The Portland daily press., 1870-01-03
Punic Faith.

Not many years ago the citizens of Iowa
conceived it to be necessary for them to i'm
prove and develope means ofinternal commu-
nlcation and transportation, that their State
might not loose her relative position in the
onward march of "the Great West" Resort
was had to the "bloated town and county,
bond-holders" of New York and other Eastern
States. The funds were forthcoming and the
State soon gridironed with rails. This was
all very fine. 1t was quoted as evidence Eot
only of the growth, but of the enterprise of
the West, and New England was drained Of
her choicest blood and deprived of her most
active spirits by the allHrements of the glow
ing accounts sent to us across the Western
prairies. The tide of emigration flowing over
the trunk lines stimulated the building of
branches and connecting links. Sister States
and contiguous counties of each State We'd
with each other in the magnifcence of their
schemes, the prodigality of their promises and
in the lavish expenditure of borrowed money.
The Legislatures chosen by people carried
away by this rivalry and excitement, granted
to towns and to counties permission to aid
dd li5itun, those roads intended for the de-
velopment of the regions through which they
were expected to pass and courts, elected by
the people at the same time and under the
same impulse, sanctioned the action of the
Legislature and repeatedly decided the bonds
SO issued by towns and counties to be binding
in law. Accordingly no difficulty was expe-
rienced in disposing of the bonds to Eastern
and Foreign capitalists and the roads were
built. In 1865 Iowa had thousand miles of
completed railroads and over two thousand
miles more in progress OF contemplation,
while Maine with three-fiths the area and
five-sixths the population of Iowa, had but
$50 miles Of completed and $50 miles of con-
templated railway. While Augusta showed
loss of population from 1850 to 1860, Dubuque
in the same decade, increases hers from 5000
to $4,000.
But soon a change came DER the spirit
of their dreams of greatness. The Iowans
were delighted with the prospect of greatness
thrust upon them at the expense of their
Eastern brethren, but had no taste for that
achieved by the expenditure of their own la
Dor and money. 1t is wonderful how differ
emily five hundred dollars looks to a man
VIXEN he puts his fist to four months' note
Tor 1t from what it does when only the three
days grace remains Tor MIN to raise it in! So |
with these counties and their large indebted |
ness. Instead Of feeling grateful to those /
who had supplied the means of opening up
its fertile acres to settlement they began to |
chide the readiness with which money had |
been furnished as being temptation to ex-
cessiye indulgence in the luxury of borrowing.
They even felt aggrieved that they should be /
asked to pay the interest accruing upon these /
bonds and appealed to their elected Judges,
who knew they must share Tor at least Weld /
toy the temper of those who elevated them to
the bench or the same power would remove
them to the detested shades of private life, and
new light shone upon the darkened judicial
minds; SO that what was but few years be-
fore solemnly decided to be constitutional and
legal was now declared to be entirely uncon-
stitutional and utterly illegal and void.
When the devil was sick, the devil monk would
When the devil got well the devil monk was he"
The judicial conscience was touched in view
Of the wrongs their fellow-citizens and con-
stituents would suffer if they had to return to
the pockets of these bloated Eastern bond
holders any part of the money they had taken
lherefrom. What better illustration of the
OF an elective judiciary can be
ound than the bench of Iowa and yv;scon-
lin affords us? The "good behario,,, LII,
S a condition of the retention of the,, - {
2 cans so long as they change their opinions l
20 suit the whims and the condition of the
pockets of their electors. The city of Dubuque
lad voted aid to the tune of quarter-million
# dollars to roads of which it was terminus.
nd in 1867 issued bonds to this amount pay
bic in 1877 with semiannua interest cou-
ons attached. In year or two the city fail
to make any provision for the payment of
hese coupons and one Gelpcke who held t
ome of them commenced suit in the United !.
tates Courts to recover them. The cause /