The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1851-12-20
For the Free Trader.
To the Electors of La Sale County.

FeilOp Citizens Certain transactions Of the
Board Of Supervisors, involving our rights and in
terests. and. in which, not only our rights and in
terests, but, in our Judgment the official obligations
and duty Of majority Of the members of that
board were alike outraged and disregarded, eSvs
us no choice but unmanly submission to the inso-
encc Of petty, paltry malace in Office, or an ap.
peal directly t. you. In making such appeal we
scVunt it no disadvantage that We are simply, NJ
most of yourselves are, culvaters Of the soil un-
known to most fyou, and neither expecting nor
expected TO occupy official station we believe
we do not overesti.mate your manlness and
Lore Of fair dealing when we express our conf
dence that you will give us apatent hearing
This is all we ask Of you in matter which in
wolves principles ofequal interests to you as TO
ourselves. The Iacts We uctaii we nold ourselves
bound to establish by sufficient proof when that
proof is fairly challenged. The inferences we
draw from them, you having the facts will OF
course test for yourselves.
! We have reflected upon the subject, and we do
not see how we can put you in possession OF 1t
without a condensed narrative OF transactions IN
our town anticedent TO the action Of the board Of
uf supervisors. We shall adopt that course
therefore Though il is, ii we could well avoid lt
as unpaateable to us, as 1t can possibly be to
you,) and without preface proceed in our nara
tive with all the brsvity that somewhat com
| pecated subject and our limited abilities will
prmit.
| We are resident citizens Of the town Of Grand
! Rapids and live upon what is called the TIMBER
| Road poast road, running along and near tie
| bluff on the south shore Of the Illinois river
! from the cast to the west lines Of our town and
more generally used and travelled now, and for
several years pas., than all other roads entirely
across the town taken together. During several
years our town has been divided and distracted
by controversy as to the proper location of near
one mile. at the west end, Of this road his
controversy, without our choice was made To
/ govern our last election Of town officers Our
opponents succeeded in electing their entire tick
ct, including commissioners Of highways, under
stood by Us, and avowed By our opponents TO be
[ pledged to their views The route our oppo-
nents preferred was known amongst us as the
Section Line Route We objected to that route
as impracticable Tor a road unless at an expense
beyond the means Of the town to defray, because
/ It lay through an almost continuous bag fed by IL
wing springs, aud to be rendered Fl, for travelling
at any season except midwintci must be covered
with plank.
| The commissioners Of highways, chosen by
themselves, proceeded to view the route and re
/
Of obligations they had assumed Up to this
time we had refraned from all intercourse with
the commissioners in their Official capacity. be
cause we supposed from the circumstances at
tending their election which we have already re,
| ted, it would be unayailiny. We now, together
with large majority Of our fellow citizens Of the
! town, who were under n frequent necessity to
TO travel the road, petiioned the commissioners
to lay the road in accordance with our views ,nf
our own and the public interests, and they pro
ceeded 10 do SO. The next resort of our adver.
sarics was by appeal. in the name Of John
Eyrnoe, tho o~ncr oi n tract of land across which
the road was laid, to three supervisors to reverse
the location made by the commissioners of
highways. We were afterwards told by the
supervisor of our town that these three um.
pires were indicated TO Byrncs by himself
And, that some of his views had representa-.
ton amongst them we soon had unmis takeable
proof.
They appointed their first meeting to hear
the parties and view the premises "ncar the
road in question" it is true, but in the town Of
South Ottawa, in which one OF them lived,
and not in the town Of Grand Rapids in which
the road in question lay They we're thus sur.
rounded by individual having interests idtnti.
cal with our opponents, but who might have
4 Il
intruding personally in our own town upon
the management of its municipal affairs.
If those gentlemen have stronger reason for
the selection of the place of meeting, they
have not us vet, that We are aware, stated it,
One OF these three supervisors had repeatedly
and without "ils or butts" expressed, uncquiyo.
calIy, his opinion that the road ought to be
and would be laid on the section line.
After all the opposition from this gentleman
that he could make, short Of application
of physical force, 10 prevent us, we oh.
taincd tho ear Of his colhgues sufficiently
to object TO him one who had prg,iged the
case and, therefore, palpably disqualified him.
self to act upon il. We never Withdrew the
objection, but upon every opportunity renewed
il during the pendency Of the question and al.
ways proticrcd the proof. Yet the gentleman
persisted in acting upon it and one of hls
colligues, unconscious probably of the prcg.
nant mennngi II conveyed TO our ears, charta.
bly, remarked that, IN his own view Of the case
that gentleman was in tins respect, in precise.
ly the same ptcdiCamcut that he and his
other colgue were. Well, these three super.
visors thus selected, thus surrounded, and thus
Influenced, proceeded to view the rival rou cs,
and determined that the "scction line was so
utterly bad, that they unanimously as they
location made by the commissioners of high
ways. But they did, against our repeated and
earnest rcmonstruncc that il was illegal and
undcscryed, award fifty dollars damages to
Mr.. John Byrncs. From this point, at which
the location of the road became complete he.
yond controversy or appeal the contest hns
been carried on, by our udvcrsaries, lor no pub
lie object, but for the malicious AID dishonest
purpose of inilIctIng injury upon individual
opponents.
1t is for participation in measures having
this purpose that we dcnouucc tu you the con-
duct of n ma aioritv Of the board Of supervisors.
And but for their interference in It we should
never have troubled YOU with this communi.
cation.
In short time after the decision Of The
three supervisors became known to us, MIR.
John BvrnCs notified uS that unless we paid
the damages 10 him he would ubstruch the
road and prevent our travelling IT, Shortly
after giving us this notice ne broke ny
the bridge over a slough impossible Tor loaded
teams and threatened tn resist 10y force a.
tempts to repair the bridge or travel the road.
Under these circumstance, We Judged 1T cNpc'
diCnt Ia take advice, and ascertain what our
legal rights in the road were
We were advised that no law could require
Mr., Byrncs to give credit 10 the town, aud that
his control over the land was not therefore i'm.
paired or Icsscncd by thc,locNtion of tlc road
and the award Of damages and that our best
course was to raise the money, lend Il 10 the
town, and see that the damages were pnid.-
We acted upon the advice, gave tic money IN
to the hands Of ono Of the Commissioner Of
Highways, and it was paid hy him TO Byrurs
in the name Of tho Commissioners of Highways