Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-05-21
WEDNESDAY MAY q. 1890
What the Coupon Decisions Mean.

On last Sunday we said
at would be joyful day for Virginia
IL the Supreme Cont of the United State )
would give such a quietus e. the deot
legislation NJ would cause the bondhoIdcIs
10 turn from it and look 20 US
And il would seem from the decree OF
Monday last that something very like that
has been accomplished. II appears to us
that a man must be very blind or must
sbut his eyes very hard who does not sec
dayIich. for the State in that decree. II
embraced the decision Of seven cases, the
same that were enumerated 90 the Leglsla-
ture bv Governor LIE N his last annual
message. and were repeated IN tins paper
on Sunday last. OF these, two cases were
decided for the State, and these two deci-
sions cave her the victory The one was
that the imposition Of the State tax for
schools. which il one fourth of oil the
real and pcrsonal-proporty tax, or ten
cents on the hundred dollars. and which
onr law directs 10 be collected in cash, Is a
constitutional tax. The second IL that 1t
is constitutional TO require all hquor-ll-
censes to be paid in cash.
The decisions against the State law re-
curing the bonds to be produced IN court
rs evidence Of the eenuineness of the cou-
pons. and excluding expert testimony as 10
the commences Of the coupons, amounts
10 nothing. That law grew out of the tact
that the Judges of the Corporation courts
of Richmond and Lynchburg had allowed
experts in handwriting 10 testify as to the
penuIneness Of engraved signatures. But
now that the coupon cases are trlable IN
the superior courts there IS really no longer
any use for such law. No Judge would
tolerate this practice of these hastings
courts. The adverse decision against the
claim of the State to exact payment OF cost
in money in coupon cases amounts 10
nothing practically, because the State pays
no costs: and If she have 10 pay her lawyers
in cash the costs that may be rendered
them in coupons it would be inconsiderable.
As the license-tax on coupon brokers OF
from $500 to 81 900, and 20 per cent. on all
sales, applied 10 only two or three men IN
the State, the decision against the State on
that point makes little or no difference.
The practical gain to the State is in the
amount that must be paid IN cash. That,
according TO the last report of the Trea-
surer of the Commonwealth Is:
For liquor-censes........ '$E5i',S 60
FOR schools fio,1~o %
1Otdl. .--s...ssss.s.ss'' '''''' ''''' f'S''+' N
BY the same authority the licenses other
than liquor are $3I2, POOLS.
1t is from these two branches OF the
license-tax, and mainly in the five chief
cities of the Commonwealth, that the cou-
pons have given most trouble TO the State;
but as in the cities these are now collected
quarterly, so that the amount payable by
each at any one period is smaller than tho
coupons that trouble is pretty much over
1t is probably safe 10 say that not less than
500 is saved to the State 10 that way.
The following table from the last report
of the Second Auditor shows the number
of coupons paid in the Treasury since the
RIpDIYBERGER bill became law;
Coupops received on Judgments In the Second
Auditors once under acts Of January IL ana
d, isss. and May II 1887, during the fiscal years
ending September SOth, WAS: