Newspapers / Washington Daily News (Washington, … / Dec. 1, 1916, edition 1 / Page 2
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DISCUSSES Mitt HI THE DAILY SWS ? v To the Dally News: I do not mean to uaams the rola ot a qnarr.lier or Intend to say any thin* onklnd. but your editorials en titled "Butler and Bonds" In the Is sue of November 20th and the sub aequent one in the Issue of Novem ber 14th are before me. and the? present such a tangled conflict of in formation and misinformation that I cannot conceive of a greater editorial error than was the publication of them. In the former you refer to the bonds In question as "those au thorized by the Legislatures of *54 **5- and '60-'61." In the next para graph you say that eloquent orations wora delivered on them In the late eanpalgn. the sentiment of which was that the bonds were illegal and passed by carpet baggers. Answering these suggestions seri atim, If any gentleman stated in the late campaign that the Legislatures of '64-'-5? or "60-'61 contained a "carpet bagger." I did not hear It. and If he had been a Democrat and I had heard it, I would have cor rected it. The "carpet bagger" was an Interloper from the northern states who came after the war Into the southern states and before ac quiring citizenship, took hold of the public administration of county and state governments, dictated their policy and plundered their public treasuries. The war closed in '65. There were no carpet baggers until after then. I do not think you are correct In saying that there is any general Impression of the character Indicated by you. ' You are incorrect in saying that; Governor Holden called the election, j In saying this, you are evidently mix ing the BeBslons of '64-'55 and *60-*61 ' with that of '68-'6i*. In saying that I <Jov. Holden called the Session of the I Legislature It may be your purpose to give legality to the session of ? that Issued the fraudulent special tax bonds hereafter consld- ( ered. If so. In this you are incor- ' met. Look at Moore's History of North Carolina, page 26fi, paragraphs | 4, 9 and 10. 1 shall quote them hereafter. I cannot hut presume that yen are talking about the bonds is sued by virtue of Chapters 226. 227 and 22ft. Public Laws of 1864-5. These several acts are before me and incorporate severally the following railroad companies, to-wit: The Wil mington & Charlotte. The Atlantic. Tennessee ft Ohio, and The Wee torn North Carolina. The lasrt naradfr providing for the eonatrui tion of tire ?West North Carolina Railroad, an thorized a bond Issue originally of $2,000,000. afterwards increased by authority of the Act of 1866. These bonds were secured wfc-?n sold, by the State'a stock In the N. C. R. R., which was also one ol the roads for the building of which tho State issued bonds. In 1879. by Chapter 98, the State funded Its entire bonded in debtedness and in enumerating them classified them as Class 1. Class 2 and Class S. By this I mean the State offered to pay Its outstanding bonded indebtedness enumerated In these three classca. Tho language of Section 4 of the Act Is as follows: "These bonds shall bo exchanged for tho old bonds of the State men tioned In the first Bectlor of this act at the following rates: Class 1, for the bonds issued before the 20th day of May. 18 61, 4 0 per cent of the principal of the bond or bonds so surrendered." This Includes the bonds referred to by Dr. Battle In tho letter which you quote in the first editorial, and also those sued on In the suit of South Dakota against North Carolina which was decided Feb. 1. 1904. Ev ery holder of this class of bonds ac cepted tho offer and received pay except the two Shaffer brothers. They refused to accept, and held bonds to the amount of approximately $250, 000. Be It remembered, please, that when this suit was brought this was jail the money that North Carolina [owed on what you can call Its old bonds, except the fraudulent special jtax bonds issued by the Legislature of '68-'69. of which I hereafter" 'apeak. Marian Butle> was in the I United States Senate when the idea I was conceived by. which Shaffer Brothers gave $27,000 to the State 'of South Dakota. He and Senator Pettlgrew of South Dakota were the ! only two Populists, as I remember, In the Senate. Senator Pettlgrew used his personal influence to have {the Legislature of South Dakota pass an act authorizing the State to ac cept the gift. Butler was afterwards examined on oath in a duly consti tuted proceeding before a commis sioner. and his testimony Is accessi ble. in which he stated his connec tion with the matter as attorney. The State of South Dakota brought the suit for $27,400. Before me now la the brief of the attornoys err | ployed by tho Stats or North Caro lina. Judge Jamas *. ?hsppard. I Judge J. H. Merrhoao an& Mr. Geo. Rountree. Not vme word i* said la that brief about Chess bonds being I Brail d. The State baa sever contest ed their validity. The .briefs are ad dressed to the points off Jurisdiction of the court and the right of the state to bring the suit. South Dakota won and we then had a judgment againat North Carolina of '$2T,400. The Legislature of 1906, page 543. after appointing a committor