Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-03-22
IN OLpEN TIMES.
When New Workers. Were F1ogged for
Disrespect Shown an Alderman.

When New Workers. Were FIogged for
Disrespect Shown an Alderman.
According to curious old book in
the Astor library. less than hundred
years ago men were logged and put
in Jail in this city for insulting an al
derman. The dignity of an alderman
in those days was worth twenty lashes
on the bare back. we'll laid on, on any
body else's back but the alderman's.
That was what it was rated at in
1895. when two ferrymen. Timothy
Grady and Thomas Burk. were put in
prison for ':sassing'' Alderman Fur
man. Here is the sentence of the
Bridewell Court, composed of the
mayor and three aldermen:
THAT you. Timothy Grady. receive
tomorrow morning twenty lashes on
your bare back, to impress on your
mind that you are not to insult men
in office; suffer two months impris-
onmet in Bridewell at hard labor. and
that you, Thomas Burk. be impris-
oned two months in Bridewen at hard
labor; excused from whipping, being
interceded for by Alderman Furman."
Some years.later the book records
the butchers "and those who sit in
the vegetable market celebrating
the return from corporation scrip to
silver payments by reducing their
prices twelve per cent. for whole
week. and resolving formerly in their
glee that ''silver is silver and chaff is
chaff.
Turning back to the year 1850 when
Peter Stuyvesant bossed New Amster-
dam, it is found that complaints are
made to the authorities by the col
onists of Manhattan Island of the de-
preciated condition of the wampum
or seawant, the Indian money in use
among the earliest settlers. The bur-
den If their grievances appears to
have been that lit is loose. not strung
on string, many not perforated and
only half finished, and also made out
of stone. bone, glass, mussel shells.
horns, and even out of wood and
broken ones; that they can not go
with such seawant to market, nor yet
procure any commodity. not even a
mean white loaf of bread or a can of
beer at the merchants. the bakers or
the tapster's for the loose seawant."
To relieve this condition of affairs
the authorities decided that from this
time forth no loose, unrerforated or
clumsy seawant shall be current, nor
be a lawful tender except that the
same shall be strung on one string.
as the general custom has been here
tofore."
Which sweeping ordinance so Grip
pied the currency tn at it was necessary
only three months later 10 ord ain that
'the base-strung seawant shall be
currency in payment for small and
daily necessary commodities in house
keeping" and that the sum of
twelve guilders and under shall be
paid all in base strung seawant; from
twelve to twenty-four guilders. half
and half. and so on at that rate"
The volume of the currency must
have been very limited in those days.
That was just twenty-five years after
the aboriginal inventors of the sea-
want had sold the whole of Manhat-
tan Island for $24 to the Ditch. who
had brought over ''1O3 cattle, includ
ing stations. mares, bulls and COWS
Tor breeding. as well as SWINE ana
sheep" to replace the first heard that
had persisted by eating poisoned vines
Quite lot for population of 27O
souls.
A century and half had made
some difference in New York. but not
enough to count. In 1880 Governor
Page. delegate to Congress from
Virginia, found occasion to write to
his son:
This town is not half as large as
Philadelphia. nor in any way to be
compared with 1t for beauty and ele-
gance. The streets here are badly
paved. very dirty and narrow. as we'll
as crooked, and filed up with a
strange variety of weoden. stone and
brick buildings. and full of hogs and
mud. IN Y Telegram.