Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1861-12-20
Those Peculiar Circumstances. :"

fersd our columns for explanation OF the act
of the late County Board in donating ONE
HUNDRED AND SIXTY TWO DOL
LARS and half to the siekly democratic
German paper of this city, it is now prop
er to ascertain what construction should
be put upon their contumacieus silence.
Are the men who perpetrated this gross
outrage dumb, under a sense of their guilt
or extreme foelishnegs, and yet without
the redeeming virtue to acknowledge the
crime? or, do they now intend to add ia
suit, by refusing to reply to inquiries put
TO them hy those whose confidence they
have abused and whose money they have
sOrrupsly appropriated? One of those
must BIZ the cause Of this significant 81
lence.
Matters have come to a fine pass, in
deed, when the peoples money is used
in this way, and the corrupt Officials who
do it show themselves so far without the
pale of deceney, as to not deign an xpla-
nation of their conduct! In this state of
the case, as conservative of the public well
fare, we propose to present our readers
with what we have ascertaincd of the mat
ter We learn that the Board lad pre-
tiously voted, or recommended, that the
advertisement of the Delinquent Tax List
lhould be given to German paper in the
County ; meaning, probably, that it should
be published in German under the mis-
taken idea, that justice to the German
population required this. The County
Treasurer, Notwithstanding this vote, very
properly considered that, as the Statute
had made the matter of advertising the
List solely has business, in stead of the bu-
sness of the Board, and that, as the DEM
ocratic press had immemorially received
the county patronage Of this kind, in the
absence of any known exclusive right of
democrats, gave the Advertisement to two
Republican papers in the County, whose
joint circulation was at least three times
that of any German paper in the County.
By this means the Advertisement had, to
say the least, circulation oDe-sixth wider
than it would have had, by the substitu-
tion of the WeItberger for either of the pa
pers which were selected. Had the Re-
PUBLICAN been excluded, in favor of cur
German neighbor, a population twice as
large as all the German population in the
County would have been entirely excluded
from seeing it in this altogether the most
populous and wealthy part of the County.
The greedy beneficiary of Official Ger
ruptioa, well knowing the INSCRIPTIONS
ness of the Board by its democratic pre-
ponderance and previous practices, was not
to be baked by the just and independent
course of the upright Treasurer, but, pre-
Stunning on his ultimate success in obtain
ing the ''steal," inserted the Advertise
ment without authority or request, aud
coelly presented the bill for services which
the committee to whom it was referred de-
clared were rendered without authority,
and it was allowed Such is the simple
history of this disgraeeful transaction, as
we have learned the facts.
From q member of the Board who voted
in favor of the bill we learn that the alleg-
ed basis of the vote was, list. The previ-
Gus Recommendation that the advertise
ment be published in German paper
and, I'd, that the Germans ought to have
an opportunity to read it in their language.
In reply to this defense of this "steal, y
we unhesitatingly affirm that this vote Of
the board was, not only totally unauthori,
zed, but fragrant usurpaton We learn
that the very conscientious members, who
did not scruple to lavish the peoples mon
ey upon their political favorite without
stint or authority, manifested holy horror
at the conduct of the Treasurer in not
obsequiously submitting to the encroaeh-
hloHt, NASA duu ACKNOWLEDGED
of their great sin, would certainly have
been much more becoming in them Here
was swallowing an elephant, and strainine
Mt - nothing! The plea, that the
HeItbwger ought to be paid for inserting
the advertisement, on the ground that the
German population should have an oppor-
tunity to read it. in the mouth Of any man
acquainted with the facts in the case, man.
ifests shocking degree of duplicity.-
What will the people think of this matter,
when they learn the truth, that all these
professions were the merest cant magma
able, adopted and used for the sole pur-
pose of deceiving the public. and avert
ing meritsd condemnation and just punish
meut? Neither was the spirit and intent
of the vote carried out, nor were the
Germans, for whom regard was hypocriti-
cally professed, favored, by this bastard
publication for the very good reasen that,
although the paper was German, the Ad-
yertisement was inserted in English =
IN, r. S160 IN for N, ,,,a,tlor;