Rensselaer Union, Volume 6, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 July 1874 — Public Improvements Contemplated. [ARTICLE]

Public Improvements Contemplated.

. The later Ocean says that the Chicago Jk South Atlantic Kailway Company have secured the right of Way from Chicago twenty-two miles southward, through Bine Island tc Thornton. W» learn from the Rensselaer Union that a change ill the proprietorship of that paper is contemplated in a few days. The Union, we suppose, in that .event will again take position ns ■ radical journal.—Montieello Constitutionalist, Tub Union is net a dog to return to the vomit, nor a sow to wallow in Democratic mire. The treasurer of Lapnrto county collects interest on the temporary loans and deposits of public funds that come into his possession and accounts to the county for said interest This treasurer is a sad Democratic dog of a fellow, hut it ' is consoling to know that his pernicious example is not being adopted very extensively by his Republican brethren in the State. Jasper county has three Republican commissioners who have ever refused to accept more than four dollars per day for their services, notwithstanding a Legislature of Republicans and Democrats that was pledged to economy and reform said they might have live dollars. Thus far wc have not heard that their contumacious example has been adopted in other counties. The commissioners of Pulaski county recently ordered that hereafter all persons who need relief from the county shall be removed to the county asylum, if practicable to be moved there. The board of commissioners of Jasper county might, perhaps, take a valuable hint from this order—a bint which would result in materially lessening our county expenses and the necessity ior keeping up its present exorbitant fax levy. . V. Chicago suffered another terrible fire calamity on Tuesday. With the exception of the great fire of 1871, it was the most devastating that ever scourged that city. Fifteen blocks of buildings were burnt, covering an area of nearly twenty acres. A thousand dwellings were consumed, five or six thousand persons were made homeless, and four millions of property was destroyed. The desolated portion is south of that swept over by the conflagration of 1871. The office of General in the array is a sinecure that was created by a Republican Congress, The emoluments of that office are 818,000 per annum ; the duties are nothing —absolutely nothing. What need has a republic for such titled paupers ? Why was the office created ? Is it not a menace to popular liberty? Why can not the office be abolished ? The expenses attending' it, if economically applied, would nearly maintain the President’s stable.

The Wins mac Republican is n’t a bit afraid of the newspaper gig Jaw recently passed by a Republican Congress and approved by a Republican President. Like the old gentleman who declared he would stay under the bed whither his better half had driven him to escape the vigorous application of the family disciplinator, “as long as the spirit of a man remains in me,” Reiser will be bold to boast, but will take mighty goon care not to expose his little head by criticising the villainy of his masters. The Uniox last week a blunder done Mr. Babcock an injustice of about 9§ per cent., in the article on county finances for last year. There are 92 counties in the State, 48 Democratic and 44 Republican According to data published in the Indianapolis Journal , and taken from the books of the Auditor of State, 79 of these counties—--40 Republican and SO Democratic—bad lower levies for local purposes than *the people of Jasper were compelled to pay. According to the authority before mentioned, our county waa assessed $1.33 on each SIOO of valuation for aggregate local purposes, while the average in the other 01 bounties of the State waa a trifling fraction over 98§ cents. This makes the levies iu Jasper last year 34f cents ,on the SIOO, or $3,43 on the SI,OOO, higher thsn the average; yet from Mr. Babcock's report to the board of commissioners the casual reader would understand that taxes for expenditure within the comity were “below the average in the State hut year.” There are only two Uepublicau counties in Indiana

where taxes were higher than in Jasper, and in thirty-nine Demoj cralic counties they were lower; else the Indianapolis Journal is nvistakeii, and the Inter Ocean is deceived. ' I There is no paper in the State widt h we read with greater interest than the Rensselaer Union. It Is always full ; of good things, and they are told in a ; vigorous and entertaining way.— Laporte Argus. | Subscription jiricc a year jn 1 advance. It is a pity the Argus is so perverse, so stiff necked, and so i wedded to the'fallacies of Bourj hon’HUH-Hthftt it cannot “profit limit" | the liberal teachings of these colj uinns! Cast off the party shackles i which like an incubus bow you I • J • down groveling m the dust of Democracy. Arise, wash away the pollutions of error, clothe yourself in a clean new garment, and with thy head anointed with sweet smelling ointments of myrrh, and roses, and spikenard, go, up arid down among the toiling children of earth like unto a comely maiden, a thing of beauty ami a joy forever. Neither do we condemn thee: Go, sin no more!

