Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-10-12
orr STATE.

oo,od nv the Legislature Of this SUM-
..,,h ,oenoct IN criminal expenses anu
other charges. have been tustshed by r.
su,ts and that the forthcoming Reports Vi
the Auditor Of Public Accounts VIII p'oNe
A. These measures were not pas''"
without smart opposition, and there "e'e
MON yyho nredicted that the adminlsua-
| ,tor Of Justice would suffer in conse-
ouence: but not so-the state mas saNeu
| money and crime has been punished aS
| enectually as before.
The state will have TO begin the pay
ment Of per cent. interest upon her cen
,urv bonds on January l. 1902 but there
will he no difficulty in her doing So
Tho Dispatch has never admitted that the
| land-grabbers law is q good one out we
have ALWAYS frankly said it would put
much money into the state treasury
And so il has. with this money ana
other extra sums received from other
sources the state has been able TO buy
and cancel some Of her century BONDS.
Every dollar OF the bonds retired re-
loaees interest charges TO that extent. OF
course.
,rhore are rumors that the State will
have offers for her stock In the flch-
mond. Fredericksburg and Potomac kaI-
road Company at price which will en-
able her TO retire so large sum OF her
bonded debt as 10 make it easy for her TO
meet the 3 per cent. interest thereafter.
Whether such an offer will come or not
we can't say. but I'm either event that
property Of the States will prove TO be
powerful factor in aid of our interest ac-
count
The condition Of the oyster Industry
with respect TO the States finances is
more satisfactory than it ever has been.
The showing made this year is encourag-
ipa but still better things may be eX-
pecied I'm the future. The present state
policy. if conservatively pursued, will
make the oyster beds a reliable source Of
revenue: but it will never enable Nir-
einia to edo away with her land-tax." as
some persons have foolishly said. Live
and let live. should be Virsinia's motto
with reference TO the oystermen.
And talking about our land-tax. let IT
not be forgotten that the rate which the
state Ievies is no higher than that which
prevailed when the so-called civil war
broke out With it Virginia now main
tains a general system of public free
schools and has made provision for free
education at the University of Virginia,
at Blacksburg. at Farmvile, az William
and Mary. etc We doubt not. also. that
the advantages offered State students at
the Virginia Military Institute are great
or now than they were before the war;
Besides. we have built two new asylums
for the insane. enlarged the two old ones.
and have cared for their hundreds Of in
mates.
All this remember. has been done I'M
der The same rate Of State taxation which
prevailed in the spring Of 1s61-that, too.
while our criminal expenses have vastly
increased.
How has II been done? BY having an
honest and competent State admlnistra-
ton, and by the great growth of our
cities and towns And this growth is
largely attributable 10 railroad develop
ment in Virginia. The railroads not only
pay taxes themselves. but create other
taxable values. So it has come about
that by far the greater part Of the
moneys collected for the Virginia Urea
sury come not from the owners Of agri-
cultural lands, but from other sources.
NaN rtsfff Ia.