to adfc just this entire outstanding Issue, passed an act authorising the pay ment not only of the <27.400 but of the entire $250,000; and not to be understood as Impatient With you (whlio 1 cannot conceits why the editorial should have been written), nor to be arrogant, I submit to you ' now this proposition; That if any of these bonds referred to by Dr. Battle In the letter you quote are outstand ing and unpaid. I would thank you to bring .jem Into my office and re celvo payment promptly. I say this ndt because I am able to pay the State's debts, but because I know she does not We them. If they were valid, you ask, why do we complain ?totlor and mix him Tip in a politi cal way with the law suit? It is only this: The State has funded the Issue in nn act to compromise, commute and settle the consolidated debt of the State, and payment of nearly all trad been accepted, and tho State was >fferins the holders the amount oth ers received. Shaffer refused to take it and the suit wps to compel the payment of 100 per cent after the Jthor holders h^l received 26 to 40 per cent. It was his first duty to uphold tho legislative act of the State while he held the office of sen ator by its election, rather than to conspire with a friend to over ride the legislative policy of the state and profit by it. There is no act of pub lic infamy more outrageous since the djournment of the legislature which issued the special tax bonds which we yet refuse to pay and hope never to pay. I did not start out. however, to | defend the campaign, but to 6tato thei facts, and to state them from the record. What, then, la all this trou- ' ble about? I give It from it^rfoun datiun. On the 2nd day of March, 1867, Congress passed, over the President's veto, an act, of which I quote suffic ient to explain the point hereafter presented: "Whereas, no legal state govern ment or adequate protection for life or property now exists In the rebel states ; And whereas. It is necessary that peace and good order siiould be en forced' In said states; Therefore, be it enacted, that said cbel states shall be divided into .lilitary districts and made subjects o the military authority of the states ih hereinafter prescribed; and for hat purpose North Carolina and louth Carolina shall constitute the Second District," etc. Sections 2, 3 and 4 made It the luty of the President to assign to | he command of each of these dis tricts, of which there were Qve. an ifflcor of the army not below the rank of Brigadier General, and to assign the duties and powers of such :ommander, ar>d assign to him a military force. Section 6 provided that when the people of any one of the rebel states "shall have formed a constitution in conformity with the constitution of the United States (defining at great length which I ~annot quote the qualifications of /oters and especially the acceptance of the 14th Amendment), such state should be restored to the Union." This act was followed up by a sup plemental one on the 23rd of March which defined the procedure to be "ollowed in making a registration of voters for the elections provided for. ( Larneds' Heference History, Vol. &, page 368S). Oen. Canby was appointed by Pre?. Johnston, by virtue of that aot, Mil iary Governor <lf the District of North and Soyth Carolina. Jonathan Worth was then the Governor of North Carolina and we had a civil | government getting on Its feet with, wonderful fcticccss considering the chaotic conditions incident ,to the war. Gen. Canby's headquarters were In Charleston. In June, 1867. by order by telegram from Gen. Canby. Oov. Worth, who had been elected by the people In '66, was turned <mt of his office and Gov. HoK den was put In hi* place. Elections; followed and those elections were held under the regulations prescrib ed by Candy except where definitely defined by the Rconstrtietlon Act sbor quoted. II eons' s History of North Carolina, abpvs referred to, page I?, Lb alt follow*: "Early in the year 1*68 a conven tion. nxalled, wai held to frame a new Constitution under the Recon struction Act of Codgre**. The eleV tien for the delegates was held un-" [dor General Can by 'a orders, and the return* wef*" sent to him at Char leston. (not only were the returns so sent, but numWrs of ballot boxes with the original ballots in them were so sent). Upon hi* order the Convention *met. 'afcd upon hi* order it* tolegatetf were seated and un seated. "In the latter part of April the Constitution thus framed was sub mitted to siich or tho people a* were allowed to vote, Kit an eleetlon held as before, under General Canby's or der, and by him, In Charleston, South Carolina, the returns having been sent to him there, declared to have been adopted. It Is now gen- 1 erally known aB the *Canby Constitu tion.' In June, by order by telegram from General Canby, Gov. Worth, who had been elected Governor bf the people in 1866, was turned but of his office and Governor Holden put in his place. The only authority for this and other outrages was the might of Federal bayonets. "The Legislature elected under the recently adopted Constitution met on th<# 1st of July. 1868. It was comprised largely of negroes and of men from the North who had