Mexico weekly ledger., 1890-01-23
AUDRAIN RAILROADS.
Judge w. o. Forrist Tells How
They Were Built and
Paid For.
Correspondence OF the Ledger.

MEXICO, Mo January 11.-Botll
as citlzen and officer of Audrai,
cuusty MIR. Locke was an evolution
If the war. He was a man of al
Iairs, familiar with large transac
Mons and highly educated, being /.
graduate oil Yale College. For III.
ntfice he SO long held, therefore, h.
was eminently qualified. He wa,
/ silent man. lie published n,
I'roclamatiuns. He neither AN
his course of conduct no,
after its completion boasted OF it,
achievement. Silently, voicelessly
he performed every duty as we'll in
regard to the railroad debt as any
other.
Upon each annual duplicate was
found charged up to the COLLECTOR
the railroad tax, necessary to NEE
The annual inslallment of it fallin,
'iu-, no matter if To pay which h,s
nelghbor should be compelled Il
'eil iavurlie COW or to see h,
Il ,ugh'-r's pet 6iiey go under .h.
red flag" The c.edit ot th.
county Was involved and it must b
preserved. Two things were mark
d with this officer: Almost pa
rental care for the reputation of lib.
a"un,y and judicial respect for ,h.
lights of everybody having bu>l
,ess with it.
There was another factor in thi
iebt which made its management
till more diificuit-just at til.
close of the war multitude q.
schemes to build railroads upe,
public aid from counties and cities
Tue money so raised went in the
uands of the schemers, and til.
Dad never built. This method o
laklng money by the speculation
# the country was common ali.
uinous. AT first o r people b.
ieved our railroad enterprise Wa
uch a swindle. Even after tn.
Dad was built many thought, whe,
he money was fully assured, i
would be abandoned. They sale
t could not be operated. No bridg.
~ Louisiana; none at Jeff.rsu,
Iity, and hence, no profitable Con
iecuons, it must be surrendered.
AS the COLLECTIONS went forwar.
nd the bonds were paid. the mos
xacting care was taken that Au
train County should have acquire,
al those matters for which sln
l know of no lailioa,
lebt i'll the State SD we'll managed
Not one dollar of all those money,
fingered in an Etching palm;'' h.
dispute ever arose as to the Coli.
,trruction of any contract in regaro
% II or of its proper completion
,nd final settlement, and no mai
las ever been heard to say, ,ha
he county has not received in ful
he value of Its money. THIS mag
iticent result was very largely du.
. the skill of MIR. Locke having i,
he main the charge of the fnancia
Transactions Of the county. Thes.
Methods have given To our count,
credit in the muney markets y
he Country, largely higher thai,
my other cnunty in the State and a
most equal TO the Federal govern
nent itself.
or course Mr.. Locke was aidet
II his great work by trusted coun.
,ellors and other officials with lik.
pride in county as he. Gov. &. II
Hardin, ! understand, waa in tn.
premises the adviser Of the Count,
Court, while MIR. Locke at all time.
,ad the adv ce of his friend
Judge Geo. b. Macfarlane, whus.
-Minent abilities having since be
ume fully known throughout tn.
State, now makes his election to tn.
supreme Court the public an,
voluntary demand of all her citl
zens regardless of party aifiliatiun
Then. in the darkest hours of tn.
panic, when his burdens Sc. mee
more than he could bear, ther,
lame into other offices two ol
hree men TO whom The public NV.
much every way ioi their efficieu
id IN preserving the public credl
md the rights of the citizens. Ther,
were Judge Morris, Of the County
Court, and those two remarkabl.
men, b. r Cauthorn and W. H
White. They came into Office to
gsther, one as Sheriff, the Other
as Deputy Acting Collector, Mr.
Cauthorn becoming Collector after
The Offices were divided. Each ot
these men was a tower OF strength
Zach commanding the universe
re-pect and confidence. each il
full sympathy with Mr.. Locke,
pride Of county and exactne>s o
business msnagements each doin;
his uttermost to put the county ir
funds to pay her debt, aud both
determined to do this with as lii,
lie Inconvenience to the tax payers
as possible.
l would not seem ;nyidious
There were large numbers of otEel
citizens now living and others deat
who aided in the achievements al
iuded to. / can only speak of 4
few. Of these give impression
formed at the time when to most
were a stranger. were not in tn.
counsels OF the men charged
with those high trusts. I coult
now know so | now write rs TO VIII,
then seemed To be the workers
AS to those named, l am not mis-
taken as to their services or tn,
debt of public gratitude due them
Come, now, as / close, let u.
stand Vi on some point of visior
within our county and answer tn,
inquiry: Where, under all the
skies, are there faiFer lands, hap.
pier homes, better men, fairer wo
men, where education is more gen
orally diffused. industry NOR.
highly respected or as assuredly
rewarded, where the rights of al
are more fully respected and manly
independence more thoroughly ad
mired where the Highways, as al
old Roman oncs said, the best evi
dences of civilization, are beaten
their bridges more secure than il
this county OF ours" All this pros
perity has come to us during tn,
last quarter of a century. Ah, me
What ehall not bloom ont Of tn,
-a-,9 AZ -.ws ~v,H lskafv Io.I S<