The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1868-06-17
(Communicated.)

tCommunicated.
FELLOW TAx.PAYERsls We will soon be
allowed the glorious OPPORTUNITY of voting
against the corporators of the p. & r. /,
rSilroad disi1kersstedly ppttins their hands
IA our pockets and taking out The. money
wHh vhich hey cxpect % build il. This Is
nibst nisuredly precious boon. Theyask our
eshseht to- this uncohstitntional measurs,
bit, mind Won, h only a. majorityof one
tax payer votes "yea," that majority thrusts
ia is hands and picks our pockets. 1t is
nothing more, nothing less.
base this assertion on irrefutable facts,
as Will be shown. The constitution of Hi
nois says :. /" Nor shall any mans private
property be taken or applied to public use
without the consent of his representatives in
the general assembly, nor without Just com.
pensation being made to him" s,rr.,-.
Thus it win be seen that private property
may he coustitutionaliy taken and applied
to pa.blic use; but where Is the authority for
taking private PROPERTY for pgieate use No
one objects TO taxing private property for
public use, but that is no reason why the
private property of the citizen can be taken
for private use, either with or without the
consent of his representative in the general
assembly. The citizen Is a freeman, and If
the people are capable Of selfgovernment,
they, most assuredly, are the best judges of
their pecuniary interests, and need no self.
constituted guardians of their property. In
fact, the mere mention of making them, by
law, the wa rds Of the majority, is an insult
to the common sense Of every freeman.
In discussing this question | have been
repeatedly told that railroad corporation is
a public institution !; and, on this false prem
Use, rests the only passible claim for the
constitutionality Of the law in question.
Let me test this sophistry, for it is moth
ing else) by facts. Webster defines cor
poration to be "a body polite or corpo-
rate, formed by law to act as an individ ual.
Corporations aggregate consist of two or
more persons. A corporation sole cons lists
of one person only ssNH-
What, then, becomes of the nonsense
about the P. & R. I. railroad being a public
institution, entitled by the state constitution
to take my private property for pablo use
Echo answers what" and that is the only
true answer. "a
Again, il is claimed, with seeming tri
umph, that "the majority have right to
rule the minority But how, let me ask, is
the majority entitled to rule? Most assn.
redlv in strict conformity with the state and
federal constitutions. IF il is on THE princi.
pie of "the divine right of kings then ]
emphatically deny the false assumption and
challenge the proof It true that, under
all our state constitutions, by common con
sent, the majority has, in strict conformity
with the said constitutions, (made for the
express purpose of protecting abe rights OF
the minority right to rule but all acts OF
the legislature which, like the law in ques-
ton, violate the constitution and infringe
on the rights of the minority, arc Sheer
usurpations of undelegated power; and it is
the province OF the judiciary to protect the
individual rights OF the citizen. The con.
stitution of Illinois and that of the United
States contain the organic law of the state
and are paramount to all legislation. Under
the former, as just stated, the majority have
right to rule eonstitntionally but under
the latter, for the purpose OF securing the
rights of the states, the minority is abso.
lutely the ruling power.
The federal constitution, too, declares lin
the language of our state constitutional
Nor shall private property be taken for
public use without just compensation"
Here, then. We have a SO called law of this
state which violates plainly, paipably and
dangerously both our state and federal con
stitutions, and yet the majority, in some
townships on the line of this senseless corpo.
ration, seem determined to govern the mi
nority as absolutely ssrif it had no constitu.
tioual rights. IS sska Bsaas
/ 1t is highly important for the taxpayers
to investigate this question. z..- -
War TYLER.
Coal Valley, June 10th, 1868.