Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-10-14
OPPOSED TO AMENDMENT
q !. OF State CONSTITUTION
4 Robert NJ. Hughes, Norfolk Attorney,
Against Permission to Increase
Virginia Debt.
POINTS TO $4,000 PERIO
Question to BE Voted Upon Next
Observation-Disclosures Advocates Of
movement We'll Organized and
Foes Not United.
n, ROBERT VI. HUGHES.

Il have but one lamp by which my
/. feet are guided. and that is the lamp
+. OF, experience. / know of no way OF
; judging the future but by the past
!. Patrick Henry.
Among the proposed amendments to
our State Constitution which arc to be
Tosed upon this 'ali is one to change
he w TS' rsad fo 81 ssG'on is4 SO
mo debt shall be contracted by the
state except to construct or reconstruct
. public. roads. TO meet casual deficits in
liability of the state. to suppress in.
St Sale in FR me OF 4Nssen or defend
3 The change consists in .the addition
F, of, the. words shown in black, which
I are not in the present Constitution.
+ The effect is 70 abandon the policy
. for great emergencies: TO assume that
such emergencies will never occur
esae ans t" Wits 1spa Sind and pEf
and revenues Of the State 70 unlimited
No checks whatever arc provided.
Advocate. Well Organized.
The measure has the support OF we'll
organized and influential organizations.
nria,ions from the national treasury
on she other hand: Il is not a party
;cussion which such questions. insure.
Its Onnonsn,s IN the nature Of thipgs
f Ieadns fo TH rn' hope s" against
is so fraugh,, with danger to inc Com
present some reasons against it.
Some retrospect may be advanta
geous: for these sentiments move in
. the lessons OF history as ours. This
is true both in our State and national
war even haf prepa r fRa nave ' neSer
profited by the mortitying and sad
experiences OF previous wars.
Forget spendthrift Days.
= We forget tho spendthrift methods
! repeat their errors /; is so easy to
, contract debt. so natural to assume
: improvements is an emergency. and
so pleasant TO forget the ncvita bic
.fS On Sir Sir Hoy S oaDe 90nS eor TO
:. We owe nothing to postcrity as pos
: t,erity never did anything for us. 1t
J is so nice TO marry in haste that We
. DO not think Of the repentance at
!; Nothing could illustrate this better
Trio. to January l. 1862. Virginia had
sli6So o6 Bonds amon"ing 70 nearly
and January i. 1861. She issued bonds
Tor mere than S25.00o,00O. OF this total
sGi ,,,, sS9eoo.oo9 over s36.oVc.oOo we're
tturnpikes. And two-thirds Of his
bb rsNin,5is were issued within eight years
were issued in the year previous to
me war BETWEEN the States. and after
inc John Brown raid.
Should HIVE Prepared.
IT there ever w..s Il war which should
+. nave been forcsecn for at least ten
q years. Il was the civil War The Mis-
sour sou Compr0misc had been repealed.
a and practical civi! war prevailed in
. lstsn No.
dicted II. but acted on the theory That
IL would not come. Up 10 the last there
:. peace conferences, and then az now,
:! thospeople. blind 10 tho future. thought
; lrat arowais of brothcrly love and clo-
! qIent resolutions would prevent war
. Mhen the cataclyam came she was al
ready overwhelmed with debt, and had
iS ~ maT tbs b 1eT seIfdeteGse Destined
nag, but built highways for the in.
. Veder. No funds were available To-
arm her cohorts. who had 10 meet their
loes win sporting arms and fiintlocEs
At the close of the struggle the STAT.
was PROSTATE, her works OF !llterna!
,inprovemeni were wrecks, and nothing
1t was beyond her ;.biity 10 meet. The
result was the long and inortifylns re-
tolustmen' period. which retarded the
reeoVery OF the State. beyond caicula-
,lpp, far over. balancing any Indirect
hencfits from the expenditures on in.
ternal improvements. II only ended
With the funding OF the debt into the
present century b0hds
.--rr Precautions Were Taken.
The convention which framed tho
present State constitution met in 1902
and was as representative body o.
WrS!nians as ever met. Many had
taken an active part in the questions
relaiinE 70 the State debt. All knew
the circumstances under which it had
been contracted. and were DESTROYS OF
protecting the Commonwealth as far
as they could from such a temporary
craze as that which had swept the peo-
pic Oh their feet between 1850 and 1860.
They knew how attractive a PROPOSE
tion II always is to have somebody
else, build railroad or canal or high
way past your front door. So they
soHtinued without change the present
provision from the carpctbag constitu.
-tion Of 1884. which reserved the credit
of the State for times of stress and
imminent peril.
Should this wise policy bc abrogated
and the mistakes Of ls50-lS60 be re.
pea;ed?
hope in a future "rticle TO prcsen.
some -"asons against any such change