Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1873-08-06

Amoumtln. in all to ST., 1868, 200 o.
bonded debt for which we are com.
I'ellei to make a provision TO liqui.
date in the space of 10 years.
And rs there are various methods
by which men liguidate their liabili.
ties. it is hut proper for us to give
all of them Il careful consideration.
And, as will be see by the state.
ment OF the above first three annual
dues, there arc four items of uur debt
which are experiments of funding
euI county debt. Take the first item
OF funding debt. l find by reference
tn the county record that for bridge
purposes there fell duein 1867 a debt
.ii $50, 200 which, instead of icvyiua
rI,e tax and liquidating the debt whc,,
land was in demand and wheat ut
~ p per bushci, and thereby saving
irn per cent interest for four years,
which. in the aggregate, amounts to
about $4,000, and adding To that the
ovnrpius of bonds (:;li, 400 that were
ptii on the market III order tn realize
the $50, 2G0, amounts To $i4, 1i0-over
half of the original debt. Aud SO ii
is with The other funded items
$I3O.CUO due III 1875 and Si5,0GO due
in 1876. Now, 1 ask every sound
thinking ma who pretends 10 t;n;li-
cicr for himself, whether he can ever
expect 10 redeem his paper when he
continues TO stave on his liabilities III
II sacrifice Of fifteen per cent discount
and pay ten per cent on the discount
Ell paper. equal 20 u shave of paper at
twenty-five cents discount. But
slr,nltI ,,,t, mai N nv ntA.,,.t 10 tr,4l ia.
debt Of 3l0S, 800, which VIC nus meet
next year, then you Will find. instead
Of a discount of fifteen per cent, as
III 1859, you will be discounted forty
per cent ; and SO YOU will continue
10 d~cprcciatc our paper by such
transactions ill we are bankrupt, for
to fund $lGS,5OO you will be
compelled to issue ~Sl57.200 of bonds,
in order to raise The principal, $lDt.-
500.
l think this clearly demonstrates
what the funding policy already i'll
augurated will DRIFT us into. ami that
is simply robbipg our children of
homes, throwing on them what we
do not seem TO have the nerve to face.
and finally running II good ha,lc
and credit.
Now, as to the second method Of
liGuidating the dcbt-repudiation.
| discover none who think it practi-
cable or advisable.
The third aud last method j., IN
my humble opinion. the only one by
which we can attain the object de-
sired /; that is to divide the bur-
then by inducing immigration to our
county. There is territory enough
to sustain $4,000 inhabitants, whereas
we have only about 5000 inl.abi-
tants. There are l03.G70 acres in the
county, and there are only :3S6. 767
i'll cultivation, leaving 1868 to
remain unavailable, which would in
one year, if utilized, liguidate the
debt. And the only manner by
which the third plan can he executed
as for each %lanGhclder to first regard
the public debt rs an individual debt:
for indeed 1t is eve moro difficult 10
to release enc's self from the liabiii-
ties of Il county than a liability Of an
individual character, for every foot of
land is bound for the last cent of
debt; and if y pays off his pro rata
of the whole debt and b aud & fail
to meet their portion CT the debt.
and 3 and C's land is sold undt T. cX-
ecution and sells for II mere sonm, aud
docs not llquidatc the whole GcDt,
then, still, the boHdlIoldcr has re-
course on the land of y, which " i'll
be sold to satisfy the remaining d,,.t.
Now, all whom | have heard cXprc.,S
themselves are anxious for imrmigra-
ton aud are ready 10 receive. it,
If some feasible plan could be insti-
tuted, and 10 my mind there seems
nothing more easily accomplished.
Let there be Il convention of lie land
holders at Lexington, and let each
take 4 pencil and paper or EN-
plOy some one who Is efficient in
making an estimate of the Individual
Indebtedness of the several taXpa\ crs
and the manner in which il falls due.
then let the land holder take the
estimate of his individual debt, and
then make an estimate OF the number
of acres which are unavailable to
him, OH account OF lack Of labor to
bring it into 4 state Of cultivation,
and then make up lis mind that he
can and will make the land pay its
own way. Instead of only c%ultivatimg
one half and making that half support
his family and pay, not ouly the taxes
Oh the part cultivated, but make the
other unavailable half sponge on the
available half for its tax money, and
when the people demonstrate thcir
determination to act for themselves,
then and not tell then will relief come
to us. 1t is all in our own hands
whether we prosper or retrograde,
and when there is an expression of the
people to that effect, there will be an
immigrant committee organized, who
can take the description OF land offer
ed for sale, the price, the time, and
terms of payment, aud the time
be at least ten years at ten per
cent. per annum, except az to the first
which should be from
onc fourth to one sixth cash, SO as to
us to meet the first dues. There
ire thousands of German, Irish and
farmers III New York and
Pennsylvania, who would gladly sell
heir little tracts of land containing
i've to forty acres, and with the prop
II inducements move out here to
a fertile farm of greater d.
neusinns. also their many tenants |