Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1872-03-06
Private Property and Public Debts.

trodnced by Speaker Hall, member of Assem-
bly, from this city, gave rise to spirited
debate when it came of on its passage in tn
: Assembly on the 23d ult.
{ The discussion was Opened by Mr.. Wink
t Ter, OF Milwaukee, who opposed the passag.
of the bill. He said the bill was very limo
cent in appearance, aud if its object wa:
} simply to prevent the seizure of private
prof. erty by execution, he would say it wa:
right, but il goes further, and exempts pri
vate property from all sorts of process fol
the collection of corporate debts, especially
from assessments, which some maintained
the courts had right to make. 1t is the
substantial prevention of the collection oil
any debts of municipalities from the tax
payers thereof. 1t was said it did not de-
away with the writ of mandamus, but tha
had been found Intellectual in repeated in.
stances. He was not in favor of deprivine
courts of collecting debts in an equitable
manner on all the property Of municipa
lily.
He sympathized with communities stua.
ted like Watertown and some others, and i
they could satisfy the Legislature that they
We're entitled to such relief as that proposed
i'll this bill, he might consent to giving il
But he opposed putting into the hands Of
every municipality the power of reputation
He thought the passage of such a law
would affect the credit of these municipal.
ties in this state, having millions OF dollars
of bonds ~ Market. AS to the threat Of
bjoodshed in case this bill did not pass, he
said it had no terror for him. He had too
much confidence in the good sense and pa
1 trint icy,, e = L. IS C<.,x> al >
lieve they would thus resort to revolution.
He had no particular interest in opposing the
| bill, and if it applied alone to the local.
| it pass, as he had other measures for their
relief.
Mr.. Hall said large portions of the State
| were deeply interested in the passage OF
this bill. When it was ordered to third
reading he had said that unless the rule laid
down in this bill was observed by the
| courts, the soil of Wisconsin would be red
dened with the blood of her citizens, not as
a threat, but as a consequence that must
| inevitably follow. AT the same time he
merely alluded 10 what he understood to be
a fact that the gentleman from Milwaukee
| (Mr. Winkler)was attorney to collect a
| Judgment against the city of Watertown,
|
he is personally sued, not for any wrong he
| has done, but because he has homestead at
| Watertown which the bond holders want,
to pay the city bonds whose issue he had
opposed. He had stated his interest, and
merely stated what he believed to be that
of the gentleman fom Milwaukee (Mr:
| Winkler) He had no thought of saying
any thing to the disadvantage of that gen.
| tleman, for whom be entertained the most
| since e respect. The man who believes that
tens of thousands of people can be stripped
of all their property to pay municipal judg-
ments, merely because it has been voted
away by their neighbors who had little or
no property-has not given much attention
to history, especially to Anglo Saxon his
tory. tax of twenty shillings ship mon
ey against John Hampden, led to resistance
when the courts decided it to be legal
tax. That decision cost The King his crown
and life Well was it for England that her
chiyalry lay streWn upon the fields OF Nase
by and Marion Moor, at the onset of Crom-
wells terrible Ironsdes. Else her govern
ment might have become centralized des-
potism under the treacherous Charles. A
trifing tax on tea led to the American Rev.
olution. The Ambient troubles in New
York, brought on serions civil conflicts and
bloodshed, although those immortal rights
were well defined and had never belonged
to the tenants.
In the suit of Morgan vs.. Town of Beloit.
the United States Court for the District OF
Wisconsin held that this power to take prl-
vate property did not exist The United
States Supreme Court affirmed that decision
but it is said to have. been done by an evenly
divided court. That is the law of Wiscon-
sin to day. Authorities were cited by Mr..
Hall to show from the decision of IAN able
| and eminent judge, that it is conceded and
certain that there no vested or adjudi-
| Gated rights in favor of these bond holders
against the provisions of this BILL and this
is tie identical law against the seizure of
| private property, which is to control the
| action of the courts. For when it comes
| to question of legislation on q subject
| that is open and unsettled, it is certain
| that the Legislature takes precedence Of any
court in declaring, the. law of Wisconsin, for,
| be repeated, this is mere question of Wis.
cousin law.
| Mr. Hall said it was an unfounded i'm
| putation to charge he people in flavor of
| this bill, with being dishonest. Use the
people fairly and they will always pay. 1t
is only in cases of great swindles or infa-
| nous robberies that payment is refused.
| When taxation rises to point where it il q
confiscation of the peoples estates, it brushes
out the taxing power. 1t was never de-
signed for any such work. Where these
| bonds is such an amount, have beer voted
on the people by those who pay no taxes,
as it was done III the case of Watertown,
| (mainly for road we did not want, by q
rabbe of railroad aborers thrown out of
| employment on road that had stopped, no
man willing to pay his own share can es-
! cape from the burden, unless he can COM
| pei every body else to pay. He must take
| the property of those whose small means of
| support is the accumulation of u lifetime,
and rob every widow and orphan If the
bonds issued never occasion an oppressive
tax, the people will always pay 1t is only
when they have been issued in great ex-
cess that they resist, and than they ought
TO resist. The people are quite as honest,
and just as much disposed to do ri bit, rs
| any Legislature they have ever elected. or
| any court they have ever created
| Whoever thinks that from so, 900 to 10o,-
| 900 of the people of Wisconsin can be
stripped without resistance of their all or
nearly all their meanes of support to salts
fly the avarice of the men who bought up
the farm mortgages at trihng cost, and
! have now combined to use the wealth they
wrung from the sweat and blood of the far
merS of Wisconsin. to buy up these Rail-
road bonds against cities, towns, counties
and villages, at small fraction of their par
value, in order to build their fortunes upon
the ruin of so many, will find himself grie-
vously mistaken. The experiment had bet
ter not be tried. The people are all good
loyal citizens as long as law protects them.
| But rob them and any of them will make
as good rebels as was the author of the
Declaration Of Independence
1t is true that such is the power of The
courts that they can strike down the pro-
perty rights of individual so effectually
that his despairng cry will never be heed
ed or heard. But this is not true of large
organized communities. They possess a
| power of resistance, when cruelty oppressed
that may recoil even upon the courts.
The rule of law laid down in this bill is
that W hich has always prevailed in Wiscon.