Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1869-05-18
Iowa County r, R. Bonds.

The Supreme Court has decided
that the Iowa County Bonds shall
be paid. The Tribune hopes the
lawyers will find some way to con-
tinue the litigation and postpone the
payment some years longer. Had
the Iowa County Supervisors as per
sistentIy repudiated the lawyers and
their fee bills for some years, it must
have been better for the people
Even at this late time after ten
years of litigation aud upon the fear
approach of day Of judgement and
execution that cannot be stayed oy
legal bubbles, the better way would
be to at once set about settlement
with the bondholders and the devise>
ment of some means Of payment
The debt is mortgage upon every
acre Of land in that county, not only
for the half million bonded indebt~
edness, but for the possible accumu-
lations in prospect equal to another
half million. The affair is an abuse
of the land holders that they cannot
afford to longer tolerate. A great
troable in the way Of settlement is,
that the newspapers and leading cit>
liens are afraid To lead off in the right
direction because they all fear that
some political or popular vantage
may be taken by the repudiating
opposers to settlement. Why not
the more intelligent of all parties,
seeing that day Of reckoning must
come and the sooner the better for
the landed labor interests Of the PEG,
pie, agree that no party, personal or
sectional vantage, shall be taken by
demagogues A time Of recko ning
is near by when leading men will be
blamed by the masses for concealipg
what is inevitable, a growing debt
that shall suddenly fall as an ava
ianche upon the people, and which
every day increases its visible GER
tainties of au impending crash. The
landholders even now are feeling the
load by its pressure in reducing the
worth Of their property at least
double what it would cost to pay the
debt by taxation. The people OF
that county have more than received
payment for the debt by the many
gains from the railroad and to still
shuttle off payment appears at a dis
lance as q swindle which leading men
cannot afford to sanction So long
as the debt is held in legal contest,
other parts of the country loaning
their aid in a similar manner are suf-
fering loss by measurable disability
to exchange their stocks at fair
equivalent for money TO build rail-
roads. The other day Platteville
voted aid for railroad, but may be
on account of the litigation alluded
to the PlatteviIle bonds may fall be-
low par. At least, so long as there
hangs o doubt as to the right and
power Of a corporation to vote aid
to railroads, capitalists will charge
something more for the risk than
they would were no doubts to exist.
But, it may be said, this is none of
the business of outsiders. We'll, an
der most circumstances the financial
issues of q community should not
concern those out of the way of dams
ger. But in this case there are many
distant parts quite interested IN the
result, and among such parts large
section of Grant County is interested
in railroad on its way to their mar,
ket center. Besides, the question is
one of economy to the labor and
landed interests of q neigboring
county where the people appear to
have had but one side held up to them
that side as we honestly believe, the
one that leads to their impov erish>
ment, if not to discussions in which
faction shall bring disgrace; we should
not interfere were the mountain to
threaten the crushing of the leaders
in the litigation, as they can stand an
awfLl deal Of load and recover. But
the real sufferers are the labor and
landed masses who are being so Grip
pied as to have to wear crutches for
life. If we are wrong we shall be
glad to announce the right and retract
our error.