The patron of husbandry., 1881-12-10
Nfiftancy and Ea aiusGriaIISm i'm
Virginia.

NO better Illustration can be de-
sired of these views than that offered
by the State of Virginia. Her CIT
lzens were certainly to be pardoned
tor their enthusiasm, over the York
town pageant. The Revolution was
consunmated upon her soil, and
she has a natural pride in all its
"reminiscences. But what a monu-
ment is that great State to dav of
the scourge of the war-ldeas. Set.
tied early as colony, favorably sit
uated in regard to Climate; and with
varied and boundless resources, SID
is nevertheless poor, incompetent,
and backward in all the elements of
public prosperity. If it be said that
these calamities are due to slavery,
we reply that slavery is only chronic
and subdivided war. Slavery and
war are kindred agencies, grown up
together in common barbarism,
and both are espotisms of violence.
Their one idea is the brute force
control of men--in war for the de-
struetion of life and property, and
II, slavery for better ends. 1t was
the cherishing of ideas eomfi7on to
slavery and war that drew Virginia
with such facility into the vortex OF
domestic war 1t was declining
miIitancy febelling against growing
iudustrialism. How intense was the
barbatic spirit Is seen in the persis-
tence of oUsoi@t- war usages.
Where militant ideas are ascenoai,t,
as in Germany and France, dueling
is habitual And so, at the very
height of the Yorktown celebration,
one of Virginia's "captains," who
had got National reputation as
candidate for an office in the United
States Senate, was principal in two
duels in single day; and when he
returned to Richmond the same
evening, instead of being "publicly
f1ogped by i1igger;" as he ought
to have been, he received an sen
thusiastic reception" Will the
honor of its "chivalry" save the
State from the disgrace of repudia-
ton?
Militant ideas being opposed to
business ideas, Virginia prese nts a
case of arrested development. The
worlds benehcent work is mainly
done by private enterprise; Virginia
ideas have not favored this; and so
she has been left behind in the rase
of State development. Legislation
has been invoked to bring out her
splendid resources, but there has
still been wanting that vigor of
private effort which can alone give
effect to Legislative measures. This
is well shown in the history of one
of her great public works. The
project of opening commercial com
munication with the West was early
entertained by sagacious Virgin
ians. The distance Of the Atlantic
from the Ohio River through the
valleys of the James and Kanawha,
which almost connect at their head
waters in the Alleghanies, is shorter
than by any other route. 1t was a
favcrite idea of Washington to open
this communications ,and he strongly
advocated bill, passed by the Vir-
ginia Legislature in 1884, for the
improvement of the James River,
with a view to developing West
ern water communication. This
project was worked at in an ineffec-
tual way for number of years, and
in 1892 the James River and Kama
wha Company was chartered to
construct canal up the James Val
ley, and this was opened between
Rchm ond and Lynchburg in I84o
It was further extended to Buchan-
| an, a distance of one hundred and
| ninety-seven miles from Richmond,
in 1851. Some further work was
begun beyond this point, to secure
an avenue for through Western
trade, but the sections beyond were
not completed. The work as far
as constructed was inadequate, only
very small canal boats being avail
able; and SO, in 1873, Congress was
| urged to assume, enlarge and ex-
tend the work, which, in this era of
developing railroads, it wisely de
clined to do. And then after a
hundred years of State efforts and
the expenditure of ten million dol
lars, the undertaking completely
broke down, and the dilapidated
and useless canal property was Of
fered to anybody gratuitously W ho
would take itand pay its debts.
A couple of years ago a private
company of Northern capitalists
came forward and took the concern
off the hands of the State, and pro
posed to see what could be done
toward carrying oHt the original
plan. They organized the Rich
mond and Allegheny Railroad
Company, and, under the stimulus
of intelligent business enterprise,
and without dollar of State aid,
two hundred and fifty miles of solid
road bed, laid on the old tow-p path
as far as it went, with heavy steel
rails and numerous iron bridges,
were constructed through the valley
of the lanes River to its head wa
ters in the Alleghanies in eighteen
months. Seventy miles more will
soon be built, connecting the new
line with the Ohio Central, which
terminates at Toledo-and the aspi
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