The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1881-02-15
state Debts Reputation Liquor.

debt which sue fci'u"s -. 49,
ago. the trustees Of the PEABODY """ 80"
,nr determined TO memoriai'ze her Lega~'
,ure 70 nav a, least the one million OF uo''
ls,s due 20 that fund, The LynchourS V~.
o;nian adds that now, after tue 90.
,bsrty.two years, the Staie-crcdit men o'
Minnesota have combined for The pufpos.
Of rescuing that State from the d'sgrSe. "
formulation. That journal then quotes the
following land more) from tue 81 '"'
Pioneer Press; ..o
There is hardly leading paper IN .ne
Jro,fea States which has not MADE tOe Iscth1
eloouent Nominations OF Governor flIispui,
,he ,oxt 81 extended editorial comment.
Wdhout solitary exception they are "a w,
same mind All pass the same unl '.
condemnation upon Minnesota Tor tnls con-
tinued crime and shame Of reputation
Thev exnrcs. The united sentiment OF tue
civllized world. II Is wholesome sometimes
TO sec ourselves as others see Us, anu W .ue
universal denunciation when Tue pres vi
the entire North visits upon Mlnheso'a, 'he
people Of Minnesota can see, as W mIiIo',
Tho despicsblc place which their young ana
nrosperons state holds In the public opinion
az the country, IL is not pleasant suDlect
90 dwell on: but IL is necessary, never'he'
less. to dwell on II. For so long as MIME
sofa shall continue 10 dishonof It's oDigs'
lions before the world, so long must u cVn-
tjnue 10 face the sc0rchlng blasts OF puohc
cop,empt and Indignation; so long inust
every citizen OF Minnesota VINO cheIisueo
any pride In his State be compeheu 70 oiuso
with shame at the mention Oh lis uisuohp''
The above affords food for retectioh
uoon The part Of yirginians. The Ola DO
mlnion has not yet repudiated her debt out
right. she still has the benefit OF all Inc
doubt hat exists in the public mind as 10
Der intentions in this respect. But she VIII
this year be asked to repudiate out'and-oul
twelve millions OF debt which all three Oh
her post. bellum Governors have dec'areu u
be a debt binding upon her; which has
been named by her own Legislature over
and over again as debt which she had pro-
missed to pay and which the highest luoi-
cial tribunal IN the State has repeatedly oe-
cded TO be a debt honestly owing ana
orc which she was bound in honor TO
pay. Thus the Legislative, the Executive,
the Judicial departments OF the STATE GoV-
eminent, speaking for Virginia, and acting
within the scope OF their powers as neT
agents, have so pledged the iaith OF tue
Commonwealth for the payment OF Inc deo',
a. asceItaincd by the Legislature OF 1871,
that /, Is simply impossible for her to refuse
n nav twelve millions Of the debt thus as
csrlained to be owing, without sublec'ing
herself TO the charge OF reputation, and
her General Assembly to the probability OF
being btsieged for the payment Of those
twelve millions, not only for the next twen'
~. thirty. or forty year,, but indefinitely In
the future.
The population Of Virginia was last year
a>certained to he 1,5l2, 203. In 1870 1t was
1925, 1853. The increase in ten years was
over % per cent. In 1890, then, she VIII
have nearly two millions OF people, and, IL
the present promises OF railroad projects
and manufacturing schemes nay be relied
upon. she will then have basis OF over four
hundred millions Of property upon which 10
lew her taxes. VIII such State allow her
name to ring throughout the world as that OF
a repudiating State? Hardly.
10 this connection. we once more call at
teBtion TO the cost of the liquors consumed
aunuallyin Virginia. We had our recollec-
ton on the subject rcfrC shed by the follow
ing paragraph as it appeared in the last
issue Of the Manchester Sun:
"Tbey have entirely overlooked the stub
born and startling fact that the cost OF wis.
KEY that finds its way down the thirsty
throats OF our political Sol0mOnE in 'he
tOd ~ ~ small
OF ten cents per drink would pay the entire
debt, principal and interest, and leave the
good people Of Virginia too philosophical
and sufficiently SOBER to quarrel longer over
the yeyed question OF bow not 10 pay the
public debt The pitiful sum OF only
Sl9,000,000 IS spent annually In virginia
for strong drink; and vet Der sons are not
h,Dny. IL seems that the drunkards must
he proyided for as well as The schools; and
as that important and numerous class con.
stitute the predominant mass OF our political
sages, il Is not matter OF mucn surprise
that they hold their peculiar principles with
the same determined grasp that character
ICES their death-grip on the bottle"
DR.. RuFFNER. the Superintendent OF Pub
lie instruction in the State Of Virginia, is
the authority for the statement. In his re-
port for the year ending August 81, 1878.
be says:
1.-THE statement which made in my an.
n,,al report two years ag0-to wit, that the
consumption Of liquor in Virginia for all
nurposts was probably 10 the neighborhoOd
OF $40. 900, O00-excited surprise at the time,
hut n has never been seriously cOntr0-
verted. and IL never can be except by either
DENYING The accuracy OF the liquor Stats
ties OF the United States Bureau Of Stats
tic. or by denying that the people Of Virgi.
MIA are average consumers as compared with
people of the country generally. have
lately corresponded with the author Of
the statistics. from whom quoted 10 1871,
1.-THE Hon. Edward Young, still chief OF the
Bureau) in order 10 ascertain whether he
had reason to doubt the correctness Of the
figures from which drew my conclusions,
and also whether he had any data beyond
the general average per capita which would
determine the quantity actually consumed
in Virginia. ind that be confidently adj
heres 10 his former statements, which made
the consumption OF liquors in the United
States 5000. 000, 900 in value, but he had lit
tie 10 guide specially to the actual consump-
ton 10 Virginia."
"In Virginia, during the fiscal year 1872,
the limited States revenue officers collected
from retail liquor dealers for license ST..
40O6l, and Us each dealer pays S25 for H.
cense, it follows that there were 1856 retail
liquor. shops IN the State. The average an
n,ial sales OF liquors by each shop in the
whole Uuited States is $3.723 Assuming
this as the correct average for Virginia, the
aggregate sales from these shops would be
$l0,622 1888. Add 10 this the amount ind.
Gated by the extra tax collected on sales
exceeding $4,000, which Is si,235,-