National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-01-08
MAHONE'S VIEWS.
Continued from First Pd9e,l

-, or.borcb there was SI,Sl60O0 IN the State
.os,rv when the first of these was passed, II was
f,ynd that the peeler creditors got little or
i,,torast while the consol creditors, with their
Az TAx-RECEIvABIE COUPONS,
,,,,, succeeded in realizing portion Of their in
aosbv the sale oftheir coupons through brokers to
r.oorlators who in their turn disposed of them to
roe taxpayers who used them in payment of
-, dras TO the Commonwealth And thus
tI-o,,pb the inerceptiOn of our revenues by these
oo,,nons whereby large portion of the annual
~ for free schools was absorbed and the State de-
rr of means to fifty sustain her charitable insti-
and her colleges the conSol creditors actually
caied but little over twoShirds of their interest,
although the State practically paid the whole of it,
the residue going in commissions to brokers, in
1ros to spectators, and in savings to our larger
taxpayers In effect the eonsoi creditor discovered
that with all his advantages over the State and the
,peeIer holders he himself was also the victim of
+ba spoilers and that he was unable TO realize
more than or AZ of his per cent, notwithStand
inc the fact that his coupons intercepted and
diverted large share of the tax imposed and set
ansrt for public education-a tax imposed by the
same Legislature which enacted the funding bill,
in accordance with a constitutional injunction
which requires that tax all property of at least
accents on the hundred dollars shall be levied for
free schools and under which the rate of taxation
raised from cents the one
Iarsofassessed values tofy cents especially tomeet
that specific requirement. Meantime our net an
nuuI revenue, even under this increased levy, was
only about S2,4S0,000 and our governmental ex-
pcnScs, includingthe constitutional appOrtionment
10 education were never less than 81 100000. 1t is
easy to see that in this state of affairs while our
government was embarrassed, our,
SCHOOLS ROBBED,
and our people dissatisfied, one-third at least of
our creditors the peeler bOndhOlders who were
now getting no interest," were almost in despair at
the situation. Representatives of this class urged
q readJustment of the debt; public sentiment de-
mamded it, and our DISCRIMINATING arrearages
on almost every account made it a pressing neces-
Sity The movement to that end was accordingly
begun with vigor in 1873. The alternatives were
reimbursement or increase of taxation, and out of
40 members of the House of Delegates of that
wear there were but Is of the so-called g Debt
maven" who would or did vote for an increase of
lax and when, four years later, a new accumula-
lion of unpaid interest had gathered to the amount
OFFS 100000 the schools had been deprived of their
dues 70 aggregate of 81 100000, and 1t was neceS-
sary to negotiate loans from the banks to run the
government and maintain our eleemosynary in
stitutions. there were but four ofthe
so-CALLED DEBTPAYERs
in that House who would vote to raise the rate of
the taxation. The peeler holders were still to re-
ceire no interest! and the schools, which had
begun TO flourish under the minimum tax in their
behalf of ten cents on the hundred dollars eked
out by pOltax of one dollar ON all male citizens
over u years of age, despoiled to a greater and
greater extent each succeeding year by the tax
coupons, declined in numbers and in length of
session until one-half of them were closed alto
gether and the other half were kept open for only
two or three months in the year. The educational
system which had in its first years been our pride
and boast, and under which so many thousands of
our poor children of both cOlors were receiving at
least the rudimentS of learning, fell into rapid
decay under this fatal depletion of its resources,
and they who had been the chief authors of its
misfortunes became the principal complainants
against the decadence and inefficency which they
themselves had caused. The people, however,
whose children had benefited by the schools and
who themselves had acquiesced in the increase of
the rate of taxation from forty to fifty cents for the
purpose securing for their children the blessings
ofeducatiOn began to clamOr for the proper appli-
Cation of the tax and to bitterly denounce those
who were responsible for its diversion either as
principals or as accessories
At this jUncture (in ISTO the period had arrived
for the election Of State officers and a General As
sembly. If there were any who favored all increase
of taxes, none were bold enough to declare it, I'M
less we except one candidate for the House of
Delegates. The Conservative party comprising
the mass of the white voters and controlling the
State met in State convention and formally de-
CIared that taxes could not be increased and that
the public debt must be readjusted within the
compass Of the revenue derived from the them
existing rate or taxation, and without discrimina-
ton against any class of the creditors. Upon this
nominations of Governor and other State officers
were made and accepted and upon itthey were
elected. The nominee for Governor previous to
b his nomination, III a letter which was published
-" his interest declared his readiness to abide by
t'e WIZ Vi the people in ematter of the debt and
that If was subject to DE uIrl7 If hv the Ieris-
latuTc and not by the executive. In his letter
accepting the nomination he declared that the debt
issue was before the people, and that they should
and would have special reference to the DISPOSE
lion in their choice of legislators In point of fact
while he made no canvass before the people for
his election as Governor the debt was the all-im-
pOrtaut question in every city and county of the
Commonwealth as 10 members of the General As
Sembly, and the result was the return to both
branches of the Legislature of large majority of
members instructed and
PLEDGED To RE-ADJUsT
ourpublic obligations strictly within our income,
as derived from the rate of fifty cents on the one
hundred dollars, after providing for the necessary
support of government, the due maintenance of
our charitable asylums. and awarding TO the free
schools the dues apportioned them by the consti-
tuition. In his inaugural address the new Coy
ernOrtestifed that the debt had beenthe only issue
Of the legislative campaign, and that it forthe
Legislators to settle it in accordance with the in
structions from their constituents.
Accordingly, that General Assembly. fresh from
the people-and chosen on the sole issue of the
debt-did at once prepare and pass the so-called
BARBOUR BILL
which, after recitingthe inability of the people to
bear heavier impOsitions, and declaring the made
QuaOy Of the revenue to meet the expenses of gov
eminent, support the schools and pay the interest
on the public debt at the rate per cent and the
principal claimed under the funding bill, pro-
feeded to levy and apportion the taxes in the pro-
portion Of twenty-five cents for government ten
cents for schools and fifteen cents for interest
This was no measure of readjustment but merely
an appropriation bill for one year. The temporary
purpose was to evade the tax-coupons and to
relieve the present financial embarrassments
Of the State;" but, if it should stand the
test Of the courts its final purpose was to secure
an adjustment of the public debt with the consent
Of the creditors, if practicable, and without dis
eliminating between them, upon fair and equita-
bic principles" 1t was at all events measure
well calculated to bring to just determination the
declaration which it made, that the preservation
Of the State government is absolutely necessary,
not only for the protection of the person and prop
erty of the citizen the Commonwealth, but for
the preservation Of the rights and promotion of the
interests of the creditor of the Commonwealth &"
But the Governor vetoed it, Notwithstanding his
eommittals, expressed and implied, to the con-
trary. Then followed
THE BABCOCK-FoWLER BILL,
which proposed to settle with the creditors on the
basis Of the debt as claimed under the Funding
BILL with interest at three per cent for eighteen
years and at four per cent for thirtytwo years an
average Of three and two-thirds per cent. This
bill was approved by the Governor, and became a
law; but ii fell stillborn not dollar being funded
under it, and refer to it only to show how newt
ably the schemes approved by the selfStyled
"Debt-payers" have fallen short of that observ-