Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-06-07
ms events q take placs hers every day,
and l am justified IN saying that the
ruth here 10 oflsn by no means proba-


TATHiCk W IL. June = 1000
TO the Editor Of fAs Dispafch
see you are disposed to let Re-
adjuster occasionally speak through
your columns. This is kind, as our
small party has no " organ " now. l
therefore make bold to ask that privi-
lege, though ! expect to be Disagree
able. l have TO be this--or nothing.
Sincere conviction and candor are my
motives. Not the debt question but
the debt crisisr is upon US in its
worst possible form. You and the
Legislature for the last four years
know | wished to meet this question
and combat it before it should become
well nigh manageable from our mac
ton, timidity, and evasion. Fore
seeing last fall what has since
transpired, ] pleaded with Democrat
ic Legislature to seize the opportunity.
turn and face the impending danger, and
deal with it as it deserved. suggested
the scalpel. The Legislature applied
the ponltice. l then proposed to eau
ferize twelve-month. They forthwith
applied the court-plaster. and lost their
opportunity and their case. Since that
l have been looking with some curiosity
to see what, in the language Of the H.
lustrious Tweed, "you are going 70 do
about it." From what | can learn the
party, or rather its leaders, after fifteen
years Of almost continuous battles, fol-
lowed by invariable defeats, retreats,
and parleys, now rejoice that they have
at last discovered the great and certain
remedy. First, it shall be "party
question" That's good. But who is
going to decide that? Do the Demo-
cratic leaders expect to make it no.
party question by making up a guber-
Material ticket next fall exclusively
composed Of men who favored or con-
doned the fraud Of 1871 in creating the
coupons--who have opposed readjust-
ment in every form from that time up
to the Lynchburg Convention, when
they. were forced to adopt the Riddle
berger bill to save them from defeat
in the fall election of 's3? and, after
wards, when the creditors spat upon
that bill and defied its supporters, re-
fused to give it even q moral support,
and left it to the mercy Of the Federal
courts?
Secondly. l think am justified in
supposing the leaders Of the party in
tend to make the "debt plank" in
their platform out Of something like
the Botetourt resolution, which means.
If it means anything, that every tax
payer in the State is to resolve himself
into patriot on his individual hook,
and when Mr.. Royal goes around ped
ding his coupons at thirty-eight cents
in the dollar he is to be Indignantly
told by the patriot that he has resolved,
so long as he lives, to pay the dollar in
cash, instead of the thirty-eight cents
in coupons, in discharge Of his
taxes. And all this out of pure
love Of his country. And l under
stand that in order to make this plan
success, should the patriot yield to the
temptation of dealing in a coupon to
save his little property from levy and
sale, he is to be ostracized by his
neighbors or complimented with tin
pan serenade. And this is to last not
only during this but for a future gen.
Grafton, until s30,000,000 of coupons
are starved out Of existence / think
this is about the size of it," Excuse
me for saying this is simply nonsense,
and the people know it. Patriotism is
a very lively and vigorous sentiment
when it happens to put cash in the
pocket Of the patriot in the way of a
snug office. 1t does passably well in
political campaigns, on 4th-of-July oc-
cssions, and such. But regret to say
it is quite feeble when it is continually
draining the patriots pocket. No
scheme, in my opinion, could be con-
ceived in the brain of man more GER
tain to fail in settling this unhappy
trouble, or more disastrous upon the
public and individual morals of our
people. Why, there are people here in
my obscure county in commune
cation with Mr.. Royal on the
subject of the purchase of coupons
at this present moment, and | am per-
fectly sure it is so all over the State,
especially in the cities; and by this
time next year it will be universal and
beyond the control Of all the high
sounding, Quixotic resolutions the DEM
ocratic party could pass if it were to
sit in perpetual session and do nothing
else but pass such ridiculous resolu-
tons. And after you have done all
this, don't you leave these pestiferous
coupons as big and as full of life and
vigor as ever? And instead Of one
this year, won't you have two after
you next year. and so on to the end
of the chapter, until you are over
whelmed with dsily-accumulating
debt and an empty treasury? The
creditors know what timber legislatures
are made of. They knew in 1871. As
a party we must confess, however
humiliating it is, that the Democrats
show badly on this question. They
Matched cut this pestiferous brood OF
coupons in 1871. They have had abso-
lutte control Of the State ever since, ex-
cept the short time the Readjusters
held power; and what now is the condi-
ton Of affairs? II can't be shufiled oil
on anybody else. People know better
And the worst Of it is, they have never
spologized for this great offending, or
confessed the wrong they did, much
less attempted to undo that wrong.
Every attempt to do so, forced on them
by the people, has been a failure, be-
cause the measures adopted were fee
BILE, evasive, and impracticable. This
tie creditors knew from the first, know
it perfectly well to-day, and know
more-that the one now proposed will
be worse than a failure. | once
heard of a fellow who proposed tc
sell q powder for exterminating teas
His prescription was First catch the
flea, choke him till he opened hi
mouth, then drop the poison down hi
throat! Your remedy to get rid Of thu
coupons will be just about as effectual
Bourbonism is a word hateful to me
and is intended to be offensive to thu
Democratic party Of this State. Ant
vet it is true. The party in this STATE
will not learn nor forget anything; bu
1 :er;taIy xrorsa when the mai RI,