The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1869-11-25
MONTGOMERY STATION,
DAVIES COUNTY. IND,
Noy. %. 1869.

NOV AOi 1CO0-J
Editors Journal:
As your paper circulates in this
county, may be an item or two may be
acceptable from an occasional CORE
spondeEt.
OF course you have seen by the
county papers that we have some *
element on the railroad question.
Next after that is the mineral land
question. A set Of men are going
through the county taking what they
call mineral leases" But, %unfortU-
nately for the people, tho word lease
does not occur In the article signed.
The ones ] have seen say " bargain,
sell and convey" This sounds more
like q safe than a lease. When the
people hesitate to fork over these So
called leases, they are told, "If you
do not you will get the railroad"
What railroad? Who is at the head
of the railroad that is interested in
these leases? Echo answers -.
There is another strange paragraph
In this article they call a Lease. IF
the party of the second part fail to
construct, or cause 10 be constructed
the Railroad herein contemplated"
&c. What Railroad is seeking to be
built with these Leases as a basis?
Some one, certainly, or the men get
ting these leases are pTacticing G
fraud. This whole thing is not only
an outrage, but a fraud. The people
are called on to pay q tax and make
donations to help build a Railroad;
H. - 11,RS1- 49, H.
tons made, are induced to gre GWdy
their minerals, which, In a few years,
will be immensely Valuable-Worth
more than all their land beside.
The parties taking these s0-called
leases, really promise nothing on their
side Of the contract. The people are
already becoming much dissatisfied;
and some of the men who gave their
countenance and sanction to it, are
trying to take a neutral position. Any
railroad enterprise resorting to this
outrage and fraud on the people, ought
to sink like the Old Straight Line"
and will go under, though called by
another name. Some of the Daviess
County coal is of immense value, and
it has passed into the hands of these
men for nothing.
| heard one of the lawyers Of this
county say these leases could all be
set aside. This lawyer was Mr..
Turner, present Senator from Daviess
and Knox. My opinion IS that there
will be a large number of suits at tho
Spring term, growing out of this
wrong.
It IS reported here that the people
of Warrick have, In a similar manner,
sold their minerals to help build a
railroad, and while selling their min
erals have sold themselves by fixing
an incumbrance upon their land that
will embarrass them IN all time to
come. They are called on to vote a
tax and then to give away their min
minerals that may yet be worth ten
times the amount of their tax.
Hold on to your minerals. Who
has a better right to them than you
have? What do these men give you
for them? Who are these men?
This whole mineral-leasing business
in Daviess, Pike and WaTrick is part
and parcel of a speculative railroad
scheme, of which the people will be
very tired and sick.
The name of the Great Mogul does
not appear, but his undeTstrappers are
industrious, and are plying their art
industriously.
When the Head Centre proposed
the leasing business In n county in
this State, he met so square a refusal
as terminated all negotiations with
him. There is a harvest for the law
yers and a lesson for the people in the
future. OCCASIONAL.