The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1886-11-09
THE NEW ERA" ON THE POLICY.
Common-Sense Country Democratic
Idea-"The Democracy IL not
for Repudiation."

Idea-"The Democracy IL not
for Reputation"
outside Of the morality of the question,
.ho neople of Virginia are now brought
Saco 10 face with the necessity of deciding
,rbcther il will pay 10 trade reputable
.,otion before the world for the miserable
,,,o.s of pottage of few rong-gotten
,,iIlions. If II is best for the State to do
his then il is best for every reputable
,,,en now in business To desert the paths
Of honesty and fill his pockets with the
snoils of embezzlement and dishonOr.
let rs examine some of the State methods
which honest people are now expected by
the politicians TO endorse Under poor
II covered pretense that the coupons
we're being counterfeited the State re-
fused 20 receive them for taxes as she had
o~reed 10 do when the bondholders sur
rendered one-third of the principal
70 secure this privilege, until each
coupon has been proven in law to
he genuine. The real idea was
N load the coupons with the expense of "a
law suit 10 make them valueless. The
Moor bOndholders, with no choice before
Them. accept the necessity, and proceed
N have their coupons verified in a court
of law. Promptly the State passes a law
that for every dollar i'm coupons paid into
The treasury. even in this way, which she
herself has prescribed, she will deduct
one dollar from the principal of the cor
resoonring bond when its time for pay
ment shall come The highest courts de-
eide next that the tender Of a genuine
coupon for the payment of tax pays
the tax whether the State chooses to re-
ceive the coupon or not. To meet this
decision against her the State orders her
treasurers TO disregard il, and by violence
and trespass TO levy on a mans property,
whose tax has been so paid, and sell it,
and she will, by board of indemnity,
nav such treasurers the money damages
thev may have to pay, when they are
sued for their unlawful conduct.
Unfortunately some treasurers have
acted under these outrageous instruc-
lions. and the State has commenced to
nav out her many thousands in payment
of fine damages which have been awarded
against them.
To cover in some measure the shame
and folly of their course, the supporters
of these unlawful proceedings at Rich
m0nd try to create prejudice against the
wretched holders of Nirginias obliga-
tions. in this work one of the former
most powerful debt-paying organs in our
capital city is now most conspicuous,
indeed, rushes in, as COnkling once said
of Beast Butler, with all four feet in the
trough.
The holders Of the bonds, long suffer
ing set. sent to the courts by Virginia's
own laws are abused for doing as they
are directed by our laws to do. In the
mean time there is being heaped up in the
banks of Richmond the revenue collected
from the people for paying interest on
the debt Some of it is being drawn in
paving the States expenses in her dis
honest suits; in all of which, of course, she
is cast and each time heavily mulcted for
costs and damages, but the bulk Of it will
be lost in the breaking Of some bank,
which will be tempted into risky
lending by having charge Of such excess
i've deposits 1t will not be forgotten,
too, that already two officers in the base
ment offices have been sent in late years
to Nirginia's penitentiary for plundering
her revenues, and now no doubt some
clerk of weak moral organization is study
ing out some scheme of loading his
pockets by using upon Virginia some of
the methods she uses towards those she
has in her power.
We have no idea that the Legislature
which meets this winter in called session
will do anything to help matters, and the
best thing we can see now is for the debt
payers to use coupons as lavishly as they
can to force an early consideration of the
question Of simple honesty upon the
powers that be- The poor bOndholder is
ready for any decent compromise and
would jump at a proposition to take even
half interest if his principal be not plum
dered If stupidity is to rule the day and
so advantageous an otTernO even listened
to, the individual taxpayers should make
the saving which the State refuses.