Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1878-10-08
The Result Of .Readjustment. y

The Baltimore Gazette has the follow
ing comments upon the recent refusal
of the Banks of Richmond to lend the
State of Virginia 100000 to carry on
her public schools:
The worst thing that can befall a
State is to repudiate its debt and sacri-
flee its credit forever. The next worst
thing is to tall about "repudiating" it,
or "readjusting" it, or scaling" it, or
compromising with creditors"-or any
of the other expedients for evading the
strictly honest dollar for dollar ON the
day on which it is due. The recent refu-
sal of the bankers of Richmond to lend
$500, 600 to the State of Virginia empha-
sizes the fact that State may lose its
credit by even discussing measures of
partial or total reputation. It certainly
is a humiliating thing that the great State
Of Virginia, so rich in agricultural and
mineral wealth, so rich in energetic and
educated men, cannot borrow two hum
dred thousand dollars because the secu-
rity is not good. It ought to make all
Its old WORTHLESS, from Washington down
to Lee, moan in their graves. It ought
to add to the humiliation when il is
considered that the small sum of two
hundred thousand dollars is needed for
school purposes. Without 1t some OF
the public schools must be closed; and
to make the matter worse the refusal
comes not from England or the North,
but from the Virginians themselves.
| 1t would not be fair to oensure the
saddens them to refuse. But they each
| i,,ot1xy COW SWhu obon1d r land
the State my money when it will turn
sucker and shyiook and begin to talk
about compromising with me and seal.
ing down my claim, if not of repudiat-
ing it entirely. If Virginia is going to
treat her creditors as her enemies I pre-
fer not to be one Of the enemies. /
might make some sacrifice for hel
friendship, but will make no sacrifice
to become one of her 'blood-suckers 8"
Who can blame them for thinking thus
1t is forced upon them by the Legisla-
tive action of the State and ny the talk
Of its politicians and its press. The
State seems to have almost ruined its
credit By simply talking about repudia.
ton. In other words it is down to q
cash basis and cannot even keep up its
public schools Without imposing a tax
for that immediate purpose. We have
never believed that the majority of the
people Of Virginia are in favor of repu-
dating any part of its just indebted
ness. Those who pay the taxes as rule
are most bitterly opposed to ''Faadjust-
ing" The poorest classes who pay lit
tie or no tax and the ignorant negroes
are the repudiators We believe that
the wealth and the intelligence of the
State are in favor of the strictest dis
charge of all obligations, as the part q
h6nor as we'll as Of sound business poll
oy, and they are now brought face tt
face with the ruin wrought by unprin-
cipled demagogues who mislead the
ignorant ard prejudiced in order to gel
into power. How can Virginia invite
capital and enterprise within heF Tor
ders, how can she expect to catch the
wave of returning prosperity, when thu
plighted word of the State cannot be
trusted, when her solemn pledges are
broken? The evil rots away the private
as well as the public prosperity of the
State. 1t breaches in trumpet tones
that honesty is the best policy; but it il
sad to have'to appeal to policy as a rea-
con for t,Onootu