The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1884-11-26
: Railroad Subsidy.

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The Avant Courier, in in Otherwise
excellent article on "seif Help the Best
Help" uses the following language.
people of GalIatin county, you can get
q competing railroad line if you xill but
adopt the proper measures without In
volvine the county to the amount Of .
single cent; but IL you have not got the
effective machinery for carrying out this
plan, then you can carry out the absolute
des;derqt;m BY bonding the county
to the extent of not to exceed .
half million dollars. This amount, at 7
per cent, would not necessarily embar.
rass the county, as by the completion Of
such an enterprise the asseseable value
of Gallatin county would thereby be in
creased to the amount of at least two
millions. while the taxable value Of such
railroad would be at least the full amount
involved in such bonds"
While we concede the grea& value of q
competing line of railroad, and would
not object to proper measures. that 10,
that an amount be individually sub
scribed in money or property to secure
such result, We are irrevocably opposed
to the bonding Of the county in any
amount. The experience of all counties
who have aided railroad enterprises BY
such methods has been bitter in the ex-
IRENE. Even the United States govern
ment, in its aid to the completion of the
Union Pacific, has so far failed to secure
anything in return. or to collect the
money subsidy. We admit that it would
add much to the valuation of property,
even two millions, and that the revenue
derived from the taxes in that amount
would more than pay interest on the
bonds, but there would be tue debt to
pay at some time, and we do not propose
to handicap the rising generation with
such a load. We are doing well enough.
Our county is growing richer and more
prosperous every year. If the resources
of the county do not demand such q road
we had better wait until they do. We
remember a craze few years ago, and in
which we took an active part, when We
wanted to bond the Northern Pacific and
the Utah Northern, one in three millions
and the other million and a half We
can now see how blind we were and how
dreadful would have been the result. We
can not compute the great danger we
were in, and yet both roads have been
completed into the Territory without our
aid. So will another be built when the
necessities of the times demand it, and
we should not blindly rush into such
scheme. That such a scheme is advo-
Gated only shows that some parties are
on the move to build such q road, but
before doing 60 would want to squeeze
out of the counties through which it
passes some bonus. The constitution
which has just been adopted has pro-
viso in its legislative department, which
We had the honor Of incorporating into
it, the following: "Sec. %. The legisla-
tive assembly shall have no power to
pass any law authorizing the State, or
any county in the State; to contract any
debt or obligation in the construction Of
any railroad; nor give or loan its credit
to or in aid of the construction of tho
same" This same idea is prevalent all
through that instrument, and the temper
of the people is against it. No matter.
how much we would give them, they
would grind US all the same when they
had the power. What would be good for
US as State, in providing against such
subsidies is even better for us as Terri
tory. The people grumbIe, and justly. At
excessive taxation, and they are burdens
grievols to bear, and we tan not afford to
add to them. Better wait and b.. safe.
As it is truthfnlly raid in that article that
We have immense resources. and those
will attract capital, but not if
that capital is Handicapped by heavy
taxes. No, we do not want to bond Gal.
latin county to any railr,ad to the extent
of . farthing.
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Cleveland :..>
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