The River Falls journal. (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1857-1861, 1859-01-05
Citizens Meeting.

In pursuance with call previously
made, meeting of the citizens of Pierce
Co. was held at the City Hall in Pres
colt, to take into consider alton the neces-
sity of memorialzing the Legislature up
pom the subject of the repeal ofthe Mort
gage Stay Law and the Usury law; also.
to demonstrate against the assumption OF
the payment of Railroad, City, Town aud
Farm mortgages by the State.
On motion o. I. Maxon was called to
the chair, and D. NJ Lusk chosen Secre-
tary,
The committee on resolutions appoin-
ted at previous meeting, reported the
following, which were lnanimously adop-
ted; TV a TET1FE
Your committee to whom was referred
the consideration Of the AssumL ton of
Railroad Debts, the repeal of the usury
laws, and the Mortgage stay law of this
State having had the subject under con-
sideration, report: a ~
Having witnessed with regret the bad
faith which has been used by the Railroad
men of Wisconsin, towards stockholders,
farmers, cities, towns, and every one who
has extended hand in aid of the railroad
interest of the State; not only the means
used to obtain bonds and mortgages, but
the wantou expenditure OF the same
the history Of which is too well known to
require comment. We need not allude
to individual pocketing OF monies be,ong-
ing to the companies, lncurring OF I'M
mense debts by rotous living, corrupting
men in public position, expensive tours,
abroad, not required by the best interests
of the companies. negotiating bonds for
iron, selling portion of the same expen-
ses, in purchase and transportation, and
the balance in money to pay salaries to
hfficers, and finally closing the scene by
selling out the road to clean out the stock
holders, and the unsophisticated creditors
of the companies. Having repeated this
until it can be no longer done, a propo-
sition is now made to the people, to pay
the millions they have squandered, there
by leaving the way clear to run the road
until such tine as the entire property
should be again consumed. We trust all
are posted III the State flanceering with
the New York d Erie-the large sums
Of money bestowed from the State Treas
ury-the immense sums drawn from bond
and Observation-Disclosures only before its com
pletion, butte keep it running. After all
this, what IS the condition of its stock at
home, where millions of dollars are lock-
ed up idle? The history of this road is
the history of nearly all the roads in which
the State Treasury has been open to aid.
Look at our sister state Minnesota !
She is to-day about three years ahead of
where we will be should the State As
sumption carry. Her public works have
proved her rum, or what is worse repud-
together with the flooding OF the
country with worthless shinplasters.
As to farla mortgages, all who know
the history of those transactions, know the
farmers entered into it for the purpose Of
speculation. The Galena q Chicago CON-
pany had succeeded in making the pubic
!. believe the farmers along tie line Of the
road had made fortunes by mortgaging
their farms and taking stock-the stock
selling above par, and the company were
to take care of the mortgages. 1t was
believed fortunes could BE- made by mort
gaging farms aud taking stock-a road to
fortune without capital. The golden egg
has burnt the fingers of those who got too
large a one. Whose fault is it? Ger
tainIy not the State, Had they made ali
they hoped for, would the State have re-
ceived the small amount left, after the IL
on's share had been extracted? We
would think not.
Cities, Towns, and Counties loaned
their aid, and from what motives. was it
10 build rival towns? or to aid the State at
large, eIual with teir own locality, All
know the answer, an what is the result ?
They have really made a good thing of
it if they 90 on and pay their honest debts
Notwithstanding their money was badly
souandered, and their works cost twice
what they should. What would Milwau-
kee have been to-day without railroads
The same can be said of Beloit and James
vile, Madison and other towns in every
part Of the State.-The property has
doubled in every instance while there is
not town in the State that owes one
tenth of the advance earned by the roads.
The same will apply to counties and far
| ners. The extra price of produce and
farms, together with the thousands saved
in marketing, makes it a speculation with
all the farmers, who were not over anx-
ious in Mortgaging, and took only such
amount as was reasonable, or in other
words, whose avarice for gain was not the
leading feature. 1t is claimed the roads
are public good, who will say the early
pioneers of the northern portion of the
State are not workers fol- the public good
when they are clearing the wild lands,
making the desert waste bloom with the
golden harvest, or the ripping streams to
manufacture lumber, -four, and the hun
dred of necessaries of life, or the building
of good common roads, bridges, ferries,
de-, who would not admit that these help
to swell the wealth of the State? who wo'd
talk of lending helping hand to the
struggling pioneer, OF even of State funds
to aid in the public Improvements with
which he has to do, in order to settle the
country? No response. He has not
bribed the public functionaries, or robbed
the unsophisticated, let him not only strug-
gle on alone. but take from him even
that he hath, to give to the plunderers of
the State, Cities, Counties and people.
6elieveing as we do, that punishment