The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1890-06-24
THE STATE DEBT
A TRUCE BETWEEN BOND
HOLDERS AND CREDITORS.
A STRONG COMMITTEE lNFRRVENES
They Are Well Received by The State
Authorities-Probn Favor u
Settlement OF the spcbt and 81 Resto-
rat of shc states Credit.

After good many months of hard
Work by both interests, encouraging
progress has been made toward adj
iusting the Indebtedness Of the State
of Virginia. The present movement
in that direction promises more than
any previous effort, for the reason
that it is in the hands OF people III
whom both the creditors and the
debtors have absolute confidence.
The first step is to mass the bond
holders, and to that end the first au-
thoritative announcement relative to
the matter was made in London yes
terlay, and is made in this country
today.
The holders of large amounts of the
bonds both in this country and Eng
land, where majority of the bonds
are held, have requested the following
committee to represent them: MIR.
Frederic p. Olcott, president of the
Central Trust Company; Mr.. William
l.. Bull, of Edward Sweet & Co., and
ex-president of the New York Stock
Exchanges; Mr.. Charles D. Dickey, jr.,
of Brown Brothers & Co.; Hugh r.
Garden, esq, president of the New
York Southern Society," MIR. Henry
Bulge, of Hallgartcn & Co.. and MIR.
John Gill, president of the Mercantile
Trust and deposit Company of Balti-
more
Tie State of Virginia will not treat
with anyone who is not authorized to
act with the bondholders, this bond
holders committee requires that the
bonds shall be deposited with certain
leading financial institutions in ii is
country and in Europe under an
agreement giving to the bondholders
committee the power to represent
them, but with the privilege to the
bondholders to ratify any proposition
which shall have been found satisfac-
tory to an advisory board appointed
for that purpose or to withdraw their
bonds. There is thus interposed be-
tween the bondholders' committee on
the one hand and the commission
appointed by the State of Virginia on
the other hand, body of gentlemen
as an advisory board, whose names
and regulations are such that their
recommendations are likely to have
great weight with the hondholders.
The advisory board consist Of
Grover Cleveland, the Hon. Thoma
f. Bayard, ex-secretary of State; Mr..
George G. Williams, President of the
National Chemical Bank of this city :;
the Hon. Edward J. Phelps, ex-Minis
ter to England, and Mr.. George S.
Coe, President of the American En-
change National Bank of this city.
An idea of the work that has been
undertaken may be obtained by the
following resume of the Virginias' in
debtedness by member of the new
committee. He said yesterday:
State of Virginia found itself encuiu-
bered with debt, principal and inter
est, amounting to about $40, 900, Geo
with one-third of her territory cut OFF
by the creation of West Virginia, and
one-half of the taxable values upon
which the debt was created destroyed.
She attempted to fund the debt in
1871 by cutting off one-third of the
S45, 100000 as West Virginia's portion,
giving certificate therefor to the
bondholders, payable upon settle
ment with the new State.
For the residue, principal and
interest, she gave new per cent.
bond, with tax-receivable coupons at
tached thereto. This issue was equiva-
lent to forcing the State into bank
ruptcy, if such thing were possible,
for the taX-receivable coupons annu-
ally maturing exceeded the revenues
of the State by 81, 100000. AS a mat
ter of course, this adjustment of the
debt was failure.
During this whole period from 1860
to 1890, the State has paid in priI-
cipal and interest, upon this old debt,
about $23, 100000, but there remains
outstanding in the hands of creditors
who have not accepted the terms of
settlement proposed in 1882 about
$27, 100000, of which about 500, 900, 000
is principal and S7,50O,O00 is interest.
This is the amount we propose to deal
with. Our work has been we'll viewed
! in London, and our intercourse with
the representative of the State has
convinced us that she is as DESTROYS of
re- establishing her credit as the bond
holders are of adjusting. their claims
upon an equitable basis