The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1879-08-20
!. e ana q. a,nd ssnking Fund.

General Malone pecnpsen most OF hs
rsme Il, defending hiscause as presldent y. "
tha Atlantic. Msssississri md Ohio railroad:
ami, endeayored 10 explat what became o. !
| the $1,000 900 obtained from the sia,e w
I.the consolidation scheme, out plainly
ayaded direct answer AM aanxciosip9. :, !.
Imded only in d few generaitiies 10 tne !, uep'
question = Wytheuilie Enterprise on ldze'
pett debate.
General MALONE Is indeed more interest
ed Sn defending Z. bis cause AZ president, OF
the Atlantic. Mississippi! and Ohio raiiroau
than ANYBODY else. and he must begin 10
ind, As difficult as that defence IL, II IS mol
much more so than is bis course on the staee-
debt question, and he may not lose anything
br changing from one subject to the otner.
| The General was out amongst the TazeWel'
neonle. whose hopes he had excited Witnr re-
| gard TO the Cumberland Gap railroad as
means OF securing his election as consoi'ua. !.
ted president OF the Atlantic, MISSISSIPPI anu
Ohio railroad with SALARY OF S25.ooo per
annum. He remembered that he had oi'Sht'
ed those same hopes by getting released by
the Legislature from his obligation TO ou''o
that road, and also by getting released from
tbe appropriation of 100000 to that pur'
nose. The Aforesaid people. getting signt
O. the cooked hat, were no doubt aEAiouS
to know, you know" all about this, aud 1ai'-
ed not to ross-qucstion the railroad KING
and he undertook 10 respond. but from the
account given by the Enterprise we can well
understand how he failed to explain the al
fair to the disappointed and bamboozieo
people OF TazewclI. H..
Yes. The man who was paid the mon
strous salary OF $4,000 per annum FOR run
ming the Atlantic, Mississippi and ONO INTO
the hands of the receivers, were he 10 i've
until the centennial OF consolidation, and
devote the whole time until then to q
defence Of his presidency, would not be
able TO get through the rind OF that de-
fence.
He never will explain the " sinking OF
the s77,220 that were by him paid to the
Richmond Whig-nor the $4,000 that
were devoted to "thc advancement OF con-
solidation "-[How? Did members OF the
Legislature require money 10 influence
their opinions II Nor the $4,000 that were
paid on hotel-biils for soups and liquors to
his partisans. These amounts went TO the
sinking fund that was exhausted IN The
presidents strateoics. They never nave
been and never will be explained. AS ali
the agitation now pending is intended for
the personal qualification CT General Ma
HONE, he might reasonably make defence
OF his unexplained official acts 4 part of his
defence in the campaign; but that he can
succeed in such defence is no more proba-
bic than that he could succeed IN scheme
Tor connecting Cape Horn with the Cape OF
Good HOPE BY railway.
BY the way, there seems to be some IA
tally about General MAHOSE's relation to
sinking funds. As late as last winter he
had a villa scheme for his restoration to the
presidency OF the Atlantic, Mississippi and
Ohio railroad by purchasing that road Tor
The State with the Sinking Fund, although
the LEGISLATURE had no more right to appro-
pirate that fund 10 that purpose than we
had. The visions of rcacQuired power over
four hundred miles OF railway, Win all Tue
patronage and power it conferred, tloated
through his enchanted brain. He knew
well what it was. He had once nearly de-
bauched the whole State of Virginia with
il, and he was most anxious to get 1t Dack.
But that man OF integrity and forecast, Sem
ator PHLEGAn, speedily pricked the bubble,
and it burst SO ended the last exploit
with the sinking fund. General MALONE
indeed has right to devote himself TO the
defence OF his course on the public debt, or
to the defence Of his wayward career as
railroad president with $4,000 a year. 1t
will be a difficult question to decide which
he would better undertake. We think he
would succeed in one about as well as IN
the other.