New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-01-24
uJyNESOTA AND HER DEBT.


co,toinlv NOT ono owes more Of its growth
and wealth to the early completion oil rail-
roads. by which its immigrants have been
| invited, its needs supplied, its products
moved. and its lands multiplied III value In
1850. the assessed valuation oi all property
in Minnesota was $32.O1S,773 and in
| 1880 it was $685., O55, 543-more than
eight times as large. But the actual
| value of property Is lar greater. LII
| the census Of 1870. when the assessed Vain-
alton was $S4,OO0,000, the true value OF
property was reported as S22o.9Oo,Ooo, ana
| it must now be over G0O0O0,O00. Heavy
taxes in the year 1859 brought less than
800. 600 into the State Treasury. But the
| reccipts of the State in 1880 were $l,GS5,O51,
| and the leading Journal jubilanty says that
| the very low State tax OF 81 12l2 on the
81 600 can be reduced after this year to one
mill. In short, Minnesota is doubling the
| value of its property every five years, and
pays TO its State Government III taxes OF ali
kinds only t,renty-eigh cents on the thousand
| dollars Of actual rdiue, and yet repudlates an
honest debt.
The amount of the debt is relatively nsig-
nfcant. Originally only $2,275,0OO, 1t has
grown by refusal to pay interest to about
SO, 1000, 600. Yet this Is not more than per
cent of the actual value OF property IN the
State. If the State had chosen, or would
choose even now, that honesty winch Is
always the best policy, for communities rs for
individuals, it could readily command money
to clear off the old debt, principal and ac-
crued interest, without any increase of taxa
ton. The auditor shows that this can he
done by wise use of 100000 acres of land.
which, as the Governor says in his last mes
sage to the Legislature, " cost us nothing and
"came opportnney to hand, as if fortune
"would lure us from dishonOr." The money
borrowed more than twenty years ago. on
which even the interest has long been unpaid,
has been so used in lasting improvements
that it has already added to the wealth OF the
State more than fifty times its amount in the
increase i'll value of farm lands alone. And
vet Minnesota, IL Northern State. has refused
thus far to pay back the money borrowed.
Governor Pllsbury appealed 10 the LcgiS-
lature in ms annual message, with great
earnrstness and cOgency OF reasoning. IL Is
due to him TO say that part OF the shame
of reputation rests on him. Not many public
men IN Minnesota can claim as niuoS. lie has
consistently and earnestly advocated honest
payment OF the ueDt, anu IN MS i"VcNo "'V'''F"
says:
That the original proposition was amply discussed.
deliberately adopted and overwhelmingly ndor~ed hy
the people, Is a natter OF record. Thai the railroad
companics faithfully performed their part OF the
tract 50 far ~ eDc them To the bonds conditioned
upon such performance, Is attcsted by the sworn
statements OF official inspectors, "A we'll ~ by the
high character Of the faithful, executive, 10y whom
fun compliance WAS exlctcd. That the taxing pOsscs-lin
and Of OBJ ies
the state to pay bonds il teyond question. he
acquired such property AMI franchses upon that fole
condition; while the sole JUSTIFICATION hnd purpose of
such acquisition reimbursement to the State, for
payment by the State These II seems clear 10 me. IN
clude all the considerations that need be embraced for
m honorable settlement upon the legal Of the
question. When these Is added The understandable
| fact that magnificent railroad system Of to-day IL
largely due to the early labor performed upon the
| lines for which these bonds issued. thcrc
little need OF establish tho justice OF
| claim upon the State.
| That the scheme was premature and unwsc for 80
young and feeble a commonwealth fault Of
the holders OF the bonds are they bmmewOrtny bc
cause railroad property recovered foreclosure
| was not applied 10 the liquidation OF the debt 8.
For these services performed they received promise
OF payment from n sovereign commonwealth and they
have been waiting twenty-five years for fuGlment Of
that promise from State which boasts of progress
and prosperity
The Governor contrasts. in singing because
| truthful words, the conduct Of Minnesota with
that of the United States, and its condition
with that of Southern States. and says:
The brightest jewel In the National crown Of honor
shines with the lustre Of the faith kept with who
trusted the Nation her hour OF need Shall our Slate
the black stigma Of broken promises to those who
| served her extremityi Alta time when The yauc M
financial credit classifes the roll OF honorable
debtors and cxa our country among the nations OF the
earth. shall our stare skulk behind her decnee of
Sovereignty and uefy the rule of right Simply she
has the rghtl Shall Minnesota herd the repudia
ing states Of the South and bear aloit the OF
as the only dishonored state Of tho Northi Nay wond
not the suffering South: for while there IN AZ ms
siby be some paliiaOn for default by States ,rirIod
with internal disorders and scburged by war; there IA
for State fattened by prosperity and besl by for
| tune.
1t would DO we'll if the Republican yotcrs
and legislators of Minnesota could fully re.
alize what disgrace their conduct casts upon
the Republican party elsewhere. Not week
passed, during the last campaign, that the
stold stubborn and persistent dishonesty of
minnesota with its 10000 Republican ma
"jorlty" was not thrown in the teeth of earnest
Republicans elsewhere who were pleading in
behalf of public honor. If the State had the
slightest preteXt in law, the case would not be
quite 50 bad. But a member of the State Senate,
commenting on the Governors message, actually
declared that he did not favor getting an
opinion from the Supreme Court" of the State
ITSELF GAS to the legality of the indebtedness,
for that would render the State susceptible
"of being sued for principal and interest"
When the justice Of a claim is so clearly ad-
mitted, what can be said in defence If
| there were the slightest excuse i'll poverty tho
case would be different. But Minnesota is
| excentionally rich and nrnsnnrons. and vot