The Spirit Of Democracy

For the Spirit of Democracy.

NO. V.

MR. EDITOR:—A gentleman, who had been eight years a contractor on our various public works, remarked to the subscriber last winter, that "no person connected with the public works made any conscience of cheating the State. All thought themselves at liberty to do so. The State treasury was a fat goose, which every man thought himself entitled to pluck" when exposed by foolish and ill advised legislation. This gentleman who was a member of the House of Representatives, manifested his faith by his works, by joining the corps of TREASURY GUARDS and voting almost uniformly against the speculators, that is, against appropriations for our miscalled internal improvements.

Nor are these words confined to individual contractors, superintendents, or agents, but whole companies have frequently engaged in them, having been invited into partnership with the State, by the unfortunate Act of Assembly, alluded to in my last communication. Witness the Monroeville and Sandusky City Rail Road Company. This company drew from the State treasury thirty-three thousand three hundred and thirty-three dollars, while it was entitled by the terms of the plunder law, to no more than twenty-one thousand seven hundred and sixty-six dollars six and a half cents; making a balance of eleven thousand five hundred and sixty-six dollars and ninety-three and a half cents to which they had not a shadow of title.

In order to bring about this result they reported to the Fund Commissioners the price of lots in Sandusky City, which they had purchased by an issue of stock and for which they never received a title, and the amount of iron on ten miles of their road which they had never paid for and which had been lent to them by the Mad river and Lake Erie Rail Road Company. Thus swelling the amount of their outlays and of course the amount to be received from the State. In July 1841, they failed to pay the interest on the state stock, and the money rightfully as well as that wrongfully obtained from the State seems likely to prove a total loss.

This instance of delinquency is not mentioned as one more considerable in amount or flagitious in principle than many others which might be named; but simply as illustrating the principle alluded to in the commencement of this communication. A mere list of the names of companies, with which the State has formed these unfortunate partnership connexions, would extend this communication beyond its proper limits, and disappointment and loss have been the consequence in almost every instance.

The vice is in the system itself; a system radically wrong and unjust, which no patriot ought to strive to correct or amend, but to overthrow and destroy. But can it be necessary to bring arguments to show the impropriety of taxing the whole people in order to raise the interest of loans spent in the wildest and most visionary speculations, in projects of ditch digging and road making through swamps and forests, in many of which the people at large have no more actual interest, than the people of France? Let our twenty millions of State debt and the fact that our Canal tax stands in relation to our State tax in the proportion of six to one be taken into consideration, in answering these questions.

If this system of fraud and plunder be brought to an end the result must be accomplished by the strenuous, determined and systematic opposition of the PAYING COUNTIES; to expect a voluntary abandonment by the receiving counties, would be to expect too much from the frailty of human nature.

Until the people take the affair into their own hands, they must expect that as ancient tyrants prevailed by force, so modern speculators will prevail by fraud.

OSCAR.

Woodsfield, June 12, 1844.