Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-08-24
The Virginia Democracy.

The Virginia Democracy are causing a
good deal of disquietude among their
national brethren because of their failure
to unite in the. support of one electoral
ticket. There is strange faction in the
Democratic PARTY of that state called
" Readjusters," and it is claimed that
nearly half Of the party is of this spotted
kind. To persons outside the state it
seems the absurdest possible organization
with the most ridiculous name and the
most foolish aim that can be conceived
of. The I" readjustment' demanded is
of the state debt, which has already been
g adjusted several times during tie war
and has thus imposed upon the people
who want it fixed once more the necessi-
ty Of putting that iterating ere" as a
prefix to their political name and party
designation of their principles. 1t
positively true that this is all the plat
form the :readjusters have to stand on !;
and when one considers that it ought
never to bca question of doubt witlra
state that it should pay its debt in full,
principal and interest, it does seem that,
after it las once conferred with its cred
tiers and obtained their consent to an
abatement and has arranged a basis Of
settlement, it should certainly then have
exhausted every chance that it could
have to raise a political party within its
borders with no other demand to make
than for rcadjustmcnt of the debt.
Virginia, when she came out of the war,
threw off one-third of the state debt upon
West Virginia, which state has never
assumed il because it claimed that the
state improvements which the money
had been expended for had near
ly all been made in the old state; and
this we believe was true. That third
of the debt practically therefore has been
repldiated. The remaining twO-thirds
has been arranged and rearranged and
appears in SO many forms of cOnsOl and
"pecler' and other bonds that it would
quite make your head ache TO hear all
about them and try to understand them.
1t sufiiccs for an intelligent apprehension
Of the idiOtic " readjuster'' movement to
say that it follows along after the last
settlement oi!the debt made ly the I.egis'
laturc, approved by the governor and
accepted 10y the creditors. Nothing is OF
can hurged against its legal finality. Ii
has been sustained by the constitution
and is the law of Virginia.
But these people seem naturally to be
political fighters. They are SO fond OF
arguing that they were reduced to dire
extremity when the war ended, and they
had to he unanimously Democratic; the
feeble Republican element not being
strong enough to kick nor decent enough
to join. There was nothing left for them
hut to get up Il row in the Democratic
family. and this agitation about the state
debt seemed to be about the only avail
able thing to base iton. Men howl them
selves hoarse and heat themselves into
frenzy to show how the bloatetl bond
holders should not have the money OF
Virginia, when there is no present posi-
bility. and the smallest future chance
that the state will ever, with its mos
stringent legislation, be able to relcf
many dollars of these indignant patriots
c:lsl; bs.c:,use they haven't many. Penn
sylyania would never have got anything
from such citizens; and to raise Il cen
by way of taxation from these property
less Nirgini,ns seemed about rs possible
us to squeeze hlcOl from turnip. But Al
ingenious legislator in Virginia devised
a plan to take the toll off every drink o
liuuor sold across Il bar, and the MOifet
bell punch did secure many 4 readjuster'
dime to the state treasury.
This may be main cause why tin
party got SO virulcnt against paying thu
debt and why it has grown SO strong. Ii
any other state the majority of the voters
being without property would very cheer
fully vote that their rich neighbors
should be taxed to maintain the stat'
credit. But there was another Influence
at work to give vitality to the Organl
zation: and that was the ambition of as
pirins politicians. General Malone haV
in" been put out of the presidency OF
railroad which he had managed to ruin
was out of business and badly in need O
a crinlstone for his axes. Among hands
they have managed to secure one that ha
worked pretty well for them so far, hav
ing given them, with Republican coali
ton, the command of the state officer
elected by the Legislature, and put Ma
hone himself into the United States Sen
ate.
But now it is not Obvious how the ar
paratus can work any longer with prof
independently of the Democratic party
which has but one ticket for presiden
and which can bc sustained only by on
electoral ticket in each state. If Virgin
III Democrats run two tickets for Han
cock. the irresistible conclusion will b
that they are crazy or false there
plenty of craziness in the g readjusting
movement, but there is Il method in tn
madness which shows that knaves III
working it. A failure to unite on Oh
ticket will prove an inclination to tax
the state from Hancock. 1t is too clea
for argument that sensible men VIII
favor his election will not keep tw
electoral tickets in the field. AS the in
terest of every Democrat in Virginia lie
mands HancOck's election, We do nc