The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1872-04-10
COMMERCIAL NoN.INTERCoURsE.

COMMERCIAL N0N-INTERCoURsE.
We have received note Of inquiry from
prominent citizen of Richmond, desiring
to know whether our city authorities will
recognize the late decision of Judge Bond
in regard to the tax imposed upon sample
merchants, or whether they will continue
to make arrests as heretofore. We have
no means of knowing what our city author
tiles may or may not have decided to do in
the premises, bat presume that they will
exercise good sense enough to keep out of
shot water" since Judge Bond has inti-
mated that our city ordinance, requiring
license of non-residents and exempting re-
sidents, is so manifestly illegal that no ar
gument is necessary to show it.
1t is clearly discrimination against the
citizens of other states, and comes within
the decision Of the Supreme court in the
case of IEord Us. State Of Maryland, the
principle of which is applicable to all the
states of the Union, and to all municipal
governments in the same.
OF the policy of such an ordinance, we
can hardly speak with any degree of pa
tience. What possible detriment it can be
to our resident trade to allow sample mer-
chants to visit our city and exhibit their
samples, it passes our poor comprehen-
sion to understand. Take, for instance,
the case Of the young man who visited
our city about three weeks ago, represent
ing paper-collar mandatory in SPRING
field, Mass, and who was three or four
times arrested in one day, and finally
locked up in the caliboose at night, appa-
rently for no other object than to jerk fifty
or hundred dollars out Of him to crafty
somebody's spleen, or penchdnt for "sharp
practice" or for some other object, ques-
tionable or unquestionable, and suhat did
ii all amount to
The young man had only visited two or
three stores, shown the quality of his
goods, and indicated where they could be
ordered, and on what terms. He asked
nobody to buy--in fact, he had no goods to
sell. He was a mere advertising medi-
um,' SO far as anything appeared to the
contrary. And yet he was arrested, fined
fifty dollars, dragged past the Ballard
House by the officer making the arrest, re-
fused permission to enter the hotel for the
purpose Of procuring bail, and thrown into
the "locll-up" with the vilest of men and
women, for simply Offering TO sho,o the
quality Of certain goods manufactured IN
another state. This young man, who had
been Assistant Paymaster-General of the
State Of Connecticut under Democratic
administration, would have remained in the
station-house all night had it not been for
Mr.. Darlington, Of the Ballard House, who,
when he found out what disposition had
been made by the "city authorities" of
one of his guests, went to police head
quarters and bailed him out for the night
giving bonds in the sum of 81, 900, for a
tota1 stranger.
I The young man was, of course, dis
charged the next morning, there being no
case proved against him; but it cost him
some fifty dollars in counsel fees and other
expenses, in consequence of his being
"shadowed' by an exceedingly sharp
officer.
. If Virginia wants to surround herself
with a Chinese wall of non-intercourse with
the other states, the law which our city
authorities have been seeking to enforce
may be good one. But how would it
suit such manufacturing companies here as
j. w. Cardwell & Co., who are selling
nearly hundred thousand dollars worth
of agricultural implements year, by their
agents in other states? Would it not be
better to dig ditch around the state and
float it out into the atlantic, for the benefit
of our city authorities? This would give us
commercial non-intercourse" with a ven
geance.