Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1873-08-01

OUCl ioo WiSu thO A"uA tAuOs W
sold. Just put this resolution in
force and the taxes will mostly all
be Withheld till October lst,-eight
months-for the money is worth
more to tho merchant, and stock
dealer, and most of the farmers than
the State will charge for it, Thus
the payment of taxes will be abont
one year behind, andthe people will
be no better able to pay then, than
at the time they became due. And
this would derange the entire finan-
cial system of the State, and end in
blank confusion.
All this would happen if the land
could be promptly sold on the first
day Of October. But alas, the second
clause completes the mischief the
first clause begins. 1t demands the
repeal of the 80 per cent. now al
lowed the purchaser. Gas there is
very little evidence that facts were
what the Convention was after, it
will elicit no gratitude if one should
inform the Convention that the last
General Assembly modified this law
by cutting down the redemption
penalty SO per cent?
Now, supposing that four-fifths of
the taxpayers in this county have
kept back their taxes to use them
selves, as this resolution makes it
for their interest to do until Oct LIST,
at which time their land must be
sold. Now where is the purchaser?
They take away all inducement for
man to purchase. He can only
get ten per cent. per annum for his
money and the owner has right to
redeem his land any day during the
three years. Under such circum-
stances nobody would buy the land,
and it cannot be sold, and the tax
cannot be collected and the State is
bankrupt.
Some people might think that this
is nice little scheme of the ere
formers' to evade their taxes, or q
plan to ruin the State by destroying
its finances but charity demands
that we impute it to desire to Sc
cure to the new party the large class
of dilatory taxpayers without regard
to ultimate consequences, and in ig-
norance of its necessary results.
The tenth resolution also requires
a moments consideration. 1t ode
mands that their candidates pledge
themselves to resign their Office,
whenever the people in represen.
tative convention request them to
do so on account Of failure to fulfill
their pledge" This is simple child.
ish prattle. 1t could never result
in any good whatever. The candi.
date must -"pledge" himself to re-
sign if he breaks his "pledge."
Why, don't every innocent know
that if your candidate intends to
break faith with his constituents
that he will not hesitate to make &
"pledge" to resign or anything else
required of him? If he lies in one
instance he will in the other. If he
is honest you don't want him to re
sign. If he is dishonest he will no,
resign, even ifhe does "pledge" him
self to do so. Perhaps the enc
might be secured if the candidate
be required to deposit his wife il
the hands of these "reformers' as 9
hostage with the understanding
that il the husband failed to "fulfil
his pledge" the wifc's scalp shall
pay the forfeit.
But there Is another side to this
question. Suppose you succeed il
getting an honest man into Office
the Legislature for instance-anG
supposing he should vote, for exam
Pile, for law somehow affecting the
mill privileges in the county-alaw
which nj ne-tenths of his constitu
ents desire, but which does moi
please the men interested in mil
property. So they call repre-
sentative convention, and the mil
owners, and millers and helpers
and their brothers and uncles and
cousins and all that they can influ
ence, meet in a rousing convention
and resolve that said representative
has failed to "fulfill his pledge
and is therefore requested to resign
and supposing he does consequent
ly resign, would not ore-tenth ofthe
people override the wishes of nine
tenths, and is that what is meant by
"anti-monopoly?"
We need not go Sc far for a case
in print. Supposing that con
ventlon of "rcformers'' should meet
and ask the representative to resign
and should show their fitness to si1
in judgment on his case by publicly
resolving that every man in public
station is dishonest and Designing
when not man in that convention
ever heard whisper against the
honesty of one in twenty, they thus
condemn, and then proceed to put
themselves on record as ignorant O
the laws passed by the last legisla
ture and finally resolve in favor O
the entire overthrow and destruction
of our Revenue System without pro
posing anything to take the place o
it. Supposing convention mad,
up Of such reckless material as these
resolves would indicate it to be
should ask the representative to re
sign, should he resign or should HI
wait till he heard from those whe
seemed to be still in possession o
their wits.
1t may be the late Anti Monopoly
convention passed their resolution
for a joke, as the Senate passed thu
silly ones offered by Senator Low
rey. If so, l admit l am sold, bu
if they were offered in sober earn
est, I do affectionately advise tina
convention to meet again and I'm
ravel the work it did, and as thei
resolutions were all good that fol
lowed the Republican platform, ant
as they want to resolve little Of
their own account, think they ha'
better hunt up the man who wrot
that platform, and get him to embod.
their little plans in such shape that
will hold water. BASKERVILLE.
THE railroad brigands who ditch
, ed and robbed the train on the G