Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1879-10-16
Little Falls & Dakota, Railroad.

] ;:5Jf1- ~ O"A'"'nS VI tut Ilttlc Z ans o.
Dakota railroad in the near future IS
moral certainty, providing thetowns
and counties along the line will grant
reasonable aid in the. way of bonds!
There is a feeling against incurripg
indebtedness for railroad purposes,
whic h is'showed by men who cannot
be classed among Old ,fogies, or CON
sidered as local obstructionists. These
men labor under tie impression that
the debt lays a mortgage upon every
farm in bonded town, and they seem
needlessly apprehensive lest it shall in
volve the entire township or county in
remote bankruptcy. Let us see how
baseless such fears and apprehensions
are-take Sauk Centre town for ex>
ample. T: will be asked to vote
bonds to the amount of $l2. 900, bear
ing interest at ;8Gper cent, to run not
less than ten nor more than fifty years.
The interest on such bonds, which
would have to be provided for by tax
annually, would be $3.50. But, says
one, that is fearful burthen. So it
would be if it had to be met by any one
or half dozeI men, although it would
be easy to select half>dozen men in
this township who could we'll afford to
pay every dollar Of it, for the building
OF the road would increase their re-
ceipts in cash for their farm praducts
more than that amount. The total
valuation of this town for the
purposes Of taxation this year was
$32O,000, and it is not liable to be
any less in the future. To pay this
interest will require a levy of only
three mills on this valuation. Can
this be considered an expensive exper>
iment? We think not. Let US see
how it will effect individuals. Fred
Bergman owns very handsome and
valuable farm Of 100 acres, fairly
overlooking the village of sauk Gen.
tire, which is assessed for $2,147. He
would pay an annual tax Of $6.44 for
the railroad. Or, to put it in another
light, If Mr.. Bergman should raise
1900 bushels of wheat, an increase
of half a cent bushel would pay bis
tax and leave him six cents surplus
fund. But it is universally conceded
that the result of competitive freight
rates which would be furnished by the
L. F. & D. would increase the price
of wheat from five to ten cents per
bushels, in which case Mr.. Bergman
would pocket clean profit of from
$50 to $12O a year on his crop of 1 300
bushels-and that crop does not rep
resent one>half of the capacity of his
farm. Would the bonds be a burden
to him ? David J. Pangburn's ASSESS
ment is 81 ,015, and his tax would be
S3 per year for the interest on these
bonds. Does it seem oppressive?
These names are taken at random
from the official records of the assessed
valuation as of record in the office of
the county auditor and are merely
cited as specimen tax payers. The
road once completed, the vast area of
unbroken prairie would soon be CON-
verted into fields of golden grain, and
every bushel contribute its mite to-
ward paying the principal and inter>
est.
From the Pope County Press. 49,.
A request having been made to the
county auditor asking that the people
of Pope county be allowed to vote for
or against the issuance of the bonds of
the county to the amount of $65 900
to aid in the construction of the Little
Falls & Dakota railroad, notices are be-
ing posted up and published in the
Press to that effect. Three years ago
last April the people of the county
voted 100000 to aid in the construc.
tion Of railroad from the Minnesota
river to Motley. Had the road been
built two years ago the farmers of the
county would receive for the present
and last years crop Of wheat 10 cents
per bushel in advance of what they
will now receive, making on the 800,-
600 bushels sold in the two years
$4,000. Judging the future by the
past, we can safely say that the farm
ers will, with the proposed Little Falls
e. Dakota railroad running through
the county as proposed, make enough
on the wheat crop alone to pay their
bonds and interest in two years. With.
out railroad we are hauling our pro-
duce away from our own. county and
helping TO- build up towns outside of
our own borders helping others 10
pay their taxes, but never helping our
selves. Now is the. time for US to
work for our own interest-put 81, 900
a mile in with the railroad conpany's
Sc, 900 mile, and have an outlet for
our produce and receive the benefits
of cheapened wood and lumber for our
prairies. $4,000 IS but a small
amount for Pope comfy. to give in
comparison to the benefits to be de-
rived by the construction Of the road
Through the county, or compared to
the sum required to build and equip
the road. ,......- ....- ...<..s. III.
| 49, r.;hr,o4.