White Cloud Kansas chief. [volume] (White Cloud, Kan.) 1857-1872, 1859-09-29
Why Should We Adopt the constitu.
tionf


aside, should calculate well the benefits or
disadvantages which would arise from the
adoption Of that instrument. To our
mind, every consideration is liz favor Of
a State Government. Let Us examine o
few of the reasons which should induce
US to vott for the Constitution.
In the FIRST place. We are practically
without laws. Our interests, our property
and our lives have no protection. The
most heinOus crimes go unpublished. and
villainy has full sway. Our Legislature
passes a set Of laws, and before they are
before the people. another Legislature
repeats them. And when an attempt is
made to execute them, ten chances to one
the Federal Judge decides them illegal.
There is in Kansas no security for
debts. Men may law away the amount
Of debt in the attempt to collect it. and
probably fail at last. This state of things
has almost destroyed the possibility of a
mans obtaining credit for the necessaries
Of life. be he ever so needy The same
thing operates against Kansas mer-
chants obtaining credit for fresh supplies.
But q few days since, a merchant told us
that, in conversation with a wholesale
dealer in st. Loais, the latter told him
that the letters K. T. at the end of mer-
chants name, was q sufficient reason for
his not procuring credit at that house. A
merchant in Missouri, he said, could have
credit to any amount, if he was reliable,
for in that State there is q settled law ;
but merchant on the opposite side of the
river did not stand she same chance, be-
canse Kansas had exemption laws piled
mp on one another, and half dozen laws
conflicting with each other SO that all
the Judges and lawyers in the Territory
could not understand them, and it was
hopeless for a man to attempt to get his
Just rights by process Of law.
The Federal Judges and other Office
holders do pretty much as they please.
and the people cannot help themselves.
These Office holders are appointed by the
President, and are not responsible to the
people; therefore. they do not consult the
interests of the people. Why, even the
District Judge. who receives a salary
from the Government for his services. re-
fuses to hold Court in many of the Coun-
ties, unless these Counties defray his ex-
penses. and pay his Clerk S5 per day !
With a State Government. the people
would elect their Judges. who would be
apt to consult the public interests, or the
people could turn them out of Office
Besides. in the new Constitution, there is
an excellent provision. by which an officer
can be deprived of his salary if he refuses
to perform the duties of his Office. Con-
sequently. when an officer undertakes to
be contrary, or to impose upon the people,
he forfeits his salary.
There is even no safety in real estate
transactions here. We have seen men
come to Kansas, look at the country, and
express themselves delighted with it; then
cross over into Missouri, and buy land Of
a worse quality at higher prices-and for
no other reason than that they had known
and settled laws, affording a man security
in the enjoyment of his rights. And such
will continue to be the case. as long as
we remain in the present Territorial con-
dition. We have heard Of men who own
hundreds Of acres Of land in Kansas, who
say that as soon as Kansas becomes q
State, and her internal affairs become set
tied, every acre of their land will be i'm
proved. but not before.
Every new State. upon her admission
into the Union. receives q certain amount
of land for Railroad. school, and other
public purposes. Railroads are being
projected in various parts Of the Territory.
but it is useless to ask for land grants to
aid in their construction. Until the AL
mission of Kansas a. State, no land
win be given her for Railroad or school
purposes. As long as we remain Terri
tory. we are deprived of the benefits Of
lands which would be ours as State; and
in the meantime. the President continues
to force them into market, and the specu-
lstors are covering them with their war
rants, so that, when we at length do be-
come State, the valuable lands will be
all gone, and we shall have to take land
of an inferior quality. and lying miles
away from the section for whose benefit
they were granted. When a Spectator
gets hold of lands, he usually holds them
at high figure; but when they are granted
for Railroad purposes. they are seld low.
and partly on credit. TINS the commu-
nuity gains by giving the lands for public
purposes. in preference to letting them
rsss into the hands Of the Spectator.
In our Territorial condition. we are