River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1873-10-21


| veto last winter to an act of the legisla-
ture permitting bridge to be thrown
across the Mississippi at point where u
board of able and disinterested army en-
gineers had said one ought MOTTO be built.
/ was bitterly assailed for my action, and
it was said that it was dictated by motives
of hostility towards particular railway,
and the desire to favor the city of La
Crosse, where for many years have had
the happiness TO reside. The statement
have made shows that my action was en-
tirely consistent with my previous record,
and had done otherwise | should justly
have subjected myself to the censure of
the whole country. 1t is source of sat
isfaction TO me to know that all the posi-
tons assumed by me in that Veto have
been recently vindicated by Judges Drum
mond and Hopkins of the U. s. Circuit
and District Courts, after a full and pa
tient hearing of the whole case. 1t will
hardly be claimed that their places Of
residence, or hostility to the st. Paul and
Milwaukee, Railroad, influenced their de-
cision.
THE LATE MoNGREL coNvENTIoN--MR.
TAYLoR's POSITION.
| At the recent mongrel convention in
! Milwaukee there was feeble illumination
against railway monopolists, but so feeble
that Mr. Anderson, sturdy and honest
farmer of Dane county, denounced it in
unmeasured terms before the convention,
as wishy-washy trifling affair. He offer
ed two other resolutions having the true
ring of genuine reform, and a combined
attempt was made to howl him down and
table the resolutions, which evidently
were not palatable to the many stipendi-
aries of the Milwaukee & st. Paul Rail
way Company comprising the convention.
But Anderson stood his ground like
man and said Il quote from the report
in the Milwaukee NeDs): You dare not
reject these resolutions. The grangers
cast more votes in this State than all
which this convention can control. He
defied them to refuse to act on these reso-
lutions." Several gentlemen expressed
their sorrow that such plain spoken reso-
buttons were offered. Had the resolutions
expressed the sentiments of the conven-
ton they would have been adopted at
once. | will guarantee that these resolu-
tons would have gone through the Re
publican Convention, without q dis
senting voice. had the occasion for
! them arisen at that time. But dared
as they were, they were afraid to
/ table them; they were referred and finally
passed. after having the positive points
| trimmed off, such anti railroad men as
! j. Z. G. Cottrell and Geo. III. Paul of Mil
waukee, and Peter DOYLE of Crawford,
| being the loudest in shouting, "Aye."
| The sentiment of the convention being so
Enthusiastically in favor of the railway mo-
nopolies, and they being afraid to allow
their candidate for Governor TO define his
position from the platform, we are forced
to look for IL elsewhere. | shall always
| speak of Mr. Taylor with that respect
which | feel for him as a good citizen,
and in commenting upon the position
which he has chosen TO occupy upon the
great question of railway extortions, Il must
express my regret that in his address before
the Agricultural Society, he should have
| expressed himself in so unsatisfactory a
manner upon this question. The farmers
were not prepared to hear him say that
he had Just walked up ON this subject How
could it be otherwise than that he should
wake up "now," since it has been thun-
dering Of late all around the sky. Not to
have heard the cry, a man must have beer
absolutely deaf. But who awoke the PEG
pie to this cryg Certainly not w. II. Tay
! Tor. He tells you that he measured hi
words when he spoke of the authors {
our State Constitution, who % years be
fore gave power to the people to absolute
ly control all corporations Where ha
! his voice been in all these long year
during the last ten of which the peop
were grooming under burdens greater ths
they now bear, and which only their
of anguish and despair could awake
him from. You have heard of the M
in the State of Maine, who, when int
rogated on the subject of the Maine La
declared that he was in favor of the la
but opposed TO its enforcement. o
friend Taylor, after reposing for twenl
five years, perfectly unconscious that an
thing was wrong, so far arouses himse'
as to measure his words" and say tina,
he is satisfied the time has now come for
the people TO do something / will let
him tell IL himself. Said he, :" 1t Is my
f, opinion that the time has Roio come 10
exercise this power delegated twenty-five
years ago to the Legislature by the peo-
| pie for their protection. No violent rem
edies are needed. No legislation should
be enacted that nil aoedken credit, or impair
the fair UdEue Of ertsting rights"
Now as you cannot legislate against
railroad without the cry being raised
that its credit may become weakened,
and as YOU cannot limit them in their ex-
actions without "impairing the fair value
of their existing rights" 10 gouge the far
mer all they can, this is virtually saying
that you must keep your hands off The
sentence Immediately following, proves
conclusively that he should properly be
classed with the Maine law man before
spoke Of
THE LIQUOR PLANK.
While upon the subject Of this platform,
/ am reminded TO notice and express my
satisfaction at the action Of both parties
on the subject of railway passes. | cal
led the attention Of the Legislature to the
subject in my last message, and expressed
my opinions fully and need not repeat
them. | believe that am the first execu-
tive Of this state that ever called attention
TO the subject, and am very much graft.
fled that my views have been accepted
There is another resolution which will
notice in passing, Il is as follows:
RssOlged, That all enactments which usurp 10
the state jurisdiction, over private conscience or
punish one citizen for the offences Of another, are
In conflict with the spirit OF Tree government
THE GRAHAM LAW.
do not know that | understand what
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