The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1876-10-12

4
Same, then why not tote Tor olir candidate
The average Democrat will answer a
once that the Republican party is colrip
4 and eNtravagant. and that Mr.. Tiltlcn is
i great reformcr.
/ Well Informed Democrats are aware tha
the charge OF corruption is mere bosh. bin
the small-fry are really alarmed lest the Re
] publicans should steal everything before the,
get at the flesl-pots. The Democratic Com
mttees, in the hope of making political cap
ital, spent one million dollars of the people
money, at the last session of Congress, inyes
tigating charges of corruption. The result
was that they did not find that solitary dol
lar OF public funds had been stolen, hut OF
the contrary, the Secretary of the Treasury
reported that the loss to the Government OF
each $1,000 OF the entire revenues passin,
through his office was 30 cents under Grant
administration; was As CENTS on the 81, 00
under Lincoln's; was 81 40 on the ST 900 TIN
der Buchanan's; $3.50 under Picrce's. an(
Spills under Van Busen's. 1t is true Belli
nap was convicted of receiving a bril- be, ant
lost his office. but the official record shows
his disgrace the sole result.
Again, it is charged that the Republican
party is extravaganza and wasteful of the peo
pies money. Oaicial records show thai
| GuC average tflItudt C-ApCtioCS vi tIlt tTON-
eminent under Buchanan were eighty. one
millions. Grants expenses in 1915. we're t n,,e
| hundred and seventy four millions. Deduct
from this one hundred and three millions.
the interest on the Democratic war debt. pen
SONS to soldiers. war claims, Pacific railway
| interest, sinking fund for war debt ard the
premium on gold, and there is left eighty
six millions. The population in 1860. I'M
der Buchanan, was 81, 100000. expenses per
capita s.. Gl under Buchanan. Population in
| 1875, under Grant, 42,000,000, expenses per
capita, under Grant, $2.05.
| This disposes effectualy and finally of the
| two charges of corruption and extravaganza.
Now lie. us compare tine administration of
public moneys of the United States by the
Republican party with that of the public
funds OF the State Of Virginia. by the Demo
cratic party. The public debt OF the United
| States was, in found numbers, two thousand
| five hundred millions in 1865, andsits re-
ceipts from internal revenue tax 500 mil
lions; to-day the debt is reduced to 1900
millions, and 80 millions of the principal are
paid off each year; the internal revenue taxes
| have been reduced from 800 to us millions.
| Have the Democratic party administered the
public revenues OF Virginia as wisely and
well? Has it reduced the principal of the
debt, paid the interest or lowered taxation ?
Every man in the State knows that it has
| done neither Of these; that the State reve-
nues do not meet the current Expenditures and
/ interest by about million per annum, and
| that we are yearly adding that amount to
our huge burden of Indebtedness, and tn
plain question has to be met, will you repu-
| date all or q portion of the State debt or in
crease taxation; there is no alternative, the
4 question must be determined.
Sc pressed were our officials for funds that
recently they illegally seized 100000 Of the
taxes appropriated to the support of the
public schools, and applied them to the pay
! ment of interest on the State bonds, thus de-
franding the children OF poor men Of public
| money legally to be expended for their ben
eft.
1t should be remembered too that the Re.
formers have some, thieves in their ranks; the
State Treasurer and his assistant were detec-
ted in embezzling public funds, and many
thousands are missing that cannot be account
ted for. The committee appointedIby the Leg
islature to investigate the affair, reported
that ewing to the loose manner in which the
books were kept, it could not be ascertained
what mount had been embezzed. In this con-
nection it should not be forgotten that it has
been charged by Democratic authority and is
generally believed that the funding bill was
passed bya Democratic Legislature by means
of bribery and corruption; nor should it be
forgotten that the same Democratic Legisla-
ture voted away the interest of the State in
Different railroads, to the extent of six mil
lions of dollars, and that the corporations or
which these large bounties were showered
are to-day bankrupt, without having fulfilled
one of the conditions upon which these gifts
were made. .s.+.
The people should remember that these
millions might much better have been APP
piled to the payment OF the State debt, and
should hold their false stewards to u strict
accountability.
1t should be borne in mind that since 1869
when this. State was re-admitted into the
Union under Democratic auspices, landed
property and value Of all kinds have steadily
declined owing to the failure OF the Legis-
lature to adjust public and individual indcbt-
-edness upon just and equitable basis, and
to that spirit Of intolerance and prescription
which has prevented immigration and the
introduction of capital from tie North. The
entire absence OF passable highways is q
great drawback upon the sale of lands to
immigrants, and is a nuisance to the people,
and the Legislature instead Of levying tax
for the purpose of keeping the highways in
order, trequired every male to labor three
days per year on the roads, or pay q fine of
so cents per day, thus making the poor man
who owns not 4 foot OF land contribute as
much for the purpose as the proprietor OF 100
acres.
The Democratic Legislature, forgetting that
their party has ratified the 18th Amendment,
proposes to annu. it by passing an amend
ment requiring every man to pay poll tax
or forfeit the right to vote. The object OF
this Is of course to disfranchise colored voters
who are too poorto meet the tax. 1t may very
plausibly be said that white men will also be
dsfranchised, but it is apparenttha nothing
will be easier than for the whites to raise
funds to pay taxes for the insolvents of their
race, while the blacks will be wholly unable
to do so. This proposed amendment is eX-
ceedingly dangerous, and if q man is to be
disfranchised because he is not rich enough
to pay poll tax, why may he not be dis
franchised because he is not rich enough to
be free holder?
When the Democracy advocates laws like
the present road tax and the poll tax amend
ment, they need not be surprised that the
colored people do not vote with them. They
have not yet forgotten that they owe to the
Republican party their liberty, their civil
rights, their right Of suffrage, in short every
blessing that they now enjoy, nor that each
and all of these cstinlable benefits were OBJ
posed by the Democracy, fercely and to the
UIGtcI CIlu.
deprecate sincerely the state of feeling
that causes sectional and race contests, and
believe that if the Democracy would treat
the colored people in political matters with
that exact ard equal Justice which they &C.
cord them in business transactions; that at
no distant day they would vote largely with
them, and the color lines once broken, men
OF both races, would vote to support their
honest convictions, without fear of proscrip-
ton. Mr.. Jefferson once said that ssthe in
telligence Of a free people was the palladium
of their liberty and it is most earnestly to
be desired that the benefits OF free education
should be conferred upon all classes of our
people, so as to fit them to comprehend clear
ly and discharge worthily all the high duties
and privileges OF American citizenship
In this connection will say boldly and
frankly that ain one of those Republicans,
who in the party IS onward march of progress,
would level up and not down. have never
supported an unworthy Republican for Of
flee, and never intend to do it. The sue
cess of such men is 4 disadvantage to a par
k., - 81 y III