. Such suit would
be ruinous, even if we eventually
gained it. 1t. would he disastrous
also to the bondholder; and there
fore. he should, and l believe would,
prefer a fair, honorable settlement.


Q-How does it happen that so
MANY men in your section of
the State. who pay no State tax,
object to paving the debt?


A.-This / never could under
stand, except upon the ground that
they are misinformed. Many of
them believe the poll tax goes to the
bondholder, when, as you know, 1t
goes to the common schools. They
are made to believe that the taxes
are paid by them out of their labor,
when, in fact, they get as much for
their labor when taxes are high as
when they are low. If there were
no tax at all they would be paid no
more than when taxes were high
The taxes are paid as every man OF
sense knows out Of thSt portion OF
the products belonging to the own
er of the land. If the laborer gets
two thirds of what is made, the
land owner has to pay the tax out
of the other third, which he gets as
rent. When he rents his land to
the tenant, he never puts on the
tax, because. if he did, the tenant
would rent of some one else. But,
if he did, the tax on one acre OF
lan6 assessed at twenty dollars,
would only be eight cents, II the
tax was only forty cents on the
hundred dollars. Our State tax is
now only ten cents on the hundred
dollars, a1d yet the poor man l.
suffering more than he ever did be
fore, not from taxation, but from
the effeats produced by our repudi-
ating, or non paying policy, Credit
is ruined, confidence Is destroyed,
public and private enterprises are
stopped, laborers are thrown out of
employment, wages are reduced
and the poor honest working men.
who have been persuaded to advo
cate PRACTICAL reputation are nurs
ing the serpent that is singing
them to death. No man sympa
thizes more deeply with those who
are really in want than do, No
one has felt the want of money
more than l have. am opposed
to policy which is not only ruin
ing the reputation of the State, but
is destroying its honest, hardwork
ing citizens who pay very little tax
'es. In the States that pay their
debts and meet their obligations,
where taxos are four, five and in
some instances ten times as high
as they are in Tennessee, labor is
better rewarded and the working
men more prosperous. The dema
gogue who persuades the working
man to favor Reputation is Civ
ing him poison, which, although
sweet to taste. carries misery aud
death wherever il goes.


Q.-Do YOU expect to take any
part in the canvass on this subject