Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1877-12-26
Readjustment vs.. Reputation.


quarters to stigmatise resa,ua tment as
reputation, and especially has this been
the case since the success of the read
justers IN organizing the HOUSE of
Delegates. Exactly the reverse of the
proposition is true. There can be but
three positions held on the public debt
of Virginia. The first is that Of gentle
men who advocate the funding Of the
| whole debt according to the provisions
Of the funding bill and the payment Of
full interest thereon. 1t necessarily
follows that those who hold this posi-
ton must favor an increase OF taxation
on property; for without such increase
their plan means nothing. We doubt
whether ten men can be found in the
General Assembly who would .openly
avow themselves as advocates Of an in
crease of property tax should the test
come. The governor elect has put him
self on the record in opposition to it,
taking the emphatic stand, in letters
written by him before the nomination,
that property is taxed as high as the
people can bear.
The second position is that OF gen.
tlemen in favor ofthe do-nothing policy
"a policy Of present injustice and ulti-
mate disgrace; policy of unjust dis
elimination between the creditors of the
State more ubiquitous, if possible, than
reputation itself, and a policy which
must eventuate in the reputation Of
the accumulated burden Of interest
arrearage already aggregating five mil
lions of dollars and increasing at the
rate of eight hundred thousand dellars
annually.
The third position is. that of the read
iusters who hold that the interests Of
Virginia demand that this debt question
shall be speedily settled and forever;
and that in the interests of the conser-
vative party it should be eliminated
from the politics of the State as soon as
possible. They stand squarely On the
party platform adopted by the Rich
mond convention last August. They
believe that an adjustment bringing the
payment of full interest within the reach
OF the present revenues Of the State, as
demanded by that platform, unanimous
ly adopted by the largest representa-
tive body ever assembled in the Com
monwealth, can be accomplished WITH
out doing injustice to the creditor.
They propose to resort to all legal and
constitutional means to get rid Of the
funding bill of 1871, without any pru-
derry or squeamishness about abstract
theories and extra judicial constructions
as the first step toward redeeming the
solemn pledge ofthe convention made
in its platform. They do not believe
that in law or morals Virginia should
be held to the payment Of war and re-
construction interest, and in this view
they are sustained by the ablest pub
licists and jurists who have ever written
or passed upon the subject. They
hold that Virginia's tremendous losses
as the result Of the war, amounting to
half Of all her taxable values, and her
present condition Of great financial
distress justify her in demanding that the
debt shall be readjusted by striking off
this interest at least.
Such, briefly, is the position of the re-
adiusters. The people of Shenandoah,
1astrSeptember court, in large meet
ing, adopted resolutions in which were
embodied these views-resolutions
which gave shape and impetus to a
movement which had been seven years
crystalizing. These resolutions were
advocated at the time by the gentle
men now representing the county in the
House of Delegates and we are glad to
know they continue to stand squarely
and firmly on them.