Year: 1859




lands was made to the State by Congress to
aid in building certain roads, most OF which !
will not be needed within the next tea years,
and not more than one of which, if now COM
pleted, would pay running expenses. AS
consequences, the munifcent endowment was
turned over to set of political and financial
adventures, who had neither the capital nor
the credit requisite for the successful manage
ment OF an enterprise of such vast magnitude;
nor IS there any reason to believe that the
leading men among them contemplated any
thing from the arrangement but gigantic
swinde, out OF which they were to grow rich !.
at the expense of the individual bankruptcy :
of the people and of the State Having OBJ !
tanned possession of the railroad franchises
and of the land grants, and finding they could
not render the latter available as security in =
negotiating for money, their next move was to
secure the passage of a bill through the Leg
islature, leaning them the credit of the State
to the extent of five millions of dollars We
shall not repeat here the statements currenti in
Minnesota as to the corrupt means employed
to secure this legislative action, nor need we
recall the promises that were not to be fulfilled
and the specious arguments that have all been
since exploded by the stern logic of events,
by which the people of Minnesota were dele
ded into an endorsement of the measure. 1t
is enough for our present purpose to state
briefly the various steps which have brought
disaster upon the State, measurably destroy
ed her credit, set her back in the race of pro-
gress at least half a score of years, and which
have already reduced many of her citizens to
the condition of bankruptcy, and threatened
with the same fate thousands of others who
have not yet succumbed.


Had the sharpers, spectators and swindlers
rested content with loan of the State credit,
the condition of Minnesota, bad as that meas
ure alone must inevitably have made it, would
still be fattering indeed, compared with what
it is daily becoming from the effects of another
law, adopted by the same Legislature, which
was in fact the complement Of the loan law,
and which alone gave efficiency to it. We
mean the law authorizing banks of issue, and
permitting the State bonds loaned to the Rail-
road companies to be used as a currency basis
at fictitious value. As it was impossible to
negotiate these bonds in New York or else
where, in the absence Of such provision in
the banking law they would have remained
useless upon the hands of the Railroad COM
panies-the latter could not have prosecuted
the work on the roads to any extent, and the
amount of bonds which they would have
drawn from the State would have been ineon-
siderable. Itwas absolutely essential, there
fore, to the success of the gigantic scheme of
plunder, to secure the incorporation of pro-
vision into the banking law authorizing cir
culation based upon these bonds at fictitious
value. 1t is asserted, in Minnesota, that the
same corrupt means were employed in this
case that had signalized the passage of the
loan bill through the Legislature, and with the
same success. The provision was inserted,
and the plunderers entered upon the execu-
ton of their villainous schemes.


Up to this time there have been issued to the
Railroad companies, as we are informed, State
bonds to the value of about 81, ,0O0, ,O0d some
of these bonds have been deposited as collat-
eral security for the loan of money at from
twenty to twenty-five per cent. of their face
Some of them have been paid over to profess
sional lobby agents, some have been paid to
retiring Directors to get them out of Boards
where other men were wanted, and some
about $500, ,0o0-have been used as bank
ing basis at ninety-hve cents on the dollar
There is no evidence that single bond has


ever been sold. While bonds of the State of


Minnesota issued for other purposes were


worth SLOT in the New York market, capital
lists there refused to touch the new batch
loaned to the railroads, at any price whatever


If thrown upon Wall Street without reserve


there is no probability that they would realize
ten cents on the dollar Yet here is q circu-
lation, of nearly $500, 900, forming the chief
currency of Minnesota, based upon bonds of
this character valued at ninety-five cents on
the dollar 1t was the intention of the plum
derers to issue currency for the whole batch
of SO, ,O00, 900 bonds as fast as received from
fhn Sfofn In Al
would have succeeded in doing so; but under
the influence Of continual financial depression
the bubble has burst, SOONER than they had.
is not only blocked, but that it will stay block
ed.


Strenuous, but Intellectual, efforts were at
first made to give this currency circulation
outside of Minnesota. 1t was repudiated at
every point, Not banker or broker many
of the great commercial centers would
it. They knew too we'll the fictitious e
given to its pretended security, and the Tot
tenness of the whole scheme from begiihing
to end, to be deluded by the specIous preten-
ces of its sponsors. Confined, therefore, by
necessity to Minnesota, it drove specie from
circulation, and the bills of all specie paying
banks were sent homa as rapidly as they came
D.
AT length matters reached a climax. The
degree of confidence or credulity that had
given this currency circulation at home sud-
denly vanished. In day it became utterly
worthless. Itwas thrown out by the brokers';
the merchants refused it; it would neither
pay debts nor buy the necessaries of life.-
The innocent holders of the bills when the
crash came-the merchants, the mechanics,
the farmers - saw their supposed available
means to pay their debts and support their
families, become suddenly worthless. More
than that, they saw despondency like cloud
overshadow the people of the State-thcy saw
industry paralysed, plans of improvement
abandoned, and with it the dying out of the
partially revived hopes and courage of the
people.


Bad as it is, if this were the whole story,
the financial condition of the State and of the
people would not be past recovery. One
season of good crops, of which there is now
fine promise, with economy in living, would 20
far toward bringing permanent relief, and
would at least inspire hope of better things,
which, after all, is more than half the battle.
But the men who are engaged in this scheme
of plunder will not be satisfied with what they
have already done. Schemes are already
Matching to galvanize this currency into tenn
porary life. They are not satisfied with hav-
ing got out only $500, ,O00-they intend to is
sue bills for the whole two million of bonds
which they hold if they can delude the people
into again receiving it. They mag be able to
buy up the brokers Of st. Paul, and if they
do, they will carry out their scheme. Their
next plan is to induce the Legislature to en-
act tax-bill to meet the interest on the rail-
road bonds, and it is thought this can be done
by resOrting to the same means that were cul-
ployed in securing the passage of the lean bill.
This they argue will create greater confidence
in tie currency already issued, and will en-
able them to prosecute their various Ines of
road to the extent required to secure the en-
tire So, 600 900 loan, for al Of which they will
4l,<