Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1889-10-04


never have believed that tile people of this
State desired a settlement with our creditors
upon any other basis than that which recog--
nized every dollar of her equitable share OF
the debt of the undivided State, and that it
should be refunded at a rate of interest that
would enable them to meet its annual demand
and keep house. On this basis, one that shall
not increase the yearly burdens OF the people,
venture to say, witheyery RESPONSIBILITY Tor
| the declaration a satisfactory disposition OF
| this question can be effected. But hoW-Dy
what lawful process? No man who honestly
desires final settlement OF it would expect,
much less desire, that | should state, for
straightway our Democratic managers would
say, "Me too. ''-C0ndioGte Mah011e's Abingdon
Speech.
We must confess that if Candidate Ma
homes desire is to state an argument of
such far-away height as to be not only I'M
answerable, but unbeatable, he has fully
succeeded in the above. One might as well
debate with the child who, with clenched
hand, cries ''hull-gull, how many? or the
older and more experienced gambler who
exhibits on the race course the three shells
| involving the mystery Of "Now you see il
and now you don't see it," as to undertake
to tackle the mystic and-aS Il statesman's
proposition of finance-childish position the
General takes. His responsibility for tle
declaration is about equal to its dignity.
What if the Democratic managers should
straightway say "me tOo?" Neither the
Democratic ''managers" nor the Republi
can managers" can take the settlement of
the State debt away from the people. That
was tried in the McCulloch settlement and
the people promptly repudiated it. 1t is
the representatives whom the people of
Virginia will elect, that will have the con
troll Of this debt question whenever that
band of coupon spectators, styling them
selves ''the bondholders," shall make an
other offer. The people are not going to
elect legislators who button up their pockets
and ask to be elected on the unsupported
statement that in those pockets they have
the panacea for the debt trouble. Gen. Ma
hone mistakes his Importance in the eyes of
the people of Virginia if he thinks they
have confidence in any such infantile propo-
sition from him as that. His record for
SETTLING the State debt is not one to com
mend him to confidence. He elected a legs-
lature, a Governor, and Supreme Court
justment of the debt. The Riddleberger
bill Was passed. Directly on the assembling
of the Democratic Legislature which fol-
lowed the Malone legislature that had
passed that bill, Gov. Cameron sent it a
message in which he said of the bill:
cit istrue thatthe Supreme Court of the Uni
ted States in the case OF Antoni VS.. Greenhow
sustained the act of January the 18th, 1882, as
furnishing an adequate and constitutional
remedy to holders OF tax receivable coupons
But, experience has shown that act to be de-
tcsent i'll several important particulars"
The Governor then proceeds to recon-
mend five distinct amendments to that act
as Immediately necessary, and adds:
"Remaining with the General Assembly is
the duty or the privilege of making to live, or
letting to die, the scheme of funding known
as the Riddleberger Act. TO be successful it
must be forceful The question now is, not
alive support to an attempt which is no settle
ment, but whether the ma jOrity Of that body
will sustain and advance the present legisla-
ton on the debt question. Let the response
bility remain with the power.
The Democratic legislature adopted the
legislation recommended by the Governor,
and fight has been going on with the
bondholders ever since The most remark
able feature of the fight is that in it the
Mahoneites have been aiding the bondhold-
ers. Many of their papers and their leading
men have openly cOunseled aid to the cred
itors, by the tax payers purchasing coupons
| To thoiT nd
prominent Mahone-Republican lawyers of
the State have been engineering the sale Of
these coupons-noW so close politically to
! Gen. Malone as to warrant the belief that he
sustained them init. The idea Of the Malone
people, after having lost the State. seemed
to be-not to aid in the enforcement of
the Riddleberger bill, but to throw as many
obstacles in the way of the Democrats ell
forcing it as they could. Even one Of their
campaign documents is an arraignment of
the Democratic party for employing law
yers toad the Malone Attorney General
Blair, and the Democratic Attorney Gen
eral Ayers, to fight the bondholders in the
courts. In a word, after their Governor
recommended additional legislation to en-
! force the bill and the Democrats adopted it,
the Malone people because the Republican
Federal Judges decided against these
amendments, deserted tie bill and tried in
every way to assist the bondholders to get
in their coupons.
But the General thinks if he had had the
reins when the conference of the bondhold-
ers' representatives Thornton-B raith-
Waite-in 1886 with thelegislature was had,
he could have settled matters. How? The
Legislative Commissioners offered 50, 227, :
100 principal and $5703, 552 interest, and the
| British Commissioners demanded 1913 247 =
$50 principal and 1922, sos annual interest
At that time the revenue of the State was
1881 ,975 and its expenditures $2,057 ,119,
leaving a balance, applicable to the payment
Of annual interest, of $464, 756. How could
Virginia have paid 1922, 900 with only
$464, 200? 1t is absolute folly for Gen.
Malone to talk of meeting the demands of
the British creditors without raising the
tares heartily. And he knows it, and that
is the reason that instead of putting for
ward plan of settlement to be discussed
by the people, he is on missionary tour
through the State on the silly platform Of
II know how to settle the debt, but 1 ain t
going to tell YOU" Some one in advance
of the Generals Abingdon speech, suggested
that his "scheme" was to establish a
State lottery. We thought it too absurd
to publish, but as the General doesn't seem
able to make up his mind to let it out, per-
haps it is a lottery OF something equally as