Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1886-02-13
Those West Virginia Certificates.

The Wall street syndicate is still
in the field. This time it is moving
once more on the Virginia Legisla-
ture, where at the last session it met
with some discontinue. Elk Con-
gresham Eppa Hunton, of Virgin
ia, representing holders of s6,000,-
900 Of the "West Virginia certifi-
cates,n so called, asks the Legisla.
ture to take measures to secure a
settlement With West Virginia.
Seeing that Virginia has in her sink.
ing fund, school fund and literary
fund more than S3,000,0OO OF the
certificates, the States own interest
in settlement is urged upon the
Legislature. The petition made an
exhibit of certain items which are
held to count against the new State
and in favor Of the old, viz stock in
turnpike companies, S9O6, 1856; State
roads in West Virginia S1,115,619 !;
bridge companies, S76,612; naviga-
ton companies, 1907, 430; so much
Of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad
as lies in West Virginia, S1,1IO,000 !;
bank stock, asylum, law library, &C.,
1884, 600; sundry items of cash from
1861 to 1868, s25O,OO0; making
a grand total of s4,O49,S57 for tan
gible effects in the new State.
We shall have to look into these
estimates before admitting them,
and there will be plenty of time be.
fore settling day. Virginia has
been SO liberal in apportioning our
share Of her debt, that we fear she
may have wronged herself again.
Unless the petitioners can satisfy
Virginia that she will lose nothing
by what she may gain in settle
ment-unless they can give her such
q bond of indemnity as will remove
the danger of having to pay ont to
certificate holders fifteen or twenty
dollars for each dollar that she may
receive from West Virginia-the
Old Dominion will hardly be more
eager for u settlement than she has
been in the past.
And here the Baltimore Sun falls
into the common error, industrious
~ propagated in Virginia, that the
efforts made by Virginia to bring
about settlement were made I'M
successful by the attitude of West
Virginia. The fact is that the old
State has never been willing to come
to a settlement to bring pay day on
the certificates, and she has never
been so wild as to think she would
get from us any great part of her in
debtedness to the holders of her
certificates. When West Virginia
commissioners went to Richmond to
meet the commissioners of Virginia,
they saw something of the city, but
nothing of the commissioners. There
the matter has rested so far as the
! States are concerned.
Such agitation as there has been
since has appeared in the Legisla-
ture of each State, agents Of the
Wall street syndicate endeavoring
to realize something on their DEUS
i've "West Virginia certificates"
We do not know how it may be in
Virginia, but in West Virginia the
syndicate has set up political ma.
chine with money to aid it, and III
every county it has one or more men
of supposed influence to help along
the work. 1t has chosen, naturally,
for its Instruments members of the
dominant party, who in turn are
trying to rule their party. For
their own purposes they make use
of the syndlcate's resources, and if
they gain control the syndicate will
be able TO administer on the estate
-Er.
All 6anpact ~ oinha1 tba wanna