The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1877-05-30

having received an equivalent Tor her bonds;
and Reputation on her part would be more in
famous than that of the State of Mississippi,
which never received a dollar for the bonds she |
entrusted to the Planters Bank, to be ncgotia-
ted for her benefit, and yet that State has been
held to full accountability for her neglect to
provide for their payment, and is now utterly
without credit in the great money centres ut
much better rcpute is shown by tho fact that
the attempts of her officials to place her bonds
upon the market outside Of the State have met
with no success for the past ten years. Such
is the report Of the State Treasurer
The proposition of Mr.. Chamberlain, for
himself and other bondholders, to receive
about fifty cents on the dollar for what is due
them in bonds due in thirty years with six
per cent. interest, instead of seven, which the
old bonds bear, can be accepted by the State
without dishonor; whereas she, herself, could
not have made such an offer to the bondholders
without absolute disgrace. Never, in my
Judgment, will another opportunity be offered
for settlement of this vexed question, upon
terms equally favorable to the State, should
the pending amendment he rejected
Let us examine the effect of the proposition
should it be accepted by the people, for much
misunderstanding exists upon this point.
It is proposed to authorize the 100000 acres
of internal Improvement land to be disposed Of
for the purpose of meeting the payment of the
interest and large part Of principal of bonds
tor it appears that $6S,OOO, in cash and interest
contracts had been received up to last winter
from the sales of portions of this land. Should
the whole be disposed of even ut the rate for
which the school lands arc sold, to wit: six dol
lars per acre, the sum total would be $4,000, 600,
applicable to the extinction of the bonded in
dcbtedness. But there is every reason to be-
lievc that this fine body of land will sell for an
average of nine or ten dollars an acre if judi
ciously placed upon the market. The provis-
of sufficient number of new bonds released
by the holders to meet the interest on the en-
tire issue until the year 1880, would give ample
time for the accumulation from the sales of
lands to pay the interest from that year for
ward, and at the same time to form a sinking
fund from the surplus to provide for large
proportion of the principal when it shall be-
come due in thirty years, SO that the cry Of
largely increased taxation i'll carrying out this
measure is without foundation, IN fact. Mean
time, the State, freed from the charge of repu-
diation, which now so injuriously affects her
credit and all her material interests, would re-
ccive large acccssions to her population and
wealth, and fresh vigor and energy would be
infused into every branch of business.
So thoroughly is this understood, as
the result of favorable vote on the
amendment az end that a. large proportion
the State are earnest advocates of the meas
ure, regarding the final settlement of this old
bond question as "a contamination devoutly
to be wished" Even those who believe the
terms to be too favorable for the bondholders
must admit that an adverse decision by the
people would be attended with very disastrous
effects upon all our interests, and utterly de-
stroy the confidence of the financial world in
the honesty of the people of the State. It
would be regarded as an act of rank repudia-
ton, and our unfortunate Minnesota would be
held up to the scOrn and reDrobation iOf all
Christendom. 44
The opponents Of the contemplated SETTLE
ment are, by no means, agreed upon any other
plan. few take the extreme ground that
Minnesota does not owe anything upon the
edness but claim that the State should ascer-
tain the exact sum paid by the present hold
ers, and refund the amount with interest;
while the remainder clamor for the rejection
of the amendment, without any fixed purpose
for the future, but with a vague hope that still
more favorable conditions can be eXtortcd
from our creditors. No scheme of adjustment
that could be devised would satisfy men hold
ing such widely divergent views, so that even
II the present proposition was voted down, we
should be farther than ever from any conclu-
sion which would extricate the State from her
embarrassmcnts, and in the meantime she
would sink deeper and deeper in the public es-
timation, until finally compelled to pay every
dollar OF the bonds with interest. For it is
sheer nonsense to contend that we can defy
the whole world IN this matter.
Every one outside of the State is convinced
that Minnesota is legally and equitably bound
tor this Indebtedness, and the Supreme Court
of the United States has given it's solemn
Judgment to the same effect. AS a member of
the Union, we are under obligations to refrain
from any course which will injure American
credit abroad, so that reputation in any form
by a State is not only suicidal SO far as her own
particular interests are concerned, but is O
crime against the nation.
repeat what have heretofore frequently
asserted, that the honor of Minnesota shall be
held to be far more precious than any object of
merely material value, such as dollars and
cents. We owe it to God, to the Americal peo-
pie, to ourselves and to our posterity, to trans
nit the name of this noble young State to q
succeeding generation bright and unsullied.
have striven for many years to bring about
some adjustment of these old bonds, upon
basis Of right and justice, knowing as 1
did, that Minnesota was suffering, in character
and in all her public interests, by her delay in
responding to the appeals of her creditors. NY
zeal was no doubt quickencd by the fact that
my official signature is attached to these dis
State, apart from that consideration, I have
felt keenly how equiyocal and humiliating has
been her position before the world.
L dismiss the special pleading and petty
technicalities with which this subject has been
beclouded and mystitied, and which have been
pun lOIWdru us II JuSCluclClOn 1Or inc refusal OF
the State to act honestly, as utterly unworthy
OF consideration by the commonwealth that at
this late day has an opportunity to atone for
past neglect, and thus be restored to good
standing in the sisterhood of States. These
sophistrics have been exposed and exploded
both by our own citizens and by others, until
there is left of them no shred to cover the
shame of Minnesota from tho public gaze,
Let US embrace the opportunity now afforded
us OF concluding the mooted question forever,
and Minnesotians can once more look their
fellow men in the face without blushing for
their State.