Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1877-07-13

FRIDAY MOhN1NOs JULY LIZ. 1877.
THE EXPEDLENCY or PAYING
THE STATE DEBT.
Next Monday week meeting will as
semble in Staunton to consider the einter-
est of the people and the credit of the State
of Virginia 1t is called by gentlemen of
prominence, and there is every reason to
believe that it's action will be the result of
the informed opinion of the people of Au-
gusta. In this respect it has far graver
aspect than the meeting some weeks ago,
which consisted of very small number
only some seventy, out of the two thous-
and farmers of the county and whose reso-
lutions went to the State as the resolu-
lions of s'the farmers of Augusta This
meeting M onday week will be held after
the opinions of Hon. A. H. II. STUART
and Rev. J. A. MASSEY On opposing sides
have been broadcast among our people,
and after, at least, two Of the journals
published in their midst have attempted
to particularize the main points in those
letters.
The public debt of Virginia on the Both
day of September, 1876, was put down by
the Auditor which is the only place Cit
izen, whether he be governor or a private
citizen can look to for his official informa-
tion, at $29, 489 326. That is the acknowl-
edged debt of the. State of Virginia on
which she has to pay interest, and this
interest is estimated by the same state
officer at 81, ISL .175 annually. To pay this
interest, to run the public schools and to run
the government requires So, SIG, 900 State tao
out of the people of Virginia. They have
failed to pay annually this sum by nearly
100000. This is the State tax of Virgin
la, though Gov. KEMPER two or three
years ago SO mixed it up with U. S. reve-
nues, county taxes &C., as to leave the i'm
preston that the people were paying $751;
100000 tax annually and Mr.. MASSEY. af-
ter quoting him, proceeded to mix things
still further by Jumping, the West Virgin
ia debt, deferred interest &c., SO as to
make the debt of the State of Virginia
s53,673, 900. The figures we have given are
from the official books, and not taken from
Gov. KEMPER or Mr.. MASSEY or any 9TH
er man who does not wear the responsible
ty Of putting forward an erroneous state
ment, and is not liable to official rebuke
for so doing. The official statements are
the common property of us all and open to
all.
And now as to paying this debit If
directly after the much cursed funding bill
was passed, the legislature of Virginia had
gone on steadily laying tax and paying
the interest. not only would there have
been no grumbling to-day but the princi-
pal of the debt would have been reduced
several millions of dollars. There would
have been none of the clamor we hear
now of the West Virginia third, the
accumulated interest on that third,
and similar bugaboos that are held up
now. And when we say the legislature
we mean the people of Virginia them
selves. They are the legislature for they
create the legislators out of themselves.
But then it has always been the habit,
or custom, or weakness, or whatever
you choose to call it, for people to COM
plain of the tax that is the farthest off.
The farmer who pays his county tax cheer
fully, because he may almost be said to
make it at his own door, has habit of
complaining of the State tax laid by
his representative two hundred miles off.
So it is with the merchant who says not
a word to the burden laid by his town
council, but holds meetings to protest
against merchant tax laid by the legis-
lature even before he has read the new tax
bill.
If the people of Virginia had had it laid
before them clearly that with three or four
years Of stiff taxation they would forever
thereafter be on the easy grade of taxation,
until they got down to mills, instead of
cents, in the dollar, they would have
buckled down to it with will. And just
here a case in point as toethe disposition If
the people: The county Of Rockbridge, in
addition to all the other taxes Augusta has
to pay, and heavier county tax, issued
$315,OOO of county bonds, in payment of
her subscription to the Valley Railroad
It was heavy debt and, worse than that.
she hasn't got the railroad they were issueo
to pay for. But her people took the only
way to get out of it.-They made a suffi-
Gent levy to pay the interest, and created
sinking fund, and now they have cancell-
ed and aoiped out one. hundred thousand DOL
lars of the debt. We do not stop here to
compliment Rockbridge, however much
her people may deserve it, for we have only
cited the case to show that the business
way, among a business people, of reducing
taxes is to reduce the principal by paying
it. The main argument, as we understand
it, of all those who favor refusing to pay the
State debt, is that the people are not able.
Rockbridgei is not as rich county as Au-
gusta She has not as many large State
aud educational institutions in her midst.
What would our friends in Augusta. who
complain of high taxes, have advocated If
they had been in the same position with
Rockbridge? And now, across the line, in
a State that has no ante bellum State debt.
take case Greenbrier county. The far
mer there pays county levy of thirty cents
in the 500, and thirty cents State tax,
making sixty cents, while in Augusta
the same levy and tax aggregates only
sixty-two cents. Our people in old Vir-
ginia are not having their property con-
fiscated by taxation. We are not ground
to death in Virginia by taxation. If all our
people were to make one-tenth of the effort
Rockbridge Isl making we should soon
strike level ground with the State debt,