The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1875-01-29
Shall Lafayette County Pay Her
Bonds?
Upon this question the Lexington

Upon tllS question the Lexington
/ Caucasian discoureth as follows:
"Can we resist the payment Of the
vast incubus-nuch of it illegally.
t~raudulcntlyan wrongfully imposed
that is crushing the very life out of
the fairest county i'll Missouri. in the
! West, in the wide Union? Certainly
the payment can be resisted, but
what then? BondholdcrS, i'll this
thieves era. are far better protected
by the law than their debtors. Long
and scoundrcly experience has gcner-
ally taught them to guard well their
pirate interests. That the law should
guarantee to them the payment of all
honest dues, is just and proper. But
that an '~innOcent' b~ondhOldcr has
the right to enforce the payment OF Il
debt ~traudulent!y, dishonesty OF Vi
olcntly imposed, we don't believe;
nay, we boldly declare he has not.
Now. the question is can any pcO-
pie ri%ghtfullv be compelled to pay
such monstr0usIy fraudulent debts:
We answer Thousand times NO. But
what if we refuse to pay them? The
answer is simple. and the thicvin@
bond case of MacOupin county, llll-
nois. furnishes an illustration. Suits
! will be institutcd-aS they have al
ready been. The decisions of bond
holder bought and paid-for courts
,r:l II 49,, - l.. ,,. to fila .1tyn
dered people. The county court viii
be ordered to make a special levy. IT
the court resigns, United States Mar
shals will be sent into the county to
make special levics. and sell property
under execution. Enough of every
mans property Will be offered for
sale to pay his proportional share OF
the amount due. This might be &c
sisted by force; Il few marshals and
deputies shot; and a bricfrespitc Sc
| cured. But the power of the Federal
government would speedily be invok-
ed, and the Yankee cavalry would
! garrison our towns and scOur the
country. Now, this is not q very
comfortable picture, and yet we must
face il. Some of these bonds will
,uun fall due. TO meet the mere in
tcrest is Il gigantic burden-wOuld
once have been a mighty task for our
whole State. What shall we do when
both principal and interest fall due
that principal, one eighth of the whole
assessed value of the county: The
question presses for a reply. Only
a few DAYS ago. the I. ). Deputy
Af,,-L,l ,rnrt to Dloocnnt lin faSS
county, to serve WritS on the Mayor
and council. to enforce the payment
of some swindling railroad bonds.
The Mayor was found, but the cOuIl-
cilmcn,w who alone have power to levy
a tax, were not. SO the work has be-
gun. What shall we do?
Here's our answer in Il few words
We can't repudiatc just yet: though.
in the days ofuniversal panic. bank
ruptcy, smash-up and ruin, ahead of
this whole yankee nation, it may not
be long until we can. But there are
, means of defense. When the courts
decide against lis, let all our county
officers, who have anything to do
with making or collecting ~lcvies, at
once resign. Then. when the mar
shals and their deputies pour i'll to
bewin their forced sales. let the whole
county resolve itself into one vast
Protective League: Let every MAJ
within our borders sign a solemn
pledge not to bid on or buy any prop
crty put up for sale; and wear to
treat as Il public enemy, him who
does. If no buyers can be found, no
property can be sold. If the State
BUYS the land, it can't do anything
with it. for no man but the rightful
owner would dare attempt to live OH
it. And there is no instance on re-
cord of a whole people. civilized, in
telligcnt, trcc-born and brave, eve
being dispOsscsscd of their homes.
Cass. Bates and many other strong,
wealthy and populouS counties would
gladly join such Il league. And. with
the proud banner of Right or Rcvo-
lution' unfurled, we would be i'll
vincible and secure from the spoilers
hand.
THE Railroad debt of Lafayette
county amounts, we believe, to ST.
zoo OO0