Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1870-08-31
THE MICHIGAN VILLAIN.

It's manifest from the proceedings
at Lansing that the people of Michi-
gan must depend upon themselves, IA
ther than upon their so-called represen-
tatiYes, to prevent the enforcement Of
system Of forced loans for :he benef.
of private corporations the most mi
quitous which professional subsidists
! ever devised. In the lower house, all
amendments designed to change the
tenor and purports of the proposed
constitutional amendment to validate
the bogus bonds, were on Monday, re
jected and the proposition was placed
in order Of a third reading. That the
Legislature viii pass it, seems to be a
foregone conclusion. How many OF the
bogus bonds are iu.the pockets Of mem
bers Of the legislature is not definitely
known but the amount, in hypothet
ical dollars and cents, is believed to be
large 1t is understood, also, that Gov.
BaldWin's bank at Detroit has q large
number Of these counterfeit instru
ments, which accounts for the anxiety
of that public functionary TO have
them validated. And every other
bank or capitalist that holds any of
these bogus bonds is uniting It's efforts
to the railway spectators 20 saddle this
incumbrance of private debt upon the
estates Of private citizens without their
assent. 1t is huge gambling oper-
| alton, in which the corporate gamblers
look upon every owner of homestead
as a victim whom it is in the line Of
their business to clean out"
Some Of the feeble journals in Mich
igan, that cannot be supposed to own
their own souls, and that were never
accused Of using their own brains, talk
Of the "gross injustice" of not paying
debts that were honestly contracted, "
the representative Of which are in the
hands of 'innocent holders" This is
specious nonsense. The gross injus-
tice is all on the other side. It any
man in Michigan is anxious to pay his
portion of the bogus bonds, there is no
law in that state, or out Of, to prevent
him. And nobody would complain
that he committed an act of injustice
against anybody but himself, though
he shonld turn over his whole estate TO
satisfy and crafty Governor Baldwin,
or some other banker, with his vaults
full Of these bogus bonds. But when
he assumes to say that his neighbors,
who never assented to the issue OF the
bogus bonds, but protested against 1t,
should be compelled to do likewise, he
talks like villain.
1t is false to say that the bogus
bonds represent debts that were honest
" contracted. No debt was ever con-
tracted, honestly or otherwise, because
the law forbade the contracting Of any
such debt. 70 say that an obligation
to pay exists because somebody thought
the law would allow such debts to be
contracted, is purely question Of NOR
as. not Of law. And, as moral ques-
ton, it concerns nobody but the per-
sons who voted in favor Of issuing the
bogus bonds. Not even the shadow
Of moral obligation can possibly be
made to rest On anybody else, while no
legal obligations rests on anybody.
Now, to attempt to cast not only moral
but legal obligation upon those who
never assented to the Issue Of the bo-
gus bonds would be more than gross
injustice it would be an internal out
rage. Exactly this outrage the Mich
igan legislature is trying to perpetrate.
The proposed amendment strikes at
the most sacred rights Of property by its
its intended operation as an expost facto
| law. 20 validate pretended obliga-
ton that is wholly invalid, 1t attempts
to in7aidate property rights anterior
TO it's own existence. The Times as
serts that it cannot be done, and that
the supreme court Of the United Safes
will not permit it to be done, even
should a majority Of the electors in
Michigan be 50 unwise as to approve
Of this legislative Villainy.
! It is not believed that they will
place so low an estimate upon the only
safeguard which interposes between
their earthly possessions and any thieI
that may covet them, as to ratify this
act of private confscation. The indi-
cations that tha5 the public is getting
its eyes open to this "vote yourself a
railroad" vilIainy are daily Increasing
In this state, Notwithstanding that the
railway snbsidists composed majority
of the constitutional convention, last
winter, the people ratified, by major
ity of over 100000 votes, clause
positively forbiddlDg municipal sub
scription to railway companies, or any
other corporations. Out of 167,34C
votes, only 33,158 we're given in favor
Of allowing A and B to mortgage the
property Of G to benefit D. The re-
suit proves that the majority in the
convention isrepresented the senti
ments Of the people on this subject
In like manner it is believed that the
majority in the Michigan legislature
m,srepresent the sentiments Of the
people in that state, and represent only
the desires and interests of railroad
spectators and holders Of bogus rail
way aid bonds, which are wholly void
- Chicago Times, dug Sd.
VIRGINIA. = The Republicans Of
| VIRGINIA are not without hope that In