Year: 1869




railroad controversy going on in this
city. and as I'm not a lawyer, nor
merchant. nor a doctor, nora railroad
man, but am a couatrguaan lately
come to town to educate my children,
and as I have a right smart chance of
property to be taxed, I want 10 know
something about this matter People
here In town tell me that the city
authorities value our property Rlighty
high, and then levy their tax at about
one and sic tenths per cent. a year,
and that the State aud county taxes
amount to about Que and four -tenths
per cent, and now the cOuety Is going
20 be taxed one per cent. more for
the CGrHli Road, and that will make
four per cent, and now learn that
some rich fellows from the East
are going to build another road from
here to Green County, called rho
Straight Line Railroad, and want
Pigeon Township to vote them tax
of one per ceatum year for two
years, to help them, which viii make
the tax Of every man IN Evansville
for the next two years ttUe 42eI'. cent,
instead of four.


Well, now l am In favor of ali rail-
roads, and though this Is a mighty
big tax, | might pay even 800 year
on my five thousand dollars worth of
property. Yet, [ should want every
body else to pay too, and I am afraid
this might not be done.


I saw IN the paper the other day,
that the lawyers of these Eastern
rich fellows had tried to get the Board
of Commissioners to order vote on
the question whether Pigeon Town
ship should be taxed one per cent. a
year on the property Of the tax pay
ers but the Commissioners wero
rather cautious about making the
order. and took the advice of two
lawyers about it, and that both the
LAWYERS gave it as their opinion that
the new railroad law thatis so much
talked about in the papers, would not
allow the COMMISSIONERS to tax any
body anywhere for building railroads.
more than one per cent. year. That
is the way I understood their opinion,
and [ heard that the Commissioners
were going to follow the advice OF
these lawyers. But Judge Jones,
Judge Parrett, General Shackelford
and Major Hynes, all, as | learn, en-
ployed by these Eastern rich men, to
get this tax levied went before the
Board, and made speeches, and then
wrote an opinion and gave it to the
Commissioners, so that they might
read it and have it printed IN the
papers. And when the Com
missioners still talked about taking
the advice of the lawyers, they them
selves had employed these railroad
companies lawyers, persuaded the
Commissioners to wait until they,
these lawyers. could write to some other
LAWYER, away from Evansville, and get
him TO write an opinion in favor of
the Straight Line Railroad side of
the question, so that the Commission
ers might read II, and have it printed
in the papers, and so that the Com
missioners might decide In favor of
taking the vote, and the Board Of
Commissioners, as / heard, agreed to
wait till next Saturday for the Opiu-
ion of some other lawyer to be given
to them, to read and to have printed
in the papers.


But these Straight Line Railroad
lawyers, or a part of them, the Judges
and the Major finding that the first
opinion they wrote to be read by the
Commissioners and printed IN the
papers, had not convinced the Com
missioners, aud finding, as heard, that
some people from the country, like
myself, thought the opinion OF the
lawyers employed by the Board Of
Commissioners was Tlght, wrote anC
printed in this mornings paper
another opinion.


And now, Mr.. JOURNAL, there ar(
some funny things about these opln
ions of these Straight Line Railroad
lawyers. You see [ am no lawyer
and I can't be expected to understand
these learned opinions full OF these
hard words. But Ia the first opinion
they had printed in the papers
they say the question Is simple
other lawyers that the Com
missioners asked TO write an opinion
did not hRGlC mach or they woulC
have known better. Now, wha
seems funny to me (though / don
understand these things, you know.
Is. if the duty of the Commissioners j
50 plain, aud they showed it to be 81
plain in their first opinion that the,
wrote and printed, why did they hav
TO scrite and print another tong opja


The last one, l believe, they cal
an 11 cGptaRdum opinion. | don
don't know what them hard word
mean, butsI think they mean a lon
opinion, aud, may be l am not surt
but I think they mean one that ha
not much argument IN It, and tha
countrymen like nc cannot undei


This statute tIcse lawyers tai
about I don't know much about. bI
Tread It once, and l don't belev
some of the things fhese Straight Lin
Railroad lawyers say aboutit. they sa
in one Of the opinions they Wrot
to have printed n the IapeTss that til
Law does not forbid the Commission
ers legying a tax on the township
after q levy by them upon the who.
county, because the Law says Count


Or township" that seems funny,2 b.


cause If that argument is good Il
anything, 1t Is against the SIaigl


Line, tor IN every sc ction Of this la


The word IS county or township. au
not county and township; and If th
a. gulnent Is good for ANYTHING.


pr0ves that when the law SAYS tE


county or township may vote a ia


they don't mean that the county al


fownsbiD may vote one. At least, Ii


Is the way the law looks to countr


But in the last opinion which the


LAWYERS printed in the papers,


mean the ad cap tandaHa opinio


they say, What harm will It do


let the people voter


TO a eountryman it looks this W