Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-09-14
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. IA, 1886.
A Foolish Threat.

u
pie OF Virginia are fools when they as
sumo that they will by purchasing cou'
pons at low price open the State Urea
sury to millions Of those "cutworms "
and thus necessitate largely increased
rate of taxation. Commenting upon
the Second Auditors letter to that pa
per, the London Financial Neps says {:
son December lst next the taxes to
the State are due. The committee must
see that they are paid in tax-receivable
coupons it must supply the coupons,
even If it supplies them at loss. 1t
must place itself in communication with
every important taxpayer in the State,
and make Of him an instrument for the
redemption Of the State from the finsn-
cial infamy into which the Ruffins would
plunge it and bury it. The courts have
decided that the tsx-receivable coupons
are q good tender for taxes the Ruff
fms know this to DO good law, but
trust to trick and device to defeat its
application. They must be opposed to
the utmost extremity. The coupons re-
ceivsble must lie received the commit
tee by seeing that this is done will set
Ito the Virginia debt question and Ruff
fin once and forever"
There's fine programme, to be
sure, whose authors assume that the
important taxpayers " haven't sense
enough to know that coupons will not
suffice to carry on the State government,
and therefore that il million Of dol
lars . year Of coupons were received
for taxes, the result would necessarily
be that the rate OF taxation on these
important taxpayers would have so
TO be raised as to increase the revenues of
the Commonwealth by one million Of
dollars. This increased taxation has
not yet become necessary, but it is only
because the amount of coupons received
into the Treasury has been so insignif-
cant heretofore that the Treasury has not
been sensibly affected thereby. 1t was
only s40,540 in 1883, sl72, 997 in 1884,
and $50, l64 in 1855.
The taxpayers cannot forget, there
fore, that for every dollar of coupons
that is sold or given to them now, there
will hereafter be extracted from their
pockets by force or otherwise ten dol
lars. The bondholders can afford to
sell coupons low now, or even give
them away, If they can thereby open
the Treasury to these cutworms, and
secure hereafter dollar IN money for
every dollar of coupons already ma
tured and hereafter to be matured.
ain vain is the net spread in the
sight Of the bird" Are the people of
Virginia such fools that, they are ex-
pected to walk into the trap which the
paragraph above quoted says is to be
set for them? Don't they know that
there are only two sides to this ques-
tion-tbe bondholders' side and Vir-
ginis's side? Do they not know that
when Virginia is overcome and her
Treasury opened for the receipt Of cou-
pons their pockets will at the same
moment be opened to the hands Of the
bondholders? And yet this unwise and
suicidal policy on our part is con-
fidsntly counted upon by the bond
holders and their agents, and their
scheme Is unfolded as above without
suspicion that anybody in this old Com
monwealth has sense enough to see
through it.
slime upon line and prscept upon
precept" We are compelled to give.
The amount Of tax-receivable coupons
nov outstanding is %, 600, 000--snough
to swamp the State-to absorb oil Of
her revenues for moro than q year il
not one dollar were used for keeping up
the State government, the public
schools, the asylums, and other public
institutions, &C., &c. The amount of
coupons maturing annually is about one
million; 90 that on the LIST Of July next
the amount Of matured coupons will be
NEARLY five millions Of dollarsl Will
Fou allow the Treasury to be flooded
with these coupons s--when you know
that If the whole Of these millions were
paid into the Treasury the Common
wealth would have to draw as many
millions more by taxation out Of your
pockets?' We know that you will not
do IL unless upon the assumption thu.
your neishbors are more patriotic than
you and Will refuse to do IS you do.