The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1881-03-10
A Duty to Perform

A Duty to Perform.
The pretense of debt-paying under which
she ''Funder'' wing of the Democratic
party of Virginia has posed before the
is being gradually exposed by the
necessities of the case. Instead of deep
conviction and high principle affecting the
reputation of the State, the fact is slowly
developing that it is power-the control of
the State government at whatever sacrifice
Of consistency, (which is the dominating con-
sideration in the policy and purpose Of that
faction. First, the Amherst resolutions,
which declared against an increase of either
the rate or the aggregate of taxation, under
the recent assessment of properties Sec
ond, the formal announcement of the Gen.
trail Committee in the address recently
given to the country, where the same line
of action, asrespects the debt, is intimated,
and the further statement made, that the
debt question is to be made subordinate to
the race issue and third, the more recent
declaration of the Fauquier resolutions,
that in arranging the details of such adj
justment regard should be had to the re-
sources of the State as derived from its
present rate of taxation and according to
the values founded by the last assessment"
all point to but one conclusion, and that is
that the debt question is to be practically
abandoned. There is no manly assertion
Of the right in either of the declarations to
which we have referred. On the contrary,
there is an understood acceptance of the
recent assessment of property as the guage
of the resources of the State, under the op-
Grafton of the present rate of taxation,
which is tantamount to the announcement
that the ''debt-payers'' intend to demand
from the creditors as large concession as
the Re-adiusters, and will favor ''forcible
REIMBURSEMENT" to as great degree as the
opposing Democratic faction. There is hes
itation, insincerity and insidious meaning all
through the action of these several bodies,
in regard to the debt, and an evident pur-
pose to subordinate that to the prejudice of
race and greed for power. through appeals
to the passions of the people. There is no
courageous, open, distinct declaration to re-
pudiate the honest obligations Of the State,
but sly, insidious intimation of policy
which must necessarily work reputation
If it can be accomplished.
The Re-adiusters enter the contest with
visor down. They attempt no conceal
ments; they are entrenched behind no
blinds or ambuscades, but fearlessly declare
that they mean to repudiate certain por-
ton Of the recognized debt, and reduce the
interest charge to one-half of what the
law and the contract stipulate for. Prac-
tically there is no difference between them.
Whatever pretensions may be foreshadowed
on the part of the 'Debt- Payers" about
concessions from the creditors, and settle
ment acceptable to them, the fact remains
that they mean reputation, when they
commit themselves to the present rate of
taxation on the recent assessment of values.
That is precisely what the Re-adjusters
have done, and given their reasons for so
doing. According to their statement of the
case, there is no reputation intended in
their policy. They declare that the State
does not owe more than $2),000,000, and
that the people are not able to and will not
pay more than three per cent. on this
amount. The Debt-Payers recognize a
larger debt, but declare for a policy that
will raise no more revenues than the Read
justers promise, and consequently are COM
mitted to the reputation of so much of the
obligations of the State as may not be dis
charged by such revenues.
This is the attitude of the two factions of
the Democratic party to the debt question
ginia. The enactments of the Legislature
and the decisions Of the Courts are to be
secuted, and the necessities OF political fac
tions alone consulted.
To our mind there is duty Just here to
perform, and to educate the people and es-
pecially the Republican party up to its de-
mands, shall be the purpose of the VIR-
GILMAN. Public policy, as well as the high
est dictates of citizenship demand that the
decisions of the Courts shall be respected.
and that every reasonable sacrifice should
be made to enforce such DEGREES. The State
and Federal Courts of last resort have ex-
amined and determined the validity of GER
tain obligations of the State, and to attempt
bilitv thereof. by deceptive appeals to the
people and useless and irritating legisla-
tive enactments, would only result in in
flicting a stigma upon the Commonwealth,
without lessening the burden which exists,
or weakening the claims of the creditors.
The only possible way to abate the obliga-
lions determined by the Courts, would be
by the manifestation of a purpose to pay to
the last farthing it was in our power to pay.
and thus show to the creditors it was from
no disposition not to be honest, but from
sheer inability to meet their demands, that
modification should be granted. Adher-
ing to the policy of either the Funders or
Re-adjusters would only have the effect to
practically repudiate the peeler and I'M
funded debt, for there is no verdict at the
polls and no legislative device, which can
nullify the judgment Of. the Courts, and re-
lieve the people from their mandates.
The time has come for brave action. The
specifics of the demagogue and the devices
Of the partizan will be overreaching. They
will only excite the contempt of the bust
ness world, and expose the State to still
greater distrust and more harmful results
than any heretofore realized. We have
sought by political artifice and legislative
resolves how not to pay. Let an honest,
courageous purpose be declared and practi-
cally encouraged to devise means hoacto pay
what the Courts say we must pay, and the
confidence inspired by such policy will
work out certain benefits which could never
be assured by the methods of either of the
Democratic factions which is now seeking
advantage of the other in the position it has
taken on the debt question.
Such policy and declaration of purpose
would be right in itself would be in strict
accord with the principles and practices of
the Republican party of the Nation, and, we
have no doubt, would be sustained in all le-
climate ways by the administration at
Washington. The Republicans of Virginia
cannot afford to ignore the present oppor-