The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1861-02-22
The Wabash and Eric Canal.

In tO-day's issue will be found an article
copied from the New York Tribune, giving
a sketch of the circumstances attending
the transfer of the Wabash and Erie Canal
from the State of Indiana to her bondhold-
ers. The Tribune acknowledges its in
debtedness to ga committee of stockhold-
ers" for the facts it publishes, and of course
the same committee took good care to i'm
bue the mind of the Tribune writer with
their own views as to the alleged wrong
done to the bondholders by the State. This
is evident from reading of the Tribunes
one-sided article That paper will, in the
course of time hear both sides to the story,
when it may see proper to look at the mat
ter in different light
From a reading of the Tribune's article a
person unacquainted with the circumstances
attending the transfer of the Canal would
suppose that the State, by system of sharp
practice, had palmed off upon the innocent
bondholders the public work spoken of, for
the purpose of Sinking out of a portion of
her Indebtedness, and at the same time get
ting rid ofproperty in which she had made
a bad investment
The truth of this matter is that the bond
holders believed there was a big speculation
in the operation of exchanging half the evil
deuces of Indebtedness held by them for the
Canal and its vast landed estate and valuable
franchises. They were exceedingly anxious
to bring about the trade; they sent Mr..
Charles Butler, as their agent to Indiana
polls, and conferred on him power to con
summate this arrangement at any trouble
and cost. Mr.. Butler came out to the Hoos-
Ter capital; be lobbied industriously amongst
tue easy, good-natured law makers; he
treated them to oysters, wine, cigars, and
other such persuasive appliances ; he made
himself very agreeable, and used all his
powers of log-rolling and logic to induce our
legislators and state authorities to transfer
the Canal and its immense resources to his
principals in return for half the States in
debtedness, Well, the bargain was closed,
and Mr. Butler left Indianapolis exulting in
the good thing " he had done for those
who employed him. He laughed in his
sleeve over his shrewdness in fnancieringi
and over the greenness of the Hoosiers for
selling their great public work on such easy
terms That the bondholders deemed the
operation an excellent one, and were de-
lighted with it, cannot be denied.
Railroads were then an established
mode of transporting passengers and pro-
duce, They were not at the time of the
transfer in so great state of perfection az
now, but every man acquainted with scien-
tifc matters knew that they were destined
to compete with canals as a means of inter
communication. The experienced person;
-L-ll--- ST. L~--<l- l:i-~:- -
that the surface of Indiana was extremely
we'll suited to the building of railroads, and
that the time must soon come in the nature
of things, when railroads would gridiron th'
whole West But they doubtless thought
that the heavy freights constituting the bul
of our internal commerce could be carried
with more profit by canal than by railroa
and that hence the canal would have tn
preference. This fact, together with tn
enormous value of the immense land
ed domain belonging to the Canal satisfies
them that there was a great specula
ton in the acquisition of the Canal. Thu
believing, they spared no means to bring
about the transfer, and when it was made
regarded it as a most profitable operation
and took no pains to hide their exultation
Many persons in the Legislature ant
throughout the State regarded the PROPOSE
ton as tending greatly to the States dis
advantage, and accordingly honestly an,
energetically resisted the measure but wer
overborne by the general desire to rid III
State of her financial difficulties even at til
expense of what many believed to be TIA
ultimate advantage of the people.
There is another consideration that ough
to lessen the weight of the stakeholder;
complaints. Those who now hold the bond
are, many of them, not the original bond
holders. They bought the bonds they ow
at a large sacrifice on speculation, anC
many believe, urged the sale of the Canf
in furtherance of a well-consdered an
well-planned scheme to profit off the mi;
fortunes of the State and the panic causet
amongst her foreign bondholders by tenn
pOIdEy nature 10 pay the interest on ne
bonds. Those persons who now mostl
own our bonds are New York bankers
brokers, and speculators-sharp inanciers-
cup to " all the tricks of the stock exchang
aad the lobby. Prominent state politician
are we doubt not in the interest and secre
and as no pains nor expense has been spare
in the inception and consummation of th
transfer of the Canal so none will be spare
in coaxing, wheedling, bamboozling, scar
ing, and forcing (if possible) the people {
Indiana to compensate these fnanciers 70
their pretended losses or, more properly. t
pile an additional per cent. of profit O.
their already large speculation.
TcvO wars on tho stool boI