Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1897-09-29
c. MARTIN. Editor and PrOprieror
MORE BOND TALK

usual personalities and insiuuatiOns characteristic of it. The aim of the article is to show the fraudulent character of the Yavapai County R. R. & R. bonds It says:
 "Tn the first place, the decision of the U. $. supreme court in the par sllel case of Lewis vs. Pima county, virtually decided the bonds in ques- ton illegal. The Pima county bond case is not a parallel one by any means, inas- much as none of the conditions for issuing the bonds were complied with. No railroad was ever built, while in this county the railroad was built and operated for six years and nine months. and every condition in the act providing for the issue of bonds was complied with, Interest was paid on the honds for seven years, S27,0OO worth of them were redeemed by the county and S54.0O0 more were refunded, the. county thus recognizing the validity and legality of them for a period of seven years.
 "Again," it says, "even had these bonds bonds been legal, both parties to contract are certainly equally bound by its provisions and fl one fails to do its duty, the other IS cer- tainly released from the contract, and our people cannot, in justice be called upon to pay for a railroad which has ceased 10. operate and has been taken out of the country and sold to others"
 The logic of the first part of the above Is admitted, and as to the latter, there was no provision in the contract, under which the bonds were issued, for operating the road, but the contract provided only for the construction of arailroad, There was no specification for the opera tion of the railroad for any definite period, or for any period at all, ~
 Our contemporary then advances somewhat remarkable financial doctrine as follows: ...
 "Under the law 1t is not repudia- ton for father to repudiate con- tract made with his minor son, and the minor son can legally repudiate this contract If he chooses to do so, and can conscientiously do so if he finds that he has been betrayed, de- ceived and foully dealt with, This territory Is Uncle Sam minor son, and can go so far and no further as to making contracts, and if design ing men, with fraudulent intent, In duce the territory's agents to exceed this limit placed on the nations ward to protect the ward from just such designing men, it IS only the agents of these designing men who will cry repudiation when the na- tons ward and its friends rise up and put the bunco steeTers to flight"
 While admitting the correctness of the legal proposition as to :he minor son business, we would like to ask'our contemporary if it would have a very high regard for a great big over grown boy, just on the eve of his majority who would call his daddy" to his relief to plead the baby act for him, in order that he might escape the payment of debts contracted by him2 As 10 the fraud ulent intent in regard to the issue of these bonds, or on the part of NIT. Bullock, to whom they were issued, every man knows that ho such con dition ever existed, as MT. Bullock built the road in good faith. The county issued the bonds in good faith, and the entire transaction was approved by nine tenths of the peo pie of this county. Mr. Bullock operated the road iG good faith. It is true that it was not always to the best advantage of its patrons and the public, but he operated it just as long as he found it profitable, and there was no fraud or a single ele- ment of fraud con4ected with his cessation of operating the road. A rival line was built, and he found himself unable to. compete with it. and quit.
 The transaction, as it has turned out, is a very unfortunate one for this county. and the JpCRxAL~MJNfH frankly admits, that, with a tax rate throughout the: county bordering closely on three and a Aalf per cent and in Prescott four and. a half, ii would gladly hail, any honest and just avenue of escape from this obligation. E...s:.-.'...
 Now as to the action of the loan commission in refunding these bonds. The commission in general and Secretary Akers in particular, i: made special target of in thi: transaction. MT. Akers, as 6 mem Der of the loan commission, was not bound by any knowledge he may have obtained in any former posi- tion, and any attempt to create s
 ejudice against him in this way wIll avail nothing among intelligent people. Instead of an outrage hay ing been committed on the people of this county, by the funding O. these bonds, even from the stand point of those who oppose their payment it must be admitted tha the county will lose nothing by thi' act. The county has the same right to now contest the validity of thas,