The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1873-06-13
FRIDAY EVENING. JUNE 10, 1873.

"UEDER Just such political elements as now
seek to control the destiny of the state, Virginia
has gone back from the very front TO almost the
rear rank of states in the Union.- Stote Jour-
9ldl.p
And under just such political elements as THE
JOURNAL would set up over the destinies of the
commonwealth, the debts of the southern states
have been fraudulently increased two hundred
millions of dollars since the close of the war Let
US keep on going back to the rearest of all ranks,
beyond all reach of carpet-bag patronage
and scalawag patriotism and negro "civiliza-
tion."-PeterS,urg Appeal
The Appeal is unfortunate in its refer.
ence TO the fraudulently increased indebt-
edness of the South, as well as what it is
pleased to call ''carpet-bag patronage"
etc., from the North. 1t is difficult to tell
what ''political elements" it means by the
use of this worn out phraseology. We
have tried, time and again, to get from our
contemporaries q satisfactory definition Of
the word ''carpet-bag;" but the more
we have pushed them on the
point Of inquiry, the greater has
been our perplexity and their definitional
confusion. They delight in ringing all the
inllectional changes on this delectable word
whenever they attempt reply to us on
any vexed subject, as if they thought it
must be exceedingly annoying to us in
some way or other. or in some deiinitional
sense or other. But an editorial grasshop-
per might as well blow his trumpet at a
train of cars laundering down the Ale
ghanies, for the purpose Of way-side an
noyance, as for The Appeal or
any other journal in the state, to scrape
away on this everlasting carpet-bag"
string, in the hope of disturbing our phil
osophic equanimity. These nicknames, or
nurSenamcs, as they are properly called, we
got rid Of at a very early period of life, and
can only regret that our contemporary
was not spanked out of the habit of using
them at the BETTING stage of his manhood.
1t would have added grace and ornament
to his editorial bearing, if not a
pith and pungency to his pen, which would
have improved his editorials amazingly.
"If can't whip you, eau make up faces
atyour sister," exhibits no drawer quality
in journalism than it does in the PALMER
days Of nursenamism, when these little
Automatic graces were most likely to occur
But how about the little debt OF Vir-
ginia, since the war? Who was it that
snapped financial horses in crossing the
political stream of 1869, and fastened about
eighty millions of indebtedness upon the
neck of Virginia by the compound interest
SPINDLE which was part and parcel of that
transaction ? Who were SO eager to pile
up indebtedness against the productive
industry OF the state, that they seized
upon suspended interest, compounded il,
spread it over thirty-four years Of
liability, and thereby required sixty-eight
consecutive payments of $3.50, 333.335 in
excess Of what was legally due the Wall
street Shylocks? What delectable carpet
bag" element did all this, and who rubbed
their hands, both in pocket and out Of
pocket. in excessive glee and graduation
over the financial result ? Talk not of
swindles in other Southern states, or of
other ''carpet-baggerso than those of
Wall-street, when you come to fling your
little nursenames at THE STATE JOUR-
NAL, and talk of the elements ace would
introduce into Virginia
Of all the rascally swindles, put up as
''carpet-bag jobso on the South. that
which was fastened ON the neck of our old
commonwealth, was the most corrupt and
infamous. 1t was infamy purchased at a
price--the Democrats of Virginia consent
ing to have their FILTERS wrung in advance
of wincing at the price, too /!