Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1877-10-10

state debt. BY all sound internationa
law and by the precelents Of the fathers
by all the equities, without regard. t.
the responsibility for the war, interes
did not run from 'Gl to '65. fit car
be said that interest did run for TIE
next succeeding five years, it is in.
controVertible that the government
which heldns as in state Of war. adj
mlnistered our affairs, collected and
disbursed our revenues. deprived us Of
all participation, is the liable paymaster
to whom the bondholder sho9ld look.
This fifteen millions is not Of our debt
and it should give us no concern except
to resist is payment. Immoyably fixed
in this conviction we cannot yield. We
should not yield. We cannot afford
generosity to crafty the whims of a
minority. Looking to our resources we
are reminded that we must be Just to
ourselves. Macaulay tells us his coun-
try was almost insensible to the rapid
increase OF her debt from 14O millions
at the close Of the last century because
her general prosperity and accumulation
OF assets was in much greater ratio.
-
When Virginia was borrowing money.
and up to the time she had ceased TO
borrow and had begun to liquidate at a
rapid rate, her taxable property amoun-
ted to $685., 099, 3S2.l7. whereas now she
reports 1896, 4S4, $4,000 q speak here Of
Virginia as she isl Then she had
S245, 5l4. 10000 Of slave property,
sSl, 957, 10000 of which was taxed as
other personally. Then she had $780,
4o3, 362.S7 Of interest in internal I'M
proyements, now reduced to 1903, 600.
Then she had $3.50, $1,000 banking
capital and 50, 100. 10000 Of bank stocks
which paid into her treasury in annual
dividends and and bonus 1868, S53. 10.
Sum these up and we have an actual
loss Of $306, lG4, 702:47 Of taxable pro-
perry and 9l63, $50, 000.00 that was not
taxed at all. Then the levy was 10
cents; now it is 50 cents, and the dis
parity Of revenue amounts TO 1906
720.4+. 1t is impossible to conceive of
the collateral losses which these pro-
perty sacrifices entail. They may be
conjecturcd BY glance at comparative
productions. In 1860 cur tobacco crop
was l23, 100000 pounds the largest
crop since the war was 94,O00,000
pounds. The difference in favor Of the
wheat crop Of 1860, against the largest
since the war is put down at 8, 2f8.647
bushels. Then We had banking
capital Of SIC, 000,000 with never less
than 8l2,000,000 of circulation, and
more than 820,000,000 Of discounts, by
over sixty reliable and convenient banks.
Now we have some S3,000,Q00 of cur
rency for the whole State. Then our
money was a medium that naturally
returned to us no matter how often we
sent it away. Now We have national
currency, which comes to us at regular
crop moving intervals and leays US d
money famine all the balance Of the
year. Then we had money to use at .
per cent, now our national bank gentry,
so scrupuIously obseryant of contracts
and law deal it out out ct from : to
II in defiance of the usury statue. And
when they have any surplus. it goes to
New Y ork for call loans" till pressure
brings borrowers hungry to the counters
and ready to be skinned again. Within
the last fortnight nearly $500. 600 has.
gone out Of the A1-rra'ates' ii Gotham and
keep up the ruinous per centage here.
While on these national banks. let me
call your attention to the fact that, with
few exceptions, their officers and stock
holders are yelling and clamoring for
the payment Of the last farthing Of this
State debt as funded, and all over the
country they are holding meetings to
mobilize their forces for an attack upon
congress to relieve them from taxation
on the ground that the assessment upon
them is arellc Of the war. forgetting, it
would seem. that they too are children
of the same accused parentage and
that their aggregated influence has
taxed our State banks Of issue out of
existence. For twelve months they
have been sending out their blank
petitions Tor signatures, and many
thoughtle8s people sign them to relieve
the banks and take the burden upo Il
themselves. These paper shayers
and laW-breakers are among the great
exemplars who lecture people on the
honor and glory Of the State with such
gush and yolubility. Commercial in
tegrity is the all essential with them in
their business, aud they are utter stran-
gers to any higher degree ofmOral eX-
cellence.
But despite this showing occasionally
hear that Virginia can stand an increase
of taxation. Even the candidate for
lieutenant Governor is, Of this opinion.
and has ascertained. he says. that Viz
cinia is the least taxed Of the Common
Wealths. OF course she can stand it.
She Stood the war and why not the
debt? How long can she stand it? OF
her Is. I47.QIl acres. only $4,000 are
improved, the balance is unimproved.
Bv our mode Of assessment farmers
now nav one Der cent upon their pro-
ductive lands. The actual average OF
all lew upon the producing property OF
tbc State is little less than the ruling
rate of interest in England and some
states of this country. The average
annual productions Of Virginia since
the war have been S50.000,O00. The
interest upon our debt alone exceeds
4 ner cent Of all we produce. The
Federal government taxed us s7.343.-
-g0. % last wear. with slight increase
for This. which requires the turning in of
every dollar Of our small share of curren-
CIV two and a half times. Twice more