Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1881-03-23
COMPROMISE OR NO COMPROM-
ISE.

The question of making another effort
to compromise our bonded debt and of
getting it in way of final settlement,
has been agitated by the citizens of Wa
tertown for several months. Having this
end In view the law of 1872, which was
repealed through the instrumentality of
the Union League before it had fair
trial, and which provides for taking up
the old bonds and issuing new ones, there
fore, was sent to our representatives in
the legislature with instructions to secure
its re-enactment. Under this law there
are to be elected seven commissioners of
the public debt, one from each ward, to
hold Office for four years. These officers
are to be elected at the coming April
election, and the necessity of selecting
the very best men for the positions must
be apparent to every one. Men should
be selected who are known to be in hear
ty sympathy with the movement, as we'll
as in every way we'll qualified. Not or
ly should the commissioners be avowed
friends of the compromise, but the entire
city council should be composed of men
who favor a settlement of the debt also.
The law which our citizens have called
for will be dead letter unless the men
elected to the city Offices next month are
in favor of carrying out its provisions.
This no one will deny. And to elect
men who are favorable to the law simply
is not enough. Active, earnest and ca
pable men should be chosen for our city
OMcers-men who will make this bond
question a study and a business during
their term of office The compromise
law should have thorough trial under
the most favorable circumstances. Many
of us think this is the way out of our diff
Guilty. Now the question is, will our cit
liens who having gone so far in the mat
ter as to call for compromise law, con-
tinue in the same line of policy, by
throwing aside politics in city affairs and
working together as one man to relieve
our city from the monstrous debt For
the next four years, at least, politics should
be made to take back seat in our city
elections, and the rallying cry must be-
A'compromise or no compromise" Every
other question should be made subser-
Went to this. 1t should be the one thought
OF, and the one issue before our people.
We can have our political differences in
state and national elections, but in local
affairs parties should be unknown in a
City situated as WATERFOWL is. No polit-
ical party should presume to control
Watertown in her present condition. The
assembled wisdom of all her people is
needed to relieve her from the hateful
debt which is slowly, but surely bearing
her down to destruction.
We presume that few old Bourbons,
who think more of their party than of
the prosperity of the city, will say this is
very fine talk coming, as it does, from
paper that represents hopeless political
minority, which has everything to gain
and nothing to lose by ignoring party
lines. We expect g compromise move
nnent to encounter obstructionists under
one pretense or another, as all movements
of the kind always have, but we have
faith enough in our democratic friends to
think that the most of them will favor
throwing aside all party feeling, and of
moving together as citizens of Watertown
democrat, republican and what not
TO accomplish purpose in which we are
allmuch more interested than in theselec-
tion of this democrat or that republican
to office.