Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1873-10-16

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veto last winter TO an act of the legisla
ture permitting bridge to be thrown
across the Mississippi at point where
board OF able and disinterested army en-.
| glneers had said one ought not to be built.
l was bitterly aSsailed for my action, and
1t 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-.
hrely consistent with my previous record,
and had | done otherwise should Justly
have subjected myself to the censure Of
the whole country. 1t is a source, of sat
isfaction to me to know that all the posi-
tions 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 full and pa
tent 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 CoNyENTIoN-MR.
TAYLoR's POSITION.
At the recent mongrel convention in
| Milwaukee there was a feeble illumination
against railway monopolists, but so feeble
that Mr.. Anderson, a 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 a genuine reform, and 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 a
man and said q quote from the report
in the Milwaukee Neics): 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-
lutions were offered. Had the resolutions
expressed the sentiments of the conven-
ton they would have been adopted at
once. | will guarantee that these resolu-
lions would have gone through the Re
| publican Convention, without 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
i PteoSCNi dAtSl ldN tllG pOSitlNG pOllbS
| trimmed off, such anti railroad men as
j. z. c. Cottrell and Geo III. Paul of Nil
waukee, and Peter Doyle of Crawford,
being the loudest in shouting, cave"
! 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 it elsewhere | shall always
| speak of Mr. Taylor with that respect
which | feel for him as good citizen,
and in commenting upon the position
/ which he has chosen to occupy upon the
| great question of railway extortions / 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. Mott
! have heard the cry, man must have been
absolutely deaf. But who awOke the PEG
! pie to this cry? Certainly not w. r. Tay
| lor., He tells you that he measured his
words when he spoke of the authors of
| our State Constitution, who % years be
fore gave power to the people to absolute
ly control all corporations Where has
his voice been in all these long years.
| during the last ten of which the people
were groaning under burdens greater than
| they now bear, and which only their cry
of anguish and despair could awaken
him from. You have heard of the man
in the State of Maine, who, when inter
rogated on the subject of the Maine Law,
| declared that he was in favor Of the law,
| but opposed to its enforcement. Our
| friend Taylor, after reposing for twenty
five years, perfectly unconscious that any
thing was wrong, so far arouses himself
as to measure his words" and say that
he is satisfied the time has now come for
the people to do something will let
him tell it himself. Said he, 1t is nv
opinion that the time has non come to
exercise this power delegated twenty-five
years ago to the Legislature by the PEG
pie for their protection. No violent rem
edes are needed. No legislation should
be enacted that aoiU 1Cedke2 credit, or impair
tie fair ralue Of eriSting rights"
Now as you cannot legislate against "a
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" to gougc the far
ner all they can, this is virtually saving
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
fed that my views have been accepted
There is another resolution which | will
notice in passing, it is as follows:
ResolUed, That all enactments which usurp to
the state jurisdiction over private conscience. or
punish one citizen for the offences Of another are
| In conflict with the spirit of free government.
THE GRAHAM LAW
| do not know that l understand what
that resolution means. If it means, as |
am informed it was intended to mean, that
the free and unrestricted traffic in rum,
Il