Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1872-08-08
A Leaf from History.


innate extinction of the State debt. The
proceeds of this tax were to be used in
purchasing the bonds of the STATE, and
these bonds were to be held by the Board
of State Debt Sinking Fund Commiss-
| toner's, and the interest thereon was to be
collected from the State and used in pur
chasing more bonds, and by this I rocess
the Democratic administration had, up to
November, 1858, redeemed 1891, $40 OF
the State Stocks.
After this amount Of State stocks had
been redeemed the Democratic Auditor of
State, without authority of law and in ut
ter disregard OF the best interests of the
State, put these stocks again on the mar
ket and sold them for S267, 10l,97. The
State lad paid $3S4, $40 for the stocks in
their redemption part of them We're sold
in April and the rest in October, and con
sequently interest had accrued on some
of them from January to April, and on
others from July to October; and yet the
amount realized from the sale was only
S261, ,10161. This transaction renders il
highly important that some Democratic
orator should give the solution of the fol
lowing political conundrum, viz: Ii IL
took Democracy six years to redeem State
stocks to the amount of 1921, $40, and
these stocks when redeemed at par were
again sold without authority Of law, with
the interest accrued thereon, for $26i, 10l-
u, how long would it have taken Democ
racy by similar processes to pay the debt
Of S10179, ,267 90 which they bequeathed
TO their Republican successors?
When this brilliant achievement in fl
nance was ventilated by Republican
speakers in 1870, Hon. Thomas a. Hen
bricks in his New Albany speech, deliv-
cred on the 9th day of September, 1870
and reported in the Santind of September
Sth, 1870 attempted to show that the
transaction was all legal and proper by
quoting from the Message of Governor
Morton, delivered to the special session
of 1865.
By ajudicious suppression of part OF
what Governor Morton said on thesublect
he made him to appear TO have said the very
reverse Of what he did say. To prevent a
| successful resort to similar subteriuge
in the present canvass we reproduce all
that Governor Morton said on the sub
| iect in the message allude, to. 1t is in
| these words, (the part in italics being the
part which Mr. Hendricks suppressed, J
viz:
In 1851 the Legislature failed to levy
any tax for State purposes for the years
! l55i and 1873 and for those two years no
revenue was collected In 1853 an act
was passed instrueting the Auditor OF
| State to sell the stocks which had been
purchased by the State Debt Sinking
! Fund to the Board of Commissioners of
| the Sinking Fund, in order to defray the
ordinary expenses of the State Govern
ment and 10 supply the deficiencies in rev
lenue growing out Of the failure to levy
and collect taxes for the preceding two
years THIS art being held c0idtor teant ot
! u title, tie B0ard OF Commissioners Of tie
Sinhiag Fund REUSED to act upon 1t. bal
lHe AHdit0r Of State tr6atiitg II as an ae$truc-
tion, sold tie Stocks IN open market and pat
tie nt0acg IN tie treasary.'
Mr.. Hendricks by suppressing that part
of Governor Morton's 5 message that show
ed that the act was void made theimpres-
sion tha; the sale was in pursuance of law.
This void act will he found at page 100 of
the acts OF 1853 Iii the act had been val
id, ii did notpretend to authorize the sale
of the stocks to any one except the Board
of Commissioner, of the old Sinking
Fund As the funds of that Board be-
longed to the States School Fund, if the
State should lose by The sale the School
Fund would gam by the purchase all that
the State host by the sale; but by selling
them others there was a clear loss to
the State of about $l29,5 ,5j5. A void act
was taken by a Democratic Auditor OF
State as an instruction to do that which
the act would not nave authorized if it
had been valid. The act was done law
lessly and the State suffered to the amount
of nearly $1,000
The.present Democratic Treasurer OF
State in addressing the people, shakes
mis- head significantly and hints mysteri
ously that some Of the State stocHs have
been twice redeemed, but fails to show
when or by whom, or to what amoun
there has been double redemption
he will examine the transaction above
mentioned, perhaps he may be able t
locate the double redemption.
Democracy redeemed 1891 $40 of Statt
Stocks and sold them again contrary Il
law, and ofcourse the Republicans had t.
redeem them a Sc ond time and this may
be what is vexing the soul of our Statt
, Treasurer When Republicans charg
official misconduct on Democrats they d,
not indulge in mysterious hints, but cit
{ the book and page where the proof may b
found, and our opponents are invited t.
do the same.
The proof that Mr.. John W. Dodd
Democratic Auditor of State sold thes
stocks, is contained in his own report O
{ November /, 1859, and will be found il
the Documentary journal of 1o5960, a
page SO, and on page SO of the same jour
nal, Auditor Dodd in stating the receipt
of the Treasury charges himself wit
$267 101 81 as the proceeds of the sale c
these stocks.
The proof that D. c. Slower, Democrat
e ic Agent of State, issued fraudulent an
e forged State stocks to the amount of So
440, 800. is not attempted to be proved b
a shake ofthe head, but by pointing I
the report of leading Democrat, Josep
E. Mcdonald, who was appointed com
) missioner to investigate the matter Hi
report is printed in the House Journal {
: the regular session of 1865. commencin
on page 643 and ending on page 647. A
IS page CAB he reports the amount of thes
: fraudulent issues at about $2.440,0 ,00(
y And on page 645 in speaking of ther
!. says, they were simply forgeries havin
e been countersigned in the name of a
'r agent of State not at the time in offics
d and were issued after the repeal of the la
4 authorizing the use of the blanks whic
d were filled up"
a. Perhaps these are the bonds that caul
3. the present eloquent Treasurer of Stai
}. to shake his head so vigorously.
ID Under the system of checks and ba
ances that exist in the conduct and r.