The daily Butte record., 1858-08-21
s...,o, ra Tb,ev,ne Acts I'm butte.

Special a,.d TbieviDg Acts In butte'
AT the <ession OF 1866, the Legislature
Was asked to pass an act Authorizing the
poard OF Supervisors, of Butte county, to
purchase the Bidwell bridge. for fifty thou
sand dollars. They refused to pass the
thing.
At the Session of 1861, the Legislature
passed ap act submitting tho proposition to
the people Of the county, to appropriate.
jointly. with Plnmas, forty thousand dollars
TO construct road from 0rovillc to Honey |
Lake, via the Bidwell bridge. 1t was indig- !
nantiy voted down by our tax-paying citi-
zens.
The last Legislature passed an net sub
mitting to the people Of the county, prop
ositon to appropriate two hundred and tbir-
ty thousand dollars for railroad and wagon
road purposes, fifteen thousand dollar. OF
this sum is 10 be expended in building
road from oroville via Mendenhalls
Ranch" to the south east side OF middle
| Feather river, thence over the route where
the Bdwel and American Valley road pas
es. 10 the boundary line between Butte and
Plumas counties. OF course this means
d" Bidwell Bridge" as the commissioners
must locate and construct n road " where
the Bidwell and American Valley road pas-
se.," without arriving at that point
Here are these assaults upon the taxable
property of the county for the benefit Of the
pruprietors Of that magn ficent siructu a,
Bidwell From the constant application to
create an Indebtedness Of the county for
such purpose, the natural suppos''ion
would be that there was an immense amount
of travel on the route, and thntto accom-
modate that travel, II was necessary for ths
county TO go still deeper in debt than it,
legitimate business has already carried it,
What are the facts in the case'
We are informed by member Of our
honorable Board of Supervisors that, while
they were in session as board of Equnliza'
ton, tho President of the Bidwell bridge
company presen cd an affidavit setting for tn
the iact that the proceeds of the Bidwel
bridge did not exceed three thousand dol
liars per annum. This shows the travel on
that route to amount to nothing. ard of
course il would be folly for our citizens to
tax themselves for the purpose of cons'ruc.
ting road upon it, ami yet they are i'm
portuned first, to purchase; second and
third to appropriate thousands Of dollars
to build road to and from the worthless
concern. Not only does the act levy m ad-
diiional and specific tax for that purpose,
but when that fails to meet the accruing
interest. or to pay the wag road bonds on
maturity, it nppropria'es tho general fund
of the county, leaving the legitimate and
natural expenses Of the county TO be met
with deprecated scrip This wild compel the
county TO pny in SCRIP fifty to one hundred
per cent above the cash price for everything
required.
The county is now over sixty thousand
dollars in debt. ard is paying twenty five
and thirty per cent moro in scrip than
the cost in cash How much that per cent
would be increased should the county issue
evidence of indebtedness for more than half
million of dollars, with the general fund
of the county appropriated for other purpo-
sos we shall not pretend to say. 1t is GER
tnin, however, that the scrip Of the county
would go down to fifty per cent or less, and
the county be obliged TO pay more than
double for every thi G required to keep up
its organization. Let our tnx paye's think
Of these things, and refuse to create huge
Indebtedness for such an unworty pur
pose