New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-08-04
VAPIETJES IN REPCDI41ION.

TRIBUNE writing from Springfield, Illinois, saiu
he had heard it cOOlly predicted within the last
twenty-feur hours that Pike County will re-
"pudiate her Sny-Carty Bonds" This was
mentioned as an illustration of the alarmingly
low tone of financial morality prevalent in
some portions of the country. which is one OF
tbc natural results of an indefinite use of ire
deemable paper money, and Is aggravated py
the loose demagOgical denunciations OF
bondhOlders so prevalent wherever acertan
sort of politicians bear sway. Inc letter con-
tanning this prediction has been copied some
what extensively in Illinois, and has cxcited
curious KIND of indignant comment III the re-
gion inculpated. The Pike County democrat
regards it as a SANDER upon that highly re-
sDectable community famed in history ana
song. and Iepcls it in an article when SHOWS
how Just was the shot OF our correspondent.
1t is highly probable that the bonds VIII not
be paid, because public opinion in the county
s,istains the r.scally proceedings by which pay
ment is to he defeated. Yet the loyal P1kes
insist that they are not responsible for TINS
robbery of the bondhoders, simply because
the Board of Supervisors has never Tor
mally issued or repudiated these securities
The case as stated by the defenders of the
county is this. A large and fertile strip OF
land on the west side of Pike County, extend
ing into Adams County on the north and CAL
houn on the south, was subject to overflow
from the Mississippi River. All that was
wanted to make the lands valuable and dcslr-
able was proper levee. Many OF the owners
of the land united in project 10 build 1t. The
county was prohibited from raising the money Tor
this purpose in its corporate capacity by
proyi1jOn in the State Constitution of 1870.
The difficulty was cvadcd by procuring the
massage of a law authorizing the County Court,
ON the petition OF owners Of The land, to ap-
noint Commissioners to build n lcvec and assess
the costs on the lands reclaimed. Under tins
claw" we quote from the defendants counsel,
:" the lcyce known as the Sny-Carty LeVee,
starting in Adams County running through
"Pike and ending in Calhoun, was built,
"the lands affected by it being assessed
"for the benefits. and the leyco bonds
based upOn such assessments issued and
"sod to raise money to build the lcvce'
The champion of the county therefore triumph
antly concludes that the county Is not i'll the
least responsible for the bonds. There Is
highly Objectionable habit growing up among
they can get money, by any. expedient, from
non-residents, in such way that they cannot
be forced to pay it, they say the county Is not
responsible for it, The fact that the
money was lent them in good faith, at
a fair rate of interest, that the lenders
paid dollar for dollar for their bonds, and
that the county spent the money to great
advantage, all seems to count for nothing if
some shystcring lawyer, who passes his time
squirting tobacco juice on the courthouse
steps, can show them how they can
delay paying the debt. This is the
case in MacOupn and Dewitt Counties. In
Pike it is somewhat different. There they
contrived to get their money on the credit of
the county without really issuing any county
bonds. The property holders, whose land
was enormously improved and increased
in value, lay quiescent while County
Commissioners appointed by the County Court
built the levee and issued bonds to pay for
it. After the lcvcc was built and their
swamp land, turned into fruitful gardens, they
concluded, most OF them, with one accord, not
to pay their assessments. The law under
which the bonds were issued was an irregular
one, and they were able to make some sort of
Il ease in the courts against it. But the main
thing upon which these tax-ighters relied was
the public opinion of the county, which sus
tanned them in their course. They knew their
knavery would not disgrace them in the eyes
of their neighb0rs, and that if their land WAS
sold for taxes nobody would buy it.
The trainers of the Constitution of 1870 in
Illinois were doubtless right in trying to incor
porate in the fundamental law of the State
some provision against the reckless issue of
bonds by towns cities, and counties, which had
become crying evil But the result OF their
action shows how hard it is to reform polit-
zeal vice by legislative enactments. TO make
such constitutional provision effective you
must found it upon public sentiment
of honor and responsibility. The chief
effort of counties and corporations of late
has been to get from the Legislature special
statutes which will enable them to eyade this
law. After they have obtained them, and in
CURED expenses and levied taxes, or issued
bonds to pay them, the next effort of the tax
payers is directed to prove the law by
which they have prOfted unconstitutional.
All this is made easy by the poison
Gus hostility toward bondhoders" which
is one of the worst symptoms of the times
TO the mind of the ordinary rural politician
it is something almost criminal for New
Yorker who has thousand dollars surplus on
hand to invest it in bond. 1t would be hard
even for Mr.. Kelley to say where the crime is,
but he feels it all the same, and 50 does his
kindred spouter in the prairie bar-room. We
hope this is madness which is not to last
forever. We hope to SEQ signs of GONZALES
cence in Ohio this Fall. But we would like to
warn all tho counties which have been in