The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-08-19
20 I'D az them tEon ouE tEeas-

gems and paid them from our treas
ary.
III" continues mr.. Blaine, "the Uni-
ted States were willing to place Virginia
on the basis on which they placed Mex
leo after the conquest Of that republic,
Z suGicient allowance would be made
to her to compensate. at least, for that
part of her public debt which might be
presumptively represented by the terri
tory taken from her. II It be said in
answer to such suggestion that It
would be fairer Io7 West Virginia to
assume the proportIonate obligation
thus indicated, the prompt retolnder is
that IN EQUITY HER PEOPLE ARE
NOT HELD TO SUCH OBLIGATIONS,
Under no Obligation.
The public improvements, for which
the public debt was in large part I'M
CURED had not been SO far completed as
to benefit West Virginia when the civil
war began-their advantages being
mainly confined to the tide water.
THERE IS INDEED NEITHER
MORAL NOR LEGAL RESPONSE
BILITY RESTING UPON WEST vIR-
GINA FOR ANY PART OF THE
DEBT OF THE OLD STATE.
I'm determining the relative obitga-
lions of the national government and
Of the government Of West Virginia,
concerning the debt, 1t is of the first
Importance to remember that the new
state was not primarily organized and
admitted to the Union for the benefit
Of her own people, but in far larger
degree for the benefit Of the whole
Union. The organic law would not
have been strained, legal fictIOns would
not have been invented, contradictory
theories would not have ben INDUCED,
II A GREAT NATIONAL INTEREST
HAD NOT DEMANDED THE CREA-
TON OF WEST VIRGINIA. II 1T had
not been apparent that West Virginia
was an advantage to the loyal cause;
II the border state policy Of Mr., Lin
coin, so rigidly adhered to throughout
the contest, had not required this link
for the completion Of the chain-the
wishes Of the people most directly In
volved would never have had the slight
est attention from the Congress Of the
United States" 49,
The Point Of the Case.
It will be observed that while the
United States might have Justly made
good the loss to Virginia, It is in no
sense interested in the debt matter.
and 1t is not true, as Mr.. Forgey's cor
respondent says, that the government
has ''been compelled to bring suit
against the state of West Virginia to
collect the debt" There isn't shadow
Of truth in 1t. If the supreme court is
to decide the case It will be between
the certificate holders who were de-
ceived or bunkoed by the readjustment
administration of Virginia, and the
state; should the court decide in one
way or the other, the national govern
ment would be In no wise interested.
There 10 no "Fhariseeism" about the
matter. The credit of the city of
wheeling is no more involved in this old
matter than is the credit OF any lndl-
vldual citizen, nor the credit Of any
town. village or county; nor even the
credit Of the New Jersey correspondent
who makes bold to mix In war trans
action which the city Of Wheeling had
nothing to do with. 1t simply involves
a legal question affecting, not the credit
Of West Virginia, which has not a dol.
lar OF Indebtedness and has more than
a million dollars In the treasury, but
whether or not she must pay these GER
tiilcatea that were Issued without con-
sulting her and without her knowledge,
II decided against her, she is able to
pay without injuring her credit in the
least bit. She holds that she owes no
debt.
In the meantime all that Mr.. Forgey
said about wheellng's financial intes-
rlty is correct.