Elections have been ordered in Cedar Creek and West Creek townships, Lake county, to be held on Saturday, the 15th day of August, 1874, for the purpose of voting upon a pioposition to take stock for each township to the extent of s<,ooo in aid ot the Indianapolis, Delphi & Chicago Railroad company, to be paid when a train of cars is run into the corporation limits of the town of Lowell and a depot is built therein. The Lowell Star says that in addition to this proposed tax they are also obtaining liberal private subscriptions It thinks there is a very fair prospect to construct and equip the road between Lowell and Dyer, ready for business, in season to. make shipments of their produce this coming falhr-within three short months lrom the time of holding the election, providing they vote for the proposition.

The Francesville Home Banner is : | now a beautiful six column paper, and is published weekly. Its con- j duct is marked with ability iuid enterprise that should be rewarded with generous support. There is not to our knowledge a young editor in the State who develops better judgment in managing a paper of 1 ocal interest.. In speaking of the, nominations for Congress to be made in this district, Brother Mattingly warmly advocates the claims of the southern portion for the honor, and intimates that if these claims are ignored and treated with contempt “unpleasant surprises” may follow, for, he says, “No portion of the district will allow itself to be snubbed with impunity this year. The people are getting into a new and troublesome habit of looking after the proceedings of their public servants, and packed and wire pulled conventions will find in the coming canvass few to respect their decisions.” Mr. Ira W. yeoman -was in our place last Friday and paid us a friendly call. Mr. Yeoman appears to be a very fine man. and will no doubt do 'justice to the office for which he is a candidate, if elected.—Francesville Banner. •* ——— -——~ —r The office of Prosecuting Attorney is one of great importance, and should be tilled by the best legal talent that can be induced- to- take it Upon the integrity, industry, legal attainments and talent of the prosecutor depends the vindication of of the law, the punishment of criminals, and the security ol property and life. No partisan feeling, local jealousy, or mere personal preference should be permitted to have weight in the choice of this officer. Mr. Thompson, Mr. Yeoman and Mr. Martin are all so well known in this county that a discussion , of their individual qualification would be superfluous at this time; they each recognize the almost universal disposition of the people to ignore old party distinctions, and judiciously refrain from courting party nomination.

The young man who edits the Rensselaer Union talks about back bone in his last issue. There is richness in that! The idea of an editor who can eat his own wordsto save his hide from a tanning at the hands of the sister of a young man whom lie had slandered, talkinghbout a lack of back bone among other editors of this Congressional district is laughable.— An editor who will pen an article writing himself down as a falsifier has as little back bone as any animal the Almighty ever allowed to crawl upon the face of the earth; and for i him to sign a ficticious name to the ; article, and thus try to deceive his ; readers and cover up his littleness, I only adds to the weight of the testi- | mony against him. Bah! Horace, I don’t t*y to make people who have known you for years believe you are so much better than other mortals. There is not even the suspicion of a shadow of truth in your innuendoes, Mr. Jacob ITriser, and

those in this community who read them will be at loss to-’conjecture what is meant. No young man pi' other person was ever slandered in these columns; no ybung man's sister or other female ever lurked about here with a tanvat for an editor of this paper, and never before did we hear such a’ thing intimated ; nobody connected with thih office ever wrote himself down as a falsifier, or appended, a fictitious signature to an editorial production; neither was Horace ever persuaded by the United States to make restWtt-toii--fe4--fibsU age stamps or other public property misappropriated to his personal use. But all ol this is foreign to the propositions which drew* it forth.— The Plymouth convunlion Iwo years ago was a disgraceful fraud; its nominee was an arrant trickster, and a dishonest salary grabber ; the Winamac Republican, Kentland Gazette and Montieello Herald are controlled by government patronage, and their, venal editors Iravc not the moral, courage to stand up manfully and den dunce chicanery, intrigue and corruption iu the Republican party. Not only are these statements iiudisputable facts, but the Republican, the Gazette and the Herald add to their obliquity by persistently slandering- the editors of The Union because they are not respecters of persons but dare rebuke those guilty of political or official wrong, “even when practiced by the professed supporters’’ of the government. -

