Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1886-07-02
WHAT Of THE PATRIOTS2

Our attention is frequently called
to the meetings that are being held
in various counties OF the State,
called citizens meetings and that
are intended to express the patri-
Otto determination of those who
participate in them t0do everything
in their power to crush the tax
receivable coupons. Resolutions
are invariably passed at these
gatherings settirg forth the fact
that the GOOD AND TRUE men of
the State have resolved that THEY
will not pay their taxes in coupons,
and calling upon all citizens to
help stamp ont of existence the in
famous cut worm of the treasury
and if necessary the entire debt OF
the State. Often our curiosity is
excited to know who these men are
that are the getters up and actors
in these meetings Are they the
old time Readjusters, who main
tanned at the point Of the bayonet
that the debt of the State was un-
Justly settled. that relief should be
demanded and secured for all the
people ! Or are they the old time
FINDERS. the "hOnOr" shriekers,
who proclaimed the funding bills
and coupons sacred contracts, who
denounced readiustment as theft
and highway robbery, who tried to
organize the women and the preach
ers into societies to maintain the
credit and honor of Virginia =
We wager that there will be no
difficulty in determining to which
class these new hedged Virginia
patriots belong. Go into their
meetings aud see who they are, or
read their proceedings and from
memory recall their antecedents.
In every instance the promoters
and leaders of these patriotic move
ments of the people, and the mass
eS who participate in them were
bitter Funders, what they were
then very proud to call themselves
Iast dollar men. They were the
men who drew q close, but glarlng
line between HONESTY and DlSHON-
EsTY. On the side of honesty they
arrayed themselves with a boastiul
arrogance that awed some men who
were partial to REIMBURSEMENT but
who could not stand the charge of
being associated with a party that
FunderiSm sOlemnly called dishon-
est. They not only claimed to rep
resent all the honesty, but insisted
on placing in al enclosure labelled
"dishonesty repudiatiOn' all those
brave men who were fighting the
coupons and struggling in their
way to preserve the credit and in
tecrity of the Commonwealth. At
the period when the heated con-
tests were going on between Fun
derism and REIMBURSEMENT, or hon.
esty and dishonesty, as the socalled
debt payers were pleased to call it,
who could have believed that the
persons who were then so clamOrOus
for honest debt paying would in a
few brief years be equally as clam
orous for dishonesty, FOR repudia.
ton 4! Still this thing has come TO
pass. The honesty of the Funder
marty was short lived, q thing Of
the moment, amere bauble, which
it handled to excite the admiration
Of the emotional and senti mental,
cast aside when dishonesty was
The card they thought would win.
If their honesty was mere coat
Of which they Invested themselves
with unblushing alacrity at the
opportunity may we
not naturally infer that their pa
.rlotism will he in keeping with |
heir honesty, that it IS only anoth-
II glittering trinket which they are
displaying to the public eye, to be
,ast aside when their own selfish
may demand Mark our
prediction that this will be the
,ase. 1t Will not be long until the
-ery men who now in public meet
ngs are saying that they will not
Jay their taxes in coupons will be
ieeking the brokers to buy coupons
md will pay their taxes in the very
manner they now, as patriots, con-
Tenn. Funder honesty lived but
short time. Funder patriotism
pill have briefer existence.-Pd,
ri0t and HcrGd.