lately come to North Carolina. These latter were popularly known as 'carpet baggers', snd as a clasd were mere birds of prey who came hero for plunder. As might have been ex peoted. the legislation of such a body was both corrupt and injurious. . . . Unfortunately, there was added to gross ignorance' the most? unblushing corruption and wanton extravagance. Many millions of debt, in tho shape of 'Special Tax Bands,* as they were called, were attempted to be fasten- i ed upon the State by this Legislature, I but tho people have persistently n> I fused to recognize them." It would make this lotter too long If I were to quote all 1 desire which follows In this work that has been adopted as a standard authority in ,our schools and was bo through the I two sessions of the Fusion or Rcpub- # lican Legislatures of- 'd 5 and '97 1 without question. Let me please ' have space to quote Just these other ( words on pa^e 267: "It (the Reconstruction Act above referred to) was made the law of tho land, and under its provisions, while twenty thousand white men of North Carolina were deprived of the right to rote, that privilege was extended to every colored male in the State who had attained the age of twenty one years." The sessions of the Legislature which came together under the pro visions of this act and under the conditions above stated Issued bonds for the pretended purpose of build ing various railroads. See Chapter 22, Laws of 1868 and 1869, which refers to the Western North Carolina R. R. and supplements and amends the Act of 1854-5 above reforred to; but J>ear In mind that the bonds authorised by the Act of *54-'55 had been sold and the work of the rail road In progress for several years bo fore the war and are now all paid. This act authorizes the Issuance of a part of the bonds which were called the Fraudulent Special Tax Bonds and which the people of the 8tate have repudiated. Chaptor 21. refers to the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford R. R. Co.; Chapter 22 to the University R. R. Co.; Chapter 27 to tho Atlantic & N. C., and the N. C. R. Companies. Chapter' 29, to the Oxford, Raleigh & Gaston; Chapter 23. to the Willlamston A Tarboro, authorizing Its extension from Ply mouth to Wilmington. Chapter 31, to the Atlantic, Tennessee & Ohio R. R. Co. It is impossible to do more than to give the places that these acts can be found and offer them to you and to the public In my office for any honest purpose. It was these and a few other enactments from which millions of dollars of bonds wore issued, and they were called 'Special Tax Bonds" because several of the acta levied an Immediate spec ial tax for the payment of the Inters est. Under these special tax levies for Interest, the people paid, as 1 have It from Dr. Battle Cab taken flown In the notes of bia lecture by Mr. B. A. Daniel), $484,867. la 1870 (see Chapter 1#, Public Laws of 1870-71), $200,000 of thlB monoy" so collected from the people for the purpose of paying Interest on these bonds was In the treaaury (the In terest, I presume, not having accrued, or else the coupons had not been presented); and the above cited 'chapter compelled the treasurer to (Continued on page 5) Wonder Green, Dr. Xeeley's Pnncrljv Ucm, Overcomes Rheumatic Troubles. Get ready for the cold, damp day! that are rapidly approaching, and that always bring Rhsumatlc pains. . Wonder Green haa been used by thousands during the last forty years; Is very effective, and relieves suffer ing of any rorm of Rheumatism. .{? Don't say "It's the same old story," but If troubled with Rheumatism, try ' a bottle, and you will be surprised at the results.. Price: .60 and 11.00 the bottle. For sale by w. a. * j. g. rrxjFjcr. Cultivate Your Crops with Improved Farm Machinery it will save you money. BUY YOUR W7R? FENCE FROM US. Hassell Supply Company WE HAVE WHAT YOU WANV We wl8H to announce to our farmer friends that we are still selling tobacco and will con tinue to do so until the mar ket-dooes. ? ; ^ The. *W*ttMngton Tobacco Market 'Will Close For the Season on December 15th Bring us what tobacco or scraps you might have on hand and we will see that you get the TOP DOLLAR for ev ery peund, as our buyers are still strong on the market and will continue hexe until 15th. Thanking you for past favors and trusting to see you next week on the Washington warehouse floor, we take pleasure in assuring you that we will get you the High Dollar for eyery pound of tobacco sold with us, just as we have been doing for the past four years. At the Old Reliable Washington Warehouse S. A. Gravely & Son Proprietors STATEMENT OF THE CONDITION OF Savings and Trust Co. Washington,^]. C. i at the close of business nov. lTOf, lm. j Loans and Diacottnta ,;j ? $21 1,002.72 Building and Fixture* 28,180.9# Cosh .Resources 78,827.73 ?ft lk, 811.41 Capital Stock 50,000.00 Surplm and Profits 18,108.20 Bill* Payable ,. 6,000.00 Deposits ????'? 8*0,808.21 I ' $818,811.41 Koposila Nov. 17?h, M15..., tl74,4?#.?0 Dopoaiia Nov. 17 A, 1#1?. . .... . . .1340^8.81
Washington Daily News (Washington, N.C.)
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Dec. 1, 1916, edition 1
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