The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1877-06-28

For Railroads ...................$1S, 1884, 928 II
Canals and Navigation Co.'S. l2,234,ll6I3
Plank Road Companies. 1893, 755
Turnpike Companies. ........." 2,37l,0O9 n
Bridge Companies. ............." sIO4,4N 10
State Roads........ .....,......... 1,S25, 82S 10
Aggregate. 800, 100 Is
| twill thus be seen that over thirty fiv
millions and half of dollars, OF what nov
constitutes the public debt of Virginia, wa
| incurred in constructing internal improves
ments in the State of Virginia. These i'm
provements are still in existence, and ATE
every day, ministcring to our comfort aht
profit. Every time we ride on Railroadpl
Turnpike, we enjoy the benefit of this seK
| penditure. And every barrel of -four, b
whiskey,-every pound of bacon, or butter
or lard,-an every head OF cattle, hogs
sheep, lambs, and calves, chat We send *
market, by the cars, furnishes substantial
evidence Of the wisdom of the outlay Of tllis
money in the form of reduction OF from
| fifty to seventy per cent. in the cost of trans
portation, and reminds us of the fact tha
before we had Railroads neither calves
lambs, hay, nor many other articles, which
are now sources of profit could be shipped
at all.
If any man has any lingering doubt as t
the wisdom of making this large expenditure
for railways, &C., let him bring the matter
to practical test, by asking himself the ques
ton: "Would I be willing to see all these
/ improvements blotted out, and our people
put back to the condition they were in forty
years ago, ifthereby we could be relieved Of
the public debt?' I venture to affirm, there
is not a sensible man in Virginia, who woulG
give an affirmative answerto this question.
Letus pause for a moment to consider
what these improvements have done for Vir.
ginia, notwithstanding the ravages OF four
years civil war, and the depression in bust.
ness caused by eight years of Federal mis-
rule. s.j.....s...e sl.. ol vtsl.
They have raised Richmond, from small
town, of but little over thirty thousand pop
ulation, to a prosperous city Of over seveiI-
ty-two thousand souls, whose wealth ena-
bles it to pay ONE NINTH PART of all the
taxes paid into the State Treasury =.
They haye converted Norfolk, from a
sleepy, and declining borough, by the sea,
to an active, enterprising city, which is now
the second cotton port in the U. S., and DIES.
tined, at no distant day, to be an emporium
OF general commerce, with the Western
States, and with the outside world.
They have infused new life into PETERS
burg, Lynchburg, and Winchester. and Har.
rscnburg, and dear old Fredericksburg, the
Rip Van Wrinkle of Virginia cities, under
the magic influence of railways, is awakins
from her slumbers, preparing for a new ca
reer. 4
They have raised Danville and Staunton,
from small lethargic towns Of 1000 popula-
ton, to busy marts Of industry, with four
times their former numbers!
But, as you fellow-citizens, are more il
terested in Sraunton, your county town,
than in any other city, beg your attention
to few facts connected with her history.
In 1886, when first went to the Legisla-
ture, the population of Staunton was very
little over 2, 1000. Such thing as grocery
store was not to be found in her limits. She
had little or no trade, She furnished no
market for the products of agriculture, be-
yond what was necessary for the consump-
ton Of her limited population. Two wagon
loads of flour would have gluttcd the market,
and often, in looking up and down her prin-
cipal streets, not a vehicle of any description
could be seen.
How different is the condition of thing
now! Everything is life, activity and bus
tie! Our population has increased to near
5000, aud is steadily increasing. Dry goods
and grocery, and produce stores in album
dance, are to be found in all parts of the
city, and it is often difficult to thread your
way through the streets from the crowd of
vehicles which obstructed them. A ready
market is raised up, as it were, at the very
doors OF our farmers, fer everything they
can raise on their farms; and accommodating
merchants and mechanics are ready to sup
ply. OF EuualeelEatee Jtaeafai@ps al tho $50 :
Two noble public charitable INSTITUTIONS
which cause an annual expenditure of over
100000, in our county, adorn the suburbs
of our city, and four first class female schools,
which draw to lis every year, three or four
hundred young ladies, from abroad crown
our principal hills!
What is the source Of all this prosperity !?
I hesitate not to say, that it is, in large
measure, due to our railroads and turnpikes.
The ready means of access which we now
have, to all parts of the country. not only
give facilities to trade and manufactures, but
they make Staunton an eligible place for res.
idence, and centre of female education.
Does any one suppose that Staunton would
have been chosen as the best site for the
Lunatic Asylum, the Deaf and Dumb Insti-
tuition, and the Court of Appeals or that the
large female schools which contribute SO
largely to its prosperity would continue to
prosper If it were remote from lines Of rail
way? Strike our railways out of existence,
and how long would our schools survive
their destruction? Our public Institutions
might remain, but they, certainly, would
never be enlarged.
This historical review naturally brings me
to the consideration of various questions
connected with the PUBLIC DEBT, and as
that is a subject which concerns lis all, and on
which, 1 am sorry to find that much igDo-
rance prevails, even among men of genera
intelligence, propose, even at the hazard
of prolixity, to present to you, in a plain
common sense, business way, the more i'm
portant facts bearing on it. M s.
| At the first session of the Legislature, af
ter the close Of the war, measures were TAX
en-, to ascertain the amount of the public
debt, which had been incurred prior to 1861
with view to the adjustment Of the reia
tive liabilities Of Virginia and West Virgin
ia. In response to a call made by the House
of Delegates, the Auditor reported, that tn
entire debt OF the old State of Virginia OF
LIST of January, 1867, was
Principal. ........."."......"...$3 ! 1926. S94.5
Interest. Observation-Disclosures. 6,237, 1891 81
Aggregate OF indebtedness, $43, 166, 1854
This debt was contracted before the divis
| ion of the State Of Virginia had been made