Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1900-10-10
MR.. KELLERAND LIEN CLAIMS

David G. Shellenberger.
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MIR. KELLER AND LIEN CLAIMS.
The Hon. jeremiah n. Keller was in
the Legislature i'm 1897 and did some
startling voting. If he did such voting
In the lower house what on earth might
he not vote for, if he is sent into the up
per house, the Senate. One of his votes
was to take eighty-seven thousand
eight hundred and fifteen dollars and
eight cents out of the pockets of certain
farmers in Juniata county. His vote
was to make them pay old William Penn
King George tax lien claims Oh land that
had been charged up against them
principal and interest from the date of
the warrant until the amount reached
the enormous sum stated above 1t
was an out rageous bill, but with all
that Mr.. Keller voted for it without a
grimmace. If he had taken a stand
against the bill it would have made
him governor or United States Senator
instead of hanging a political mill
stone around his neck. What a great
statesman Mr.. Keller would be consid-
cred throughout the state, if he had
said:
No! I'll never vote for a back-action
bill ike that. 1t is a contradiction of
all the limitation laws that the state
of Pennsylvania and other states
have passed. The limitation law ofthe
state cuts out book accounts after GER
tain dates 1t cuts out prOmissOry notes
and judgments and all other kinds of
Indebtedness even to heirship, but here
in the Old William Penn King George
land lien warrant claims the state did
not collect its claim when it should
have done so and now after generations
have gone bye the state comes with the
bill principal and interest and demands
pay from liand-holders, who had no
more knowledge of such claims than
the man in the moon or the men 'on
the planet Mars. The liens are Of sew
ed cannot fail of bank-rupting many
men, The total claim is almost as large |
as the debt of Juniata county. The
liens are against lands that have chang
ed hands number of times without
seller or buyer knowing of the over
hanging claims. No! No! Mr.. Speak
er III never cast my vote for bill like
that. The liens should have been paid
Ix ha -hA tn1
They should not have been entailed up
on future generations without notice.
The claims of the state should be SUBJ
ject to limitation just as the claims
against citizens are subject to laws of
limitation and propose to offer bill
to wipe out and forever. extinguish the
old William Penn King George land
warrant liens.
But. Mr.. Keller did not rise and make |
a speech to that effect, but he voted for |
the bill and has always been ashamed
of that vote since its Oppressiveness has
been revealed and SO have the other |
members, who voted for the bill. They |
would not have been ashamed and scar |
ed over their action, if their work had |
not aroused a just indignation against |
the bill throughout the state. Steps |
were taken in several of the counties in
the Eastern part of the State to collect |
the liens, but so bitter and general was |
the Outburst of public opinion that the
State authority at Harrisburg stopped |
all proceeding at the collection of the
liens. The JunIata Sentinel and Re
publican in its issue of November "A,
1897, laid the matter before its readers.
1t was the newspapers of the Common
wealth that saved the farmers from the
back action grab of the state. If the
bill that MIR. Keller voted for had been
he would have cost certain
farmers in Juniata Co., over
thousand dollars. That would be pay
ing rather high for a member of the
The bill if collected would
have broken up rump aud stump a
good many farmers in Juniata county.
Will you send Mr.. Keller to the state
senate with a record like that If SS7,-
Sl5.O8 have not been collected from
farmers in Juniata county it was not
Mr.. Keller's fault. He voted for its
collection and it is not known that he
has ever expressed word Of regret over
the vote. There is one thing however
noticeable about it, he has not been
Growing over that vote. No it was not
his fault that the collection of the
claims was stopped. 1t was the Objec-
ton that newspapers raised to the col
lection of the outrageous claims that |
led the following Legislature in 1899 to |
so change the act that Mr.. Keller cham
pioned that the old William Penn King
George land lien claims maybe paid in |
full by the payment Of sum not ex-
ceeding fifteen dollars.
The republicans who we're slyly |
working to elect Keller to the Sen