The Industrial Bulletin , a Republican paper published at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and a warm admirer of Hon. Win. I). Kelley, who is considered one of the ablest representatives ot Republican views in Congress, sounds the following lugubrious notes over the political outlook: We hope that the manufacturers and workingmen of the country will understand that their vague desire of some help from Congress lias been wholly misplaced, and that no bench- j ciabaction up«n the Tariff’ or the j currency need be expected. In many . of the industries there is not work at | tliis time for one-half of the men they I usually employ, and there is little j prospect of improvement. * * The i expectation that times would present i ]y improve, is no longer entertained, j and we fear that, much as we have ! come down, we have not-vet finished the descent, and that it will be after many struggles and much distress that the bottom will be reached. There is more. discontent in tlie .country to-*iv than at any Time within our rcconcction. We foresee Ihat partv traditions and party fealty will have little weight in the coming political campaign. The struggle on the one side to get power, and on the other to retain it, will lie more intense and more nearly equal, than at any time since the close of the war,for the reason that theoiitswili not hesitate to-put themselves upon the popular side of the currency tpiostion, and will-carry with them a vast muss of discontented voters who have heretofore acted with the majority. Who is to blame for the languishing of the industrial interests of our country, and the depression of business? Who have controlled Congressional legislation for thirteen years, that. Republican papers should say “There is more discontent in the country to-day than at any time within our recollection?” If the Democratic party is responsible for it, turn it out of power. If Democratic Congressmen will not make the right kind of a tariff, elect Republicans in their place’s. If a D einocratic President will veto all your sound currency measures, succeed him with a Republican. The Union was. educated to think that a 1 bgolitical evils origipalo i.ii "tire" Democratic party, and that perfection is only found among Republicans; hence, we say, get these scoundrelly Democratic majorities out of Congress, and' let us not elect another profligate pemoeralie horse jockey" to the Presidential chair. — President Raymond received a letter from Lowell, Lake county, last Monday, in which the waiter says that work on the new railroad is progressing satisfactorily, and that stock is being subscribed at a lively rate in Lake county. An intense interest is manifested in that locality since the work began, and we anticipate a like interest ; will be shown all along the line as the work progresses. Montieello Herald. Mr. Morris Nagle, of Montieello, who once bossed a hash factory in , Rensselaer, plucked the American I eagle and scattered its feathers. , over the people at Francesville, on i the 4th' instant; —that is to say, he delivered a Fourth of July oration at that place. j A stage, freight and express line ! ! was opened from this point on the; first instant. J. \V. Duvall is the J |gentlemanly proprietor. This will! make Francesville an important; * point tor freight and express now. j —Francesville Banner. . • . j

I". Editors Union: —In your issue j of July Oth, you say: | Benton county, with a ! court ljouse In process of erection, is i only taxed forty cents on the SIOO valuation ; (.while Jasper county, out of debt, and no public improvements contemplated, is assessed fifty cents on the SIOO. is,the re any gooa reason . for making the levy so high in Jasper - county ? As one of the Commissioners of Jasper county, I think it my duty to explain. In regard to the $50,000 court house of Benton county, Mr. Fowler agreed to donate $40,000 provided the county scat was removed to Fowler, which was done. In the second place, the Board of I Commissioners did contemplate • public Improvements, and this is I the reason why the levy was more j than thirty-five cents on the SIOO. ; We tried to make the levy so as to | set apart fifteen cents on the SIOO ; for the purpose of building bridges, but could not do it legally.— At least four new iron bridges are demanded, and I think they are needed and ought to be built as soon as there, is money in the treasury to pay for them.

W. K. PARKISON.