Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1858-1859, 1859-07-16

and bleeding wounds of its own party
A Card from Moses Kneeland. Esq.
ST.. PAUL, 9th July, 1859.
To tho Editors ofMs Pioneer and Democrat.
GENTLEMEN In your paper Of to-day you
publish, from your "Own Reporter" an &C
count of the proceedings of meeting relating
to the Railroad Currency" in which ap-
pears the following:
William l.. Banning, the st. Paul banker, being
present, was called upon to address the meeting.
Mr.. b. proceeded to state that he had prophesied
these currency troubles more than year ago, for
which he had sheen maligned and slandered by
hired press, that our public men were de-
bauched," and our State under the control OF
wisconsin thieves :" and if our next Legislature
appoints an investigating committee, he has the
evidence and documents that will send kneeland
& Co. to the penitentiary. He denounced our
State functionares. said their conduct is infa-
nous and rapidly carrying our State to utter deg.
radiation" In speaking Of John w. North he said
that he "would if he could, but he didn't know
how to manage such huge swindle." He fur
ther said that within the past week corruption
drafts" to the amount of $25O,OOO were paid with
State Railroad Bonds to the "bOught members of
the last Legislature" by the Wisconsin thieves
and their co-operators in st. Paul. He concluded
without suggesting any means whereby our pres
ent monetary difficulties might be obyiated, and
even objected to the plan proposed at the meeting
held in st. Anthony few evenings since, as be;
ing which the Railroad Companies would
gladly aocede to.
1t is due alike to myself truth, and the pub
lic to say in reply to the assertions of this
Mr.. Banning, which it is understood have be-
come chronic, like the rawlings of a mailman,
that so far as they refer to me, and believe
so far as they refer to others, there is not one
line, word, or syllable of truth in them; that
they are false, malignant, and wicked, and he
knows it and defy him to produce before
a Committee of the Legislature, or elsewhere,
"the evidence and documents" to sustain his
maevoient charge.
never had any conversation with any
member of the Legislature which disposed of
the land grant to the companies of this State.
! had nothing to do, nor was 1 in any way
connected, with the disposition of the grant,
nor with the passage of the loan bill through
the Legislature nor have in any way, d.
| rectly or indirectly, paid any bonds, stocks,
money, or other valuable consideration, to any
member of the Legislature for any purpose
whatever.
am in no way interested in the banks of
this State, or any of them; nor in the cur
rency issued under the general banking law
and, therefore, l hereby denounce the said
William L. Banning as an unmitigatcd SLAM
derer and base liar, and mail the foul blot
to his forehead"
In conclusion it is perhaps proper to state
that legal proceedings are about being institu-
ted against Mr.. Banning, which will of course
enable him to purge himself from the imputa-
tons here made, if purgation be possible.
1t is also but Justice to myself to say, that
the proceedings will be commenced, not from
motives or with objects personal to myself,
but from sense of justice to the important
interests which are assailed under cover Of
wholesale charges against me, and from q
conviction that public justice requires at my
hands its vindcation against maligners, who
are still permitted to enjoy currency in so.
ciety. MOSES KNEELAND.
We find the above highly interesting and
curious document in the Pioneer and Demo
crat of yesterday. As specimen of impu
dence, We think it is unparalleled in the an
nails of public "cards." The MOSES KNEE
LAND whose name is appended, is the same
MOSES KNEELAND who is now President ant
Director of the Southern Minnesota Railroad
politely known at Winona, as the Root-hog
or-die R. R")-and the same MOSES KNEE
LAND who is go very we'll known in the STATE
of Wisconsin as one of the band of public
plunderers styled there in popular phrase tn,
Forty Thieves" who robbed and ruined tn,
La Crosse Land Grant Railroad of that Stat,
and he is the same MOSES KNEELAND whom
the Legislative Investigation in that State ii
1853, exhibited in the light of Plunderer O
Construction Bonds " to the amount of near
ly 100000!
This is the virtuous gentleman who has thu
impudence to come out before the public o
Minnesota, and denounce one of our bes
public citizens as liar )" and to indignant
ly disclaim having had anything to Go with
the disposition of the Railroad Land Grant o
Minnesota, or with having bribed, "directly
or indirectly" members of our Legislature
for any purpose whatever! The right o
the virtuous and honest gentleman to indulge
in such imputations against Mr.. BANNING a.
he does, may be estimated from the fact thai
yesterday we inspected several of the s., OO(
drafts made by this same MOSES KNEELAND-
made here in st. Paul, during the Extra Ses
sion of the last Territorial Legislature which
disposed of the Land Grant--and which drafts
were paid to Members Of the Legislature a.
the price Of their cotes to award the lands
granted by Congress to the very Companies
which now enjoy them! If we do not mis-
take, Mr.. BANNING will in few days retort
upon this venerable Railroad President the
brand of " liar and plunderer," and burn the
words so deep in his forehead that time will
never efface the scars.
Mr.. KNEELAND will seek illegal proceedings
will he? Ito purge himself from Mr.
BANNlsG's charges. This is glorious news
All that is wanted is to get some Of the "For.
ty' to venture out of their holes into the
Courts Of Justice, and allow an opportunity to
expose them and their allies in all their ma
ked deformity.
Permitted to enjoy currency in society"
is Mr.. KNEELAND's facetious closing remark.
Really, this is cool At time when nearly
every man in the community is suffering a
loss in pocket from worthless currency issu-
through the Vaccinations of these very Rail-
road plunderers acting in concert with the
Democratic State Adminisgation-when the
Company of which Mr.. KNEELAND is the 'shon-
ored" President is now trying to repeat the
! same game of plumber, by issuing the La