The record., 1911-02-23

away. llS HClu Ou lOl Il huuDCi VI
years, paid his taxes. and, shortly
after the bonds were compromised,
sold his place for $1,000.
Some idea of the displeasure
aroused by the many unsuccessful
attempts to compromise these un
marketable bonds, may be gained
from a speech delivered twenty FIVE
years ago and quoted in the Muh-
lenberg Sentinel on Sept. 10, 1910.
The following is a verbatim re-
port of a speech made to the In
dependent Order of Taxpayers in
the year 1885 by Dan Gish, a we'll
known and influential citizen, who
resides near Gishton. A copy of
this unique and characteristic speech
was furnished the Sentinel by Es-
quire X. L. Johns, who was secre-
tary of the meeting at the time il
was delivered. This speech was
made just after rUncle Dan" as he
was familiarly called, had returned
from Louisville where had been sent
for the purpose of finding if the
prominent bond holders there were
inclined to favor a compromise on
the railroad debt. a large crowd
was present when the meeting was
called to order. uUncle Dan" arose
and came forward to make his re-
port, which was as follows:
'Gintlemen: These here fellers where
is away of yander is tremblin' in
thar boots. When | wuz up at Louis
vile, wuz n talkin' To some of them
and | wuz axed the ques' ion: DO you
own any of them there Muhlenberg
county rail road bonds?' And sen |.
/ No, nor nuther would | have any of
the Col burned things. And sez he:
You had orter get you some bonds fer
perfection. fer it is jus debt aud had
orter be paid And sez /: Cit from
here, Col durn you, and reached
down and picked me up brickba and
you had Orter To have seed him n git.
Now, gintlemen, ! will tell You what
this burned bond business is goin' to
determinate into. 1t is goin' to deter
inmate into hell of law suit be-
twiXt the Gol burned bond holders
and the hell fired commissioners
One of the stipulations in the
agreement with the railroad build.
ers was that the track should lie
laid so as TO come vwithin one mile
of the court house. IN oruer 10
comply with this agreement, the
surveyors were obliged to turn
somewhat from more direct course.
The track was built "within a milev
and at the same time there were
some eighty feet to spare. An item
published in the Greenville RECORD
on Oct. @, 1910, gives a new ex-
planation why the depot is so far
from the heart of the town.
Last week a travelling man made
Greenville fol the first time. and after
some inquiries found the railroad was
located almost a mile from the court
house and, of course, from the largest
part OF the business section. The trav.
eler Immediately sought Mr.. w. G..
Crawford, the courteous local /. c.
agent. and asked: "Why do you not
have the station located up town.
Blight off the reel the inquirer was
given this response: We'll, we find il
more convenient tp have the depot 10
Gated near the railroad And con
trary to the anticipation of the listen
erS, who thought that the drummer
might get peeved', he laughed and
said he supposed that, after all, it wa,
the best arrangement"
No man could possibly have fore
seen the long and troublesome com
plicahons that followed the issuing
of these railroad bonds. When the
building of the road was first pro
posed and considered, all progress
i've men were enthusiastically II
favor of the county helping carry
ing on the work. They realized tha
the development of Muhlenberg'
agricultural and mineral resource
and the degree of her enlightenment
depended upon such means of trans
portation.
II was an expensive battle. Blu
il the construction of this railroad
had not been encouraged, at tha
time, Muhlenberg might today, TO
all we know, be standing where sh,
stood before the road was started