Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 38, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 October 1905 — About Seeing Right In The Court House Fight. [ARTICLE]

About Seeing Right In The Court House Fight.

The Morocco Courier, which ( has been complaining a good deal lately, about the stand of the Jasper Co. paper on their court house matter, now declares that there is only one paper outside of Newton eonuty that ‘‘can see with unprejudiced eyes the condition ot things” there. And the one unpre judiced sheet of all others on earth is the Fowler Leader! Heaven eave the mark!

Then the Courier quotes from the’ Leader a paragraph which plainly reveals what the Courier’s idea of seeing right in the county seat matter is. Other people must see only one side of the matter and that the Morocco side, or they are prejudiced.] For the benefit oi the Courier and our large number of Newton county subscribers, we now propose to briefly recall some of the facts of ths county seat trouble, and the stand THE REPUBLICAN has taken in reference thereto. AVhile we have always recognized the fact that the county seat should be in a more central location from a geographical point of view, we have

also recognized that the center o ’ population was still far south of the geographical center of Newton ounty, and further that the people •i of Kentland and vicinity were 'justified by every rule of self in | terest in keeping die county seat as long as they can, by fair means. We also recall the facts that I when the present special county ■ seat removal law was under con sideration, at Indianapolis, this I piper was the only one which i pointed out The unfairness of the 1 law, and the practical impossibility lof the county seat ever being re 1 moved under its provisions. We pointed out that i>s per cent, wi' entirely too large a majority to re quire, under the | and also pointed out that tin people of Newton county should first have the right to vote on the abstract proposition of whether or not the county seat should be re- ■ moved; and then if 65 per cent, or • whatever other majority was re • quired, voted in favor of removing it; then let there be a fair contest between all towns which desired to be candidates, and to let the contest continue, if need be, in successive

elections, with the lowest towns dropped out, until some one town had a majority of all the votes. We also point out that while this present law was having its long fight in the Legislature the Morocco Courier, as then managed, made no fight for a better law; and moreover while Kentland maintained a strong and able lobby at the capital to fight for the law as they wanted it, and as they got it, the Morocco people had practically no repress mtative except Mrs. Jennie Conrad, whose home was ten miles away from Morocco. Then was the time Morocco should have made its big fight, but instead it laid down and it lo>t mi; And having lost out then, we take the opportunity of telling them ns an ‘“unprejudiced” outshb r, no matter what the Courier may de-

1 clare to the contrary as to the prejudice, that they have lost out for a generation, at least. This law as it now stands has done its perfect work, and just the work the shrewd Kentland people expected it to do. It has not only failed to select any other town for a county seat but it has aroused such jealousy and bitterness between the other rival towns that there is no more possiblity of any of them being selected for the county sear, than there is ofthe state capital being removed to Tailholt. Nor is here any better prospect of getting a different and more; favorable law passed either. Even if Morocco succeeds in deferring tne complei>n of the court house until the •ext Legislature meets in 1907; what chance would they have for a oetrer law? The legislators would see a half built new court house at Kentland, and a mighty good one for its price; they would see also I hat Morocco and Brook had each had their try for the county seat, and that neither had received nearly so many votes as Goodland another southern town. Still further they would see the strife and jealousy

now existing betweep the central towns of the county, and would know that by no possibility, for years to come, could the people of the north and central portions unite on any of those towns tor a county seat. Therefore, with all thee facts, before us, and with the unjust and undeserved remarks of the Courier also before us, we say now, what we have long been convinced of, but refrained from saying, though we say it in all friendliness, and that is that Morocco is now fighting a losing battle, and that the best and only thing now to be done, is for the court hpuse at Kentland to

he completed and paid for to the last dollar, and some time in the future, when the present bitterness has died out, aiyl when the populai tiou of the northern half of Newton

county has attained its proper proportions as compared with the southern half, and still further, when the present excellent prospects of Morocco have been realized and it has grown until it. clearly has no rival in the central part of the county, then, and not till then, can it have any possible prospects of becoming the county seat.