Daily Republican., 1881-11-04
V,rslula's Finances.

Virv inia's Finances.
The debt which Virginia honesti.
owes is In round numbers said to b
10000, 900, All amount which 1t Il
found she is entirely unable to pay
even under the severest strain Of taxa
ton, Senator Malone in his recen
New York speech showed plainly tha
the State creditors would lose all theil
money if some easier plan for paying
the principal and in crest was not
agreed upon. The plan he proposes is
to fund the debt at three per cent. and
to eliminate from it the interest which
accrued during the wa while the State
WAS impoverished and torn up by the
pioughshare of contendiug armi,s. The
Readjusters had also propo ed to make
the coupons of the State bonds non-re-
ceivable for State taxes, and were also
to be taxed by local county and munic-
ipN corporations. The latter two pro
positions are the Objectionable features
of the Malone programme. We have
no disposition whatever to justify any
measure Of repudiation, bu5 there are
cases where compromises have to be
made and made honorably too. Such
cases are occurring around US alm 7st
every day. 1t is nothing strange 10
hear of debtors compromising with
their creditors for fifty and even so low
as twenty-five cents on the dollar, and
debtors are allowed again to 60 on in
business. Nobody disputes that this
plan of settlement is honorable and
legitimate, and in most of instances the
honesty of the debtor is not questioned
by compromising at so much on the dol
lar. In the case OF the Mechanics Ma
tional Bank at Newark, now fresh be-
cause of recent occurrence, the directors
and stockholders of the bank, all con-
sidered honorable and honest men,
though morally liable for every cent
embezzled by their cashier Baldwin
will no .oubt compromise with their
creditors at twenty five possibly or
little more on the dollar. But why 90
to Newark for instances of this kind
We have them here in Wilmington, not
perhaps in broken banks but in mer
camille and man nufacturing failures We
need not specify or point them ont to
the organ that calls Malone "dog"
They stand very near the throne. These
are the kind of failures that have at,lict.
ed Virginia. She cannot pay her debts
without the most stringent taxation
that would cripple her industries and
render her bankrupt. All the resources
of the State when taxed to the utmost
limit to which the same are taxed IN
other States fail to produce revenue
sufficient to pay the interest on a deb
of $50, 600, coo aod the other expenses of
the State government
Under these circumstances the Read
juStcrs under the lead Of Malone, pro-
pose compromise with the states cred
itOrS. The latter are asked to throw of
the interest which accrued during an
exhaustive war, WHEN III" State wa.
ruined and Impoverished They further
ask that the debt be funded at three
per cent. the same ~ it is
now, but that the bonds shall
be he'd like other property, liable
to state and municipal taxation. The
whole field has been gone over and this
is the best offer that can be- made to
save the State from utter bankruptcy
and the creditors from losing part
probably of their principal ~ well as
juSterS are no doubt guided in Il meas
ure by the financial management Of the
National Government, the COUPONS Of
whose obligations are not receivable for
Internal revenue and which laid thr
Government open to the charge of being
\ preferred creditor, and its creditors
were called b'oatel bondholdrrs by
such papers as are now dcnouncing the
Virginia Readjustcrs.
SO much for the debt question of Vir-
ginia. We sincerely wish the old Moth
er of Presidents and Statesmen was able
tO.mcet all her financial obligations
fully and squarely, and be placed upon
as firm and secure financial basis at
least as Mr.. Bayard's political .organ..of
this city. Aside from the financial CON
siderations of the subject there are 9TH
ers paramount. What is wealth, what
is money, compared to justice and free
dom Wherein the ReadjuSters have
failed, their shortcoming@,are more than
made up in the protection of the liber-
ty of the people. Human and equal
political rights are for the first time
acknowledged and secured in Virginia
and vote cast now is vote counted
and counted for whom it was cast. For
the first time in the history of Virginia
all the people are offered the same
chance of - free education. The school
fund tamperrd with and made less by
Bourbon hands, has been rescued aud
applied to the purposes for which it was
Intended. Under Readjuster rule Old
Virginia is shaking off the mildew OF
the past and through vicisitud-s and
trials she is entering upon the path thai
leads to grea' ness and prosperity. A
new era il .wning upon her vision and
rejuvenated and reformed she will be hi'
enthraled from NOurbon rule and become
the competitor IN commerce and manu-
facturers with the old Keystone Stat
itself.