Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-02-28
The Public Works of OhiO-The
DutY of the hesIzegislatuce.n Z

Treasury, and that the people loudly de-
manded relief, saw fit to pass law leasing
them to the highest bidder for the period of
ten years, provided that no bid should be
received below $4,000.
Under this law the canals were leased,
and went into the hands of, the present
lessecs, who, according to the terms of
their lease, have paid into the State Treas
ury $4,000 per annum since 1S61-making
the aggregate amount of$100,000. Very diff
ferent was the, result of the States own
management for the five years preceding
the leasing,as will be seen from special
report of the Board of Public Works, found
in the appendix to the Senate Journal of
the session of 1861, page 81.
That report shows, that from 1886 to
1860, both years inclusive, the excess of
expenditures on the public works, over
gross receipts from the same source,
amounted to $25S,361.9S, or more than a
quarter of million of dollars.
1t was fact known to all, that this an
nual drain upon the Treasury to keep these
important highways of commerce in navi-
gable condition, would, under State man.
agement, year by year, grow larger. This
fact was so we'll understood that the Leg
islature, for several sessions, was besieged
with petitions from taxpayers to devise
some plan to relieve the Treasury from this
onerous burthen, and at the same time
preserve the usefulness of the public
works.
The people did not look to their public
works as a source gof revenue; they had
constructed them for no such purpose
They had built them as means of develop
ing the wealth and resources of the State,
and to serve as highways to trans
port cheaply and safely the annual pro-
ducts of the soil to market. They
had proved of vast advantage to the
growing prosperity of the State, and the
people were earnestly anxious to have
them preserved in good condition to sub
serve thersame useful purpose for all time
to come. They knew from experience that
under State management they were rapidly
suffering gdilapidation and decay; that their
revenues were wastetully expended, leav-
ing annually heavy deficit to- be made
good from the Treasury of the State.
They believed that under private manage
ment, where ALI temptation to extrav-
agance and wastefulness would be remov-
ed, the condition of these works would be
made better, and the canals become at least
self-sustaining. They desired no revenue
from these works; they only desired to pre-
serve them for the purposes of their con-
struction and to be relieved from all taxa
tion on their account.
Entertaining these views, and frequently
expressing them through the press and by
petition, the people at length, in 1861, in
duced the Legislature to pass the law un-
der which the public works were leased.
That law imposes strict conditions and
heavy burthens upon the lessees, all of
which, / believe, have been faithfully kept,
for no complaint has come up from any por-
tion of the State.
The canals are to-day in much better con-
dition than when the lessees took posses
sion of them. They have in every respect
faithfully done their duty to the State un-
der their lease. But how have they profit
ed in their.enterprise? Have they reaped
the reward of their faithfulness? By no
means. They are certainly losers to an
amount largely greater than the sum they
have paid into the State Treasury as their
annual rent under the lease.
And these losses have been the result of
causes and accidents. which at the execu-
tion of the lease could not have been fore
seen and provided against.
Immediately following the transfer of
the canals to them, came on the civil war
with its suspension of trade and business.
Its duration and magnitude disappointed
the judgment and prediction of the ablest
and most sagacious, of our public men, Its
effects upon the business of the canals will
be readily appreciated. In addition to
these public calamities, the canals, since
they have been under the control of the
lessees, have suffered a series of disasters
ence of the previous twenty-five years.
Immense quantities of embankment on
the Miami canal, 1.-The Ohio canal, the Hook
ing canal, were swept away, and great
damage done to the Muskingum improve
ment. They were speedily repaired and
reconstructed at enormous cost, only again
to disappear with the extraordinary floods.
breaches had been repaired under State
management, the suspension of navigation
would have been twice as long, and the
cost would have been at least 100000.
These floods were unprecedented in the
history of the canals, and, therefore, the ac-
cidents therefrom could not have been an
ticipated at the time of the leasing.
What, under these circumstances, is the
dutyaof the Legislature? Simply and
plainly to grant prompt and adequate re-
lief to these lessees who have SO faithfully
and manfully done their duty, at such ru-
inous cost to themselves. And this is
in exact accordance with the dignity and
go,d faith of the State, as well as her uni
form practice under similar circumstances.
Several years ago, the National road was
let; it appeared that the lessee supposed
he was authorized to charge tolls to the
coaches carrying the United States mails;
this proving on an Investigation to be an
error, and that he was led thereby to bid
more than the road yielded-in short that
he had made a ruinous bargain-the Legis-
lature promptly relieved him from his con-
tract and Cancelled his lease. Take also the
case of John w. Allen, and numerous other
cases that might be cited. Always aud
uniformly the State has relieved parties
from oppressive contracts made with her
agents, especially where they have acted
in good faith, and sought relief from bur-
thens no prudence could foresee, or skill
prevent. - 81
Under these circumstances, and in view
of this uniform practice, it is clearly the