The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1881-08-26
The Noble Virginia BourbOns.


to the Bourbon party as " the noble
Virginia Democracy. Virginia has
sometimes been referred to by Southern
orators as the Sc Mother of Presidents y
henceforth she will be known as the
! scofnful enemy of reputation. And we
need scarcely remark that she obtains
this proud title through the noble lead
ership of the noble Democratic party.
70 be sure, this noble party has con-
trolied the State finances of Virginia for
fifty years, during which rather pro-
tracted period it has not paid any part
| Of the principal Of the State debt, and
| precious little of the interest thereon.
/ OF course, the noble Democratic party
of Virginia has had no objection to the
payment of the State debt during this
| protracted period, but it has been wait
| ing, DIS it were, for the creditors of the
/ State to say emphatically that they pre-
fer so cents or rs cents to 100 cents on
the dollar of their claims: The credit
ors have been slow In coming forward
with propositions of this nature, and
they have delayed so long that the "no-
BILE party +" has become impatient, so to
speak, and is now taking the aggressive.
Says the noble party: "The mantle
nance of the public credit of Virginia is
the essential means to her prosperity"
What splendid sentiment The crop
of Presidents in Virginia has been scant
of late years, and the noble party sug-
gests, in effect, to the Mother of Pres
idents" that she make superhuman eff
fort in the direction of increasing the
production of Presidents. The noble
party proceeds: tWe condemn repudi-
alton in every shape and form as a blot
upon the honor of Virginia. What
could he grander than that? He who
hesitates is bastard and he who doubts
is damned! We looked for this emphatic
| epigram in the platform of the noble
party. It is not there in SO many words,
but it is implied. 9ase
There Is nothing mean about the no.
BILE party. There is to be no element of
compulsion in its debt-paying scheme
1t will not force the creditors of the
State to take the money due them wheth-
er they will or no. Far from it. Wit
ness this tender and considerate Ian
guage of the noble party: "We will
make every effort to secure q settlement
of the public debt, with the consent of
her creditors, which is consistent with
her honor and dictated by Justice and
sound public policy" Observe, the no.
BILE party does not approach the credit
ors of the "Mother of Presidents in a
menacing attitude, with handful of
gold eagles, and say in a loud and i'm
perious tone: Here, take your money,
principal and interest. The noble par
ty is full of "honnah, sab )" it is i'm
bued with Q keen sense of Justice )" it
is mindful of the high claims of "public
policy" Hence the noble party refrains
from indulging in the harsh word ''pay-
nent, and substitutes the more gentle,
more euphonious word settlement. "
How does the noble party know that the
creditors of Virginia want the full face
Of their legal demands? And, if not,
why should the noble party insist upon
full payment It does not insist upon
full payment. 1t scorns reputation,
but it is tenderly conscious of the rights
of creditors, and it approaches them in
the honorable spirit of compromise. E
Says the noble party: cit is emil
nently desirable and proper that the
several classes of the debt now existing
should be unified, so that equality,
which is equity, may control in the an
nual payment of the interest and the
ultimate redemption of the principal. ="
There is little slip here, for Equality
is not necessarily "equity." For ex-
ample, the creditor who loaned the
State Of Virginia money at s per cent
interest would not be bound in equity to
accept per cent. interest because an
other creditor had loaned the State
money at the latter rate. Doubtless the
ardent desire of the noble party for the
Qualification" of the different classes OF
the debt led to the enunciation of this
rather-queer ethical proposition. In
deed, this appears from later passage
in the platform, which pledges the noble
party to "use all lawful and constitu-
tional means in its power to. secure a
settlement on the basis of 3-per-cent.
bond" r
1t may be observed in passing that the
"Mother of Presidents 2" has not been
in the habit of borrowing money at 3
per cent, and as matter of fact the
debt of the estimable. old lady bears a
much higher rate OF interest. "A propo-
sition to settle debt bearing 7 or 8 per
cent. interest, overdue for fifteen or
twenty years, at 3 per cent interest,
| may look on the surface like sort OF
Reputation, but we know that the noble
party does not so understand it, for it
says, emphatically: eve condemn re-
pudiation in every shape and form as a
blot upon the honor of Virginia, blow
at her permanent welfare, and an OBJ
stacle to her progress in wealth, in
fiuence and power" Who has the hardi-
hood to assert that the noble party would
slap the Mother of Presidents in the
face, so to speak? Who believes for a
moment that the noble party would in
tiict "blot upon the honor of the
old lady. or strike foul elbow" at her
welfare, or interpose an "obstacle to
her progress in wealth, influence and
power?" Palsied be the tongue that
shall dare to give utterance to the i'm
| pious SANDER
The concluding plank Of the platform
Of the noble party is, as Dick SwiveIier
would say, 80 g a staggerer. Says the
noble party: "The CONGRATULATIONS
ocratic party pledges itself, as part OF
its policy, not to increase the present
rate of taxation" Economy is spIen-
did thing in a political party; it is just
what nj ut be expected Of noble po-
ltical party like the one whose high
character we are celebrating. But, as a
matter of fact, "the presentrate of taxa
ton" in Virginia does not provide Al
for the payment Of the old lady mothers
debts, principal or interest Exactly
what good it will do for the noble party
to "secure a settlement of the public
debt of Virginia with the consent of her
creditors " is not apparent, in connection
with the solemn assurance of the noble
party to the old lady's subjects that it
viii not draw 81 from them to be devoted
to the payment OF the existing debt. 1t
is satisfactory, however, to know that the
noble Democratic party of patriots OF
Virginia condemns reputation with
the utmost scorn !" that it wants tc
H11fifyv tha dai7f of tho &C Mother of