Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1920-10-29
BETTER DELAY THAN COMMIT
A SERIOUS ERROR
(From the Winchester Star

A'"@ ioStt~I q pltoftA |
TIA tement, to the effect that Vir-
sluia can issue SIC, 00C. 600 q.i
Dad bonds witllout> increasing /.
taxes. |
His plan is to divert existing !
revenues for the payment OF i lie
interest and sinking fund OH this
debt.
The interest will be E per cent, |
or 81, 100000, and the sinking
fund 3 per cent. or $1,000, 600, a
total of s., 100000 yearly, or one
third the present total revenue Of
the state.
In other words. after the first
100000 of bonds are spent,
one-third Of our revenue will bel
diverted to paying the interest
and sinking fund.
Under the neutrality-suspicious.
pay-Paul plan Virginia will have
over two million dollars less for
road maintenance and Construc-
ton than we now have after the
bond issue funds have been ex-
pended. l presume then that
the plan will be to issue more
bonds, SO as to maintain the
roads constructed with the first
issue, and therein lies the ex-
( treue danger Of giving unlimited
authority to the Legislature to
issue bonds for this purpose.
Members of the General Assem-
bly, would vote for bonds wien
they would not vote for increas-
|! ed taxes, They know that bonds
will not be paid for many years,
! and that the taxpayers will not
at once feel the direct effects of
increased taxes.
| consider the statement OF Mr..
Coleman misleading, as everyone
knows that the interest on bonsd
must be paid from some source,
and sound fiscal policy would
demand that the interest OF
bonds should be paid BY new
taxes and not from divert:ng ex-
listing revenue. We may be as
sured, however, that the tax
payers of Virginia will EVENTUAL
| ~ pay, even though the payment
may be saddIed on Tie next gen
GRAFTON.
In the event that Mr.. Cole
mans plan is adopted, Fred
erick county's share of the bond
issue debt will be $500, 900, all Of
which will be expended on the
state highway system of the
state, but not necessarily on state
roads in Frederick county. Then
succeeding legislatures can issue
another S40,O0O.0OO of bonds. ct
Ieetera without limit.
| ! know that some are willing
to vote to permit the Legislature
to issue road bond without limi-
taAons, but | want to warn those
i'll favor of the amendment to do
so with the understanding that
taxes will be increased and,
further, that all the proceeds will
be expended on the state high
way system.
| Already, all the automobile
taxes are expended OH the state
System. If the bond issue is
likewise expended os the state
system, how will the so, 900 miles
of road in Virgini not included
in this system be contracted ?
The capacity of the people to
pay taxes is limited, and after
paying taxes for the automobile
bouievards included in the state
$ stem nothing will be left for
ICi.as "B" and &C" roads, many
~, ~!lich are not in the state
~fstem, but are vitality important
10 their respective localities.
invite all interested, either
for or against the amendment to
discuss their views in The Star,
and no one will be involved a
personal discussion.
HIS is one Ol the most fnOmen-
tous questions ever submitted 10 |
the people of Virginia. If vel
adopt this amendment, how can
we consistently refuse another
amendment permitting the issu-
ance of state bonds. for public
school, for public institutions,
for public health, all of which
have demands as meritorious as
roads.
The fair and proper manner
would have been to submit
specific amount of bonds to be 4
used for specific classes of roads.
The present proposed amend
nent can be defeated and a new
amendment submitted. Better
al - |