Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1882-07-01
THE TOWNSHIP BOND COMPROMISE

In order that al persons interested
may see and study it we print again. on
the first page of this Issue. the official re-
port OF the township bond conference
viii. b t,ok place at St. Louis. Tuesday
and Wednesday, June 20 and 81.
We. believe that the terms agreed to
be recommended to the voters should
be accepted by them. and 1t is u pur'
pose IN this article to give some OF the
reasons why we think 80, and to set
forth what the consequent burden will
be upon each township.
First. without going into details which
have been laid before o people from
time to time, is the lncontrovertible fact
that the court decisions are becoming
more and more averse to the townships
and favorable to the bonds, u own SUI
preme court having recently removed q
! barrier to their collection in . decision
which IS best known by Judge Sher-
woods dissenting opinion.
Second, the continued litigation which
the unsettled condition of these bonda
causes, and which cannot be avoided,
but must be met, entails upon the town
ships heavy costs and expenses. Men
say 1--WE will not pay" when they are
paying every day in lawyers ices. court
costs and expenses; beside winch the
interest runs on unrelsntingly q light and
day, and If this composition Is moi
effected, when one is finally reached il
will be numerically insisted on. In
this connection 1t is we'll to consider the
lik elihood Of final triumph If continued
resistance should be des5suIned on
We hold, as we have always held,
that it the people are united, to . man,
and have men in Office who are Ia sym
pathy with them, and who can neither
be deceived moi inundated, that the
bondhoiders can never collect their
money ; but even c%onceding the pratica-
bility OF resistance, we doubt its good
policy or Its economy. In fact. We be-
heve that it would be far better for any
OF the townships concerned to accept
the terms here proposed, than to o
tinue Resistance. for ten years. and at the
end OF that time defeat the bonds alto:
i gether. for the reason that III that time
they would necessarily pay out a great
deal Of money for cour..costs. and would
lose a great deal more, than the amount
involved in depreciation of the price oil
their lands, aud IN LOSS Of businsss
which avoids our county because ofthese
unsettled debts. Beside, all must know
that the people themselves are NO Longer
united tor resistance, but that many
Of them are willing to par their tax.
es rather than keep up the contest. Ones
let any oonsldsrable number u. the peo'
pie pay these taxes and they and oil
their kin and connection become interest
ed that others shall do the same thing,
and resistance falls to the ground. No
intelligent person., Whole candid and
who knows the circumstances, can fail
to perceive that the fight is becoming
more and more uphill every day, aad
more costly and troublesome. The ooun-
ty clsrk'sdesk is full Of disobeyed man.
damuses and attachments which 1t gets
to be harder and harder to avoid. The
court is in contempt it Is liable to fine
aud imprisonnient ; the clerk, the treas.
drer and other officers are being harass-
ed in . hundred ways. All this might be
porns philosophically enough by the
people If it were not so costly. Every pa
per served, every, trip of . United States
marshal, every process must be paid Tor
by the townships. The trips ofthe county
court to Kansas City, Jefferson City and
st. Louis; the trips Of the prosecuting
attorney-all these things are paid tor
by the people, and Is We are now doing
the payments do not 60 toward decrsas.
ing the debts.
Third, the benefits of settlement
would be so great that il they are prop
erly weighed few men would refuse to
assume the burden Of payment. Nc
one a doubt that q permanent ar.
rangement Of the debt would add two
dollars per acre to the value of the landt
in the townships involved-it would
really add nearer ten dollars per. acre
Tor we expect to see Lafayette county
lands. in the nea futurs.i IL our finances
are we'll managed, sell at $50 to S75
per acre. where they are now selling al
iron $50 TO $40. There is no such sol
lsewhere as that which lies in q few O.
the Missouri river counties. 1t is,compar
I'd to ordinary farming land. intrinsicaliy
worth 500 per acre. and it must rapid
ly advance to the prices we name. A
TWO dollars per acre, taking II rounl
Numbers 800 900 as the acreage IN tn.
townships concerned, there would be al
immediate addition to the value Of rea
estate alone,o OF 5000 600. There wouldb b,
many other benefits. chief among which
would be the cessation OF the agitatio,
OF this troublesome question, which i
continually intruding itself upon Us o
most inopportune times. The debts O
most of the towships are unjust, fraud
uleut and iniquitous, but they are debt
!, having standing in court and We canno
shake them of by d~enouncing them
II we could, we should raise on
voice to high heaven in auathema
9 SO loud that they would brinI
tears to the eyes OF hsteniu,
angels; but it won't do. We must NEE
the question as We find 1t, and we sir
cersly and co%nscientiously believe tbs
we will ave again be offered 40 favol
able terms as the ones acre proposed
J and that it we do not compromise I
these terms We will never settle the del
e at all by composition. but have to fight til
e matter to thu bitter emd at great cost
y money paid out and to Jul prosperlt,
u and with a great deal Of trouble. W
: say this because we know that all OF
representatives at st. Louis fought har
for Us. and got the very best terms OF
talnable. Gen. Henderson, too, W.
y friendly to the townships, and spoke 4
= them frequently and earnestly in th
meeting, which he would hardly {
!, again it be we're compelled to recon
mence his litigation. Taking the be
efts into consideration, therefore, an
" tho nrohab IIifu fhak xuo ahall oa.4o:.