Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1862-01-17

pay high rates Of interest. 50 Inviting
capital into the State OH terms that
must inevitably bankrupt the labor aud |
which employ it, is most ru-
inous State policy. Practically, the pre-
vaiing rae Of interest will always be. the
N ximum permitted by law. That should
be fixed at per centum that will make il /
generally for the interest of the capitalist to
invest or employ his own money rather
than loan it to others.
PUBLIC INDEBTEDNESS
The people of Wisconsin, have with ev-
cry years experience, received occasion to
be greteful for thai provision of wise fore
sight contained i'll their Constitution pro-
hibiting the contracting of any conSidela
bic public debt. To illustrate: the State
now owns fixed capital in buildings for
Capital, State Prison, and Humane In
stitutions Of $773 SIC As. They are built
and paid for within the nearly fourteen
years Of State government, at an average
Of taxation for each year equal to about
The animal interest on one million of dol
lars, which the example of other States
would have taught us to borrow for their
construction at the start of our existence
as State. Taking into account the times,
and the extravaganza always character
izing the outlay Of borrowed means, es-
pecaly OF that borrowed upon pubic
credit, we could not have obtained equal
value by the loan supposed, to that we
have in possession and free from debt. On
the other hand, we have. buildings for a
State University, more than one-half the,
cost OF which has been paid in the way of
interest, and yet the Indebtedness of the
institution is yearly increasing.
Had our Constitution permitted the use
of the State credit for works Of internal
improvement we can at this day sca ceIy
from an adequate idea of the pressure
of interests which would have combined
to plunge the State in debt. In tie past
era Of speculation, our people were well
nigh intoxicated, with their schemes Of
Improvement in the way Of building rail
roads etc. 1t being necessary to supply
with credit of some sort the absence of
means for starting these projects, the
cities. towns, and land owners of the
Safe came in for the burdens which The
State escaped.
Could our railroads have been built for
cash and for the cost railroads can be con-
structed over the surface of our State, no
general disaster would have fallen upon
the corporations or their creditors But
the very character Of the credits furnished
made necessity for large discounts -ex-
travagance marked the expenditure of the
moneys obtained, as ever with borrowed
capital--whilG private speculation among
the managers completed the bankruptcy
of the railroad companies. Our municipal
porations, and thousands of our most
valuable citizens. have become hopelessy
involved through the failure OF these com
paneS to meet the conditions upon which
credit was loaned 10 them Ii is idle to
conclude all reasoning over this condition
of things by repeating the severe formulas
of legal obligation.
1t is not enough to say these men and
these municipalities were only cleverly
caught by arttul. though fallacious, pros
poets of gain. The police regulations in
all our cities recognise a different theory
of the obligations of government. It an
swers no good purpose to reproach the
sufferers for alleged combinations to resist
the laws or control the politics of the
state. That honest men, desperate in
their fortunes, are peculiarly liable to be
misled by demagogues is among their
mistortunes, for which they are scarcely to
be blamed. The whole property in any
of our cities is scarcely worth the
amount Of bonded debt and interest stand
ing against them respectivel y-and the
entire desertiOn Of some is more probable
than the collection of the entire indebted
ness. Thousands of small farmers through
the state can never pay their obligations.
The prosperity Of the state is retarded by
this condition of things.
1t is manifestly unjust that the credit Of
the State should be affected by the mistor-
tunes of her private citizens, and minor
municipalities, equally as if the general
government should be held responsible for
the bankruptcy Of individual States; but
the fact remains, that the fair name of
Wisconsin is furnished thereby, as your
State officers who ATTEMPTED to negotiate
your issue Of bonds for war purposes, well
know.
The remedy is not readily found. The
State cannot assume the payment of these
obligations. The constitution interposes,
and justice does not demand it. The con-
dition, both with our cities and Individuals
is one of insolvency, to be settled by such
| compromise as the circumstances will per-
nit. In arranging this, the State might
properly provide agencies for negotiation
between the parties in interest, saving both
from the charges and interested interfer-
encc of employed agencies In all Iegis-
lation demanded to facilitate the transfer
Of railroads to secured creditors, every
practicable stipulation should be made for
the benefit of these more unfortunate cred
itors. Pending the arrangement of these
difficulties, the State has full power over
the remedies uron these contracts, and
must, in this, recognize its obligation to
promote the general welfare This princi-
pie is plainly asserted in the message of
Governor Seward, of New York, to the
Legislature, in treating of the Anti Rent
difficulties in that state. Stay laws will
ever be resorted to where vast public in
terests are in jeopardy, and great numbers