Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1859-03-18
The ohio Canais.--Repairs.

The season of navigation by Lake, River,
and Canals, has opened unusually early, but SO
far the Democratic Legislature has neglected
to appropriate dollar for Canal repairs necessa-
~ every spring to guard against interruptions
to navigation during the bnsy season. The
weather has been propitious for such work for
month past, and each week of delay in put
ting the Canals into proper condition for busi-
ness helps the Railroads in their competition
with the Public Works, and detracts from the
State revenue.
The House only day or two ago passed a
bill apprOpriating $4,000 for repairing the
canals. but the next day reconsidered the vote
in order to engraft some restriction by which
overdrafts for past repairs should not be paid
out of the appropriation, and still leave it loose
enough that the due bills given for repairs
might be paid To make the nice distinction
puzzled even Democratic brains, and day or
so was spent in talking on the intricate sub
ject.
Early in the session bill was introduced by
the chairman of the committee on public works
to appropriate $4,000 for immediate repairs
which the committee claimed were necessary
then, but no action has been taken on it, al
though it appears by the State Journal that
laborers on the Miami and Erie Canal are
cheated out of about one-third of their hard
earned wages by dishonored shin plaster cur
rency, hawked about and sold at a shave of
from 25 to 81 per cent. The journal gives the
following Ohio Public Works specimen:
$50. MIAMI & ERIE CANAL,
November IL, 1858.
On the fifteenth day of November, promise
to nav BENJAMIN Pain, or bearer fifty dollars
for value received. ,
Div. Sup't. of Northern Div. M. d E. Canal
Several thousand dollars of this Democratic
currency are aAoat, and the journal pertinent
ly enquiries
Why is it that expenditures OF the last fiscal
year in excess of the appropriation ON the North
ern division of the Miami d Erie Canal are not
reported to the Legislature; and are covered up
by these shinplastcrsi Is the expenditure any
less unauthorized because the member in charge
has made his check on the Treasurer! Was it
necessary 70 CONeE up tuls eAPOhuieuiO AZ 'iiS
cost of the poor laborers of one-third of their
wages, that the Democracy might censure the
expenditure Of q little larger amount on MIR
WaddIe's division, to save the canal revenue
from total loss for the greater part of the last
season.
Truly the day of small things has come for
the great State of Ohio when her laborers must
be sacrificed, and the faith of the State hawked
in market for sixty-three cents on the dollar, to
enable Democratic member of the Board to
smuggle his expenditures, SO that the legisla-
ture can make little party capital by censuring
similar expenditures on division in charge OF
a Republican member; and when appropria
tions, declared by Democratic committee to be
absolutely necessary to put the canals in order
for spring navigation, must be kept in abeyanee
during the greater part of a useless extra ses-
sion, waiting till refractory members can be
driven by the lash Of party caucus into the sup
port of scheme for appropriating the entire
canals for marty DlundeF.