Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1873-09-19
Proceedings of the September SEES
sion of the County Bard of
Supervisors


Dodgeville, Wis, Sept. 10th. 1873.
The county Board of Supervisors o
Iowa county, convened in special session
pursuant to notice from the Clerk,
issued upon the following request.
To Orville Strorg, county Clerk, Tow'
county. Wisconsin, you are hereby re-
quested to call a special meeting of thu
county Board of Supervisors of lows
county. Wis, TO co vene at the Cour
lIeusc, in the village Of Dodgeyile. il
said county, on Tuesday, the 10th day o
September, A. D., 1878, at O'Clock p. IN
for the purpose of considering count,
Bond matters.
James Spsnsley. G. G. Meiss, j. l.
Jones, Kearton Coates, John James, w
s. Dlmock, D. IIumbert, William Balm
bridge, Joseph Bennett"
Called to order by the Chairman al
: o'clock p. m. Roll called. All th
supervisors present except Mr.. Barnard.
The journal was read and approved.
The following report was received
DoDaEviLLE, Wis, Sept. 10th, 1878.
70 the. Hon. the Chairman end Board o,
Supervisors Of Lo,ca County Wiscon
sin
GENrLEMEN The undersigned com
mittee tappolnted,ht your last meeting to e
a d see tn, Bondholders, and to negotiate
tor and endeavor to obtain certain modf-
.tions OF Mr.. Luther B4echers,an to pro-
pOsal and agreement to compromise hi
bend claims against the county and with
power tonegotiatc, and do any other thn1
in regard to said bond debt, that might b,
deemed Of benefit or advantage to the
county, subject to the approval of the
Board; would respectful y report.
That they spent the greater part OF
three. days in Detroit, discussing said
affairs, nth Mr. Bsecher and his attorney
Mr.. Miller, that the substantial result Of
said discussion was, that they refused to
grant the first Modification asked for
holding that they considered the old deb,
mortgaged to secure payment of The new
debt, that it was business like and highly
proper that it should be so, and that il
was not customary upon payment of an
installmcnt on mortgages to release part
of the mortgaged property, but that on
the contrary it WAS customary to hold all
the property until the whole debt was
paid.
AS to the second modification they in
sisted that they must have new negotiable
bonds, but entirely repudiated any idea,
or intention Of having them so issued
that the county would in any event be
liable to pay anything twice, expressed
great establishment that any one should
attain such an idea said that the pro
postal and agreement fully provided for
the entire safety Of the county in that
respect; and Mr.. Henry, one Of your at
torheys, having then and there drawn up
r form for the stipulation provided for
in the proposal and agreement, the same
was then ratified and agreed to by both Mr.
Bcecher and his attorney, Mr. Miller
The said form seems to be perfectly salts
factory in this regard, and is herewith
submitted.
As to paying all in one payment mex,
April, Mr.. Beecher, having evidently OBJ
tanned the idea that we would prefer, and
are likely to do so any way, would only
agree to discount the difference between
and 10 per cent. interest for any pays
ments made before due.
Your committee then proceeded to New
York city, and ha quiet long interview
with His Hor or, Mr.. II. IIavmcyer, who
treated the committee very fairly, talking
over the County Bond affairs in reasonable
and gentlemaniy manner. but saying that no
matter how wrongfully the debt may have
at first been incurred, now, all these wrongs
were disposed of, We had had our day in
court and the highest courts Of the
land have decided it to be debt against
US, and that he thought it was our own
interest to maintain our credit, al that
we ought to, pay it all !; that, at any rae,
what he had Of it, he had got through Mr.,
Beecher that we must settle it with Mr..
Beccher, and if there was any loss, Mr..
Beecher must make it good to him.
Your committee also spent the great
portion of two days trying to negotiate q
settlement of the Jerome estate, ct al, judg
ments, for all of which Mr.. Mariner Is the
attorney, and whose advice, no doubt,
prevented your committee from making
any settlement. There was present Mr..
David o. Bradley, holding $l5.0O0of the
debt in his vn right and also acting as at
torhey for Mrs jerome, who holds 500 ,00C
Samuel F. Curtis, who holds $4,000 and
also son-in-law of Mrs. Jerome's.
Plenty Of time was taken, and the whole
matter amply discussed, without any ia
vorable result. These parties commended
that we had obtained our settlement with
Mr. Beecher through the influence of, tt
him, adverse legis alton, and of circuln-
stances not applicable to their debt; tina
their debts were eminently righteous and
just, having cost them dollar for dollar
that they had the utmost confidence In
being able.to collect every cent of it at ar
early day; that if they could not, the Uni
ted States government was an ignoble
failure, and would certainly collapse; that
the very best they would do would be to
allow us such reasonable sum as they
might have to pay an attorney to compel
payment.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
G.. y. Miles,
JesEPH BENNETT,
"