National Republican., 1880-07-23
DISTINCTIONS WITHOUT DIFFERENCES
Some days ago we wrote:


The Richmond Dispatch admits that if the
question was put directly to the people the
debt of Virginia would be repudiated. 1t also
asserts that tho national debt would be SO
treated if the question of its payment was
submitted to the people of the union.
Whereupon the Dispatch accuses us of
willfully misrepresenting it in order to pro-
duce the impression in the minds of north
ern people that it is an advocate of repudi-
alton. Such was not our purpose. We
wished only to defend the people of the
north from such charge. The Dispatch
thus restates the proposition which we
sought to controvert:
We merely said what everybody must know
to be true, that If the average voter "was
taught aud made TO believe, that he had the
same right to vote for Reputation as for hon
est payment" he would of course avail him
self Of so good an opportunity of voting taxa
tion off his shoulders. that he would thus vote
Off city, county, state or federal taxes, and
that he would thus repudiate any debt.
To this we now reply in the words of
our former article: awe will not dispute
" the justice of the Dispdtch's estimate of its
Gown people," but we adhere to our state
ment that such a lack of public morality is
not Characteristic of the north. There is no
use of befogging the question by talking
about what the average voter has been
" taught" upon the subject of his fright
to vote in favor of reputation. The aver
age voter in the north has been preached to
by the democratic and greenback repudia-
tors ever since the war closed to the effect
that it as not only his right, but his duty
to adopt some one of q variety Of financial
heresies, agreeing, however, in the end pro-
posed, and resulting in practical repudia-
ton of the whole or a part of the debt of
the nation. Some Of the average voters have
been led away from the honest path and
are now to be found in alliance with the
democratic party-for instance, in Maine
under SoLoN CHASE; while in other states
they have conquered the democrats en-
tirely, MS in Indiana. But even in those
states we would confidently expect vast
majority of the people TO vote against any
form of reputation, if the question could
be put directly to them.
As to the point so insisted upon by the
Dispatch, I. e., that if the average voter was
"taught and made to believe that he might
"honestly and conscientiously vote either
"wayn upon such snhiect, we are sure
that no voter ever was so made TO "believe.' .
He has been made to act dishonesty, but
he never was made 10 belieyep that he
was doing the right thing. If we admit
that n man may " conscientiously" repudi-
ate an honest debt and refuse to pay il
when he has the ability to do so, we may
as well get ready to agree that he may
conscentiously commit highway rob,
berry or crack bank.
As to the "right" of the voter TO decide
whether he win tax himself to pay the
public debt, the average voter " possesses
and exercises that right at every election
| Whenever he gets into a state of mind in the
north similar to that which the Dispatol
admits its own people to be now iu, tho
average northern voter will do precisely
what the average southern voter has al
ready done--vote to relieve himself of sucl
| taxation. He knows that he can do so al
any election by putting in Office Legislators
who will do his bidding but the averag,
northern voter consciously bears the bur.
den of taxation to keep the faith of his
community just rs he consciously bears the
burden of supporting his wife and children
lie might, if he would, shirls these burdens
He does not shrli either of them. The
average southern voter, as is admitted BY
the Dispatch in regard TO its own people
bears one but shirks the other.
We did not assert in our article that th,
Dispatch favored any form Of reputation
We are glad to admit that its position upor
all questions connected with the fnance
of Virginia are those Of a wise and homes
journal, and we have no reason TO suppos
from any of its utterances that il would b.
less honest in its treatment Of the obliga
tions of the federal government were the,
in question. Our request was that it shoult
refrain from Judging the average voter o
the north by the standard it has adopte,
for the average voter of Virginia, To tina
request we must adhere.
--~Ep--
THE only thing the matter with Hancock Is th0
IL. f.