Waseca County, Minnesota - Chapter 26, 1905

NEW BOARD OP SUPERVISORS - COUNTY BONDS ISSUED AT NINETY CENTS ON THE DOLLAR - HIGH RATES OF INTEREST - JESSE I. STEWART AND GEO. T. WHITE REPRESENTATIVES - ABUNDANT CROPS - HAULING WHEAT TO HASTINGS.

The last meeting of the county board of supervisors elected in 1858 was held at Wilton. E. B. Stearns and E. A. Rice were appointed a committee to rent rooms for the use of the coimty officers for the ensuing year.

The board of supervisors elected in the spring of 1859, met for the first time ^lay 24th. The following gentlemen constituted the board, viz: Philo Woodruff, of Blooming Grove; James Barrie, of St. Mary; Obadiah Powell, of Woodville; G. AY. Ayares, of Byron ; J. W. La Paul, of Janesville ; John Thompson, of New Richland; H. G. Jlosher, of Otisco; M. S. Gove, of Wilton; H. D. Baldwin, of Iosco ; Ichabod West, of Vivian. The Democrats being in the majority, elected Dr. M. S. Gove chairman for the ensuing year. He made an able and efficient officer.

Messrs. H. G. Mosher, Philo Woodruff, and James Barrie were appointed a committee on accoiuits, to whom all bills were referroil. The first al)atrment and refunding of taxes occurred at this meeting. William Cuddigan (Sir) licing unfortunate enough to have suffered from a double assessment, the state tax was ordered to lie refunded tn him in cash and the other tax in county orders.

13th, 1859, at "Wilton. The first business transacted was the passage of an order instructing the proper officers to turn over to George C. Snyder, at ninety cents on the dollar, enough county bonds, bearing fifteen per cent interest, to pay the two notes held by said Snyder, including the interest thereon at five per cent per month from date of notes until payment in said bonds. The bill of Culver, Page & Hoyne, amounting to $487, for books and stationery, was also ordered paid in county bonds at ninety cents on the dollar, with interest thereon at fifteen per cent per annum.

Here are examples of the utter nonsense put forth by money loaners that where there is no law regulating interest, it will be regulated by the security offered. Here was a case where the security was most ample, and yet the money loaners wanted to obtain our coiuity bonds at ninety cents on the dollar, - the bonds bearing fifteen per cent interest on their full face.

At the meeting of the board October 27, 1859, Dr. M. S. Gove, H. G. IMosher, and J. W. La Paul were appointed a committee to purchase the store building of Thomas L. Paige for a court house. The building was bought - Mr. Paige receiving therefor tax-sale certificates to the face value of $700. This structure served the county as a court house until it was destroyed by fire April 3, 1869, a period of nearly ten years. For the $700 in tax certificates, the county saved rent for ten years and then received $600 insurance money for the ashes. That $700 was well invested.

At the fall election of 1859, the Republicans elected their entire ticket. Capt. Geo. T. White and J. I. Stewart were elected to the lower house of the legislature; S. J. Willis was elected auditor; J. I. Stewart, treasurer; David L. Whipple, sheriff; J. A. Canfleld, judge of probate ; Hon. H. D. Baldwin, county attorney. J. T. Stewart having been elected to the legislature, J. S. Rice, then of New Richland, was appointed to and accepted the office of county treasurer, which he held for two years.

One of the amusing incidents placed on record is the report of Dr. M. S. Gove, who was appointed to "examine the treasurer's account of orders redeemed." His report is recorded as follows:

"To the Honorable Board of Supervisors, Waseca county: Your committee, appointed to examine the treasurer's account of oi-ders redeemed, having performed said duty, beg leave to report: Treasurer's register of orders redeemed, to- wit: $3,672.52.

Evidently the clerk of the board made a mistake in recording the report or else the good doctor made a default in his own figures amounting to ten cents.

For some unexplained reason, no financial statement showing the exact financial standing of the county for the years 1858 and 1859 appears in the records of the county for those years. It was about 1859 that people clamored for a change in the court house officials on account of supposed irregularities. But if there were any such irregularities in fact, they were never brought to light, and probably did not exist.

The most important of all the affairs of 1S59 was the abundant harvest of that year. It was really our first great wheat year in this county - that being the first general introduction of the Scotch Fife wheat in this section. The average yield that year was about twenty bushels per acre, although several fields yielded as high as tliirty bushels per acre of the very best quality of wheat. A lart;e proportion of that crop weighed sixty-two pounds to the bushel. What was true of wheat was true of almost every other crop, although corn was considered a little below the average. There were such magnificent crops of all kinds that every resident took hold of the work before him with renewed enertry.

Of course prices were prostrated. Just as the gold syndicate and the trusts and combines, aided hy the liquor traflfie, in 1892, captured both parties and made cowards of the third, just as the giant monopolies of to-day sway legislatures, influence courts and corrupt the ballot box, even so had the deluded voters in IS.'iO been hugging the vile harlot of slavery until the political atmosphere was filled with poisonous gases of political corruption. The banking system of the politicians of the slaveocratic pai1y was but another name for phmdering and robbing the laboring and producing masses. The prolonged policy of upholding the great wroim' of human bondage had brought upon ns, as a nation, the inevitable punishment which necessarily follows such wickedness and folly. Strong mechanics were glad to get work then at from seventv-tive cents to a dollar a day. Any number of farm hands and common laborers could be hired for fifty cents a day. Many suffered for want of even the necessities of life. AVe have not since reached such universal hard times as then prevailed throughout the country although we had fewer tramps then than now.

That fall, for the first time, our farmers commenced hauling wheat to Hastings. There was no market here, and we were compelled to haul it either to Hastings or some other river town. It required a heavy, strong pair of oxen to take through to market forty bushels of wheat at a load, and make the trip from Wilton and return in six days. The price of wheat at Hastings averaged about sixty-two cents per bushel. Perhaps some of our young farmers can figure out the profits of raising wheat and spending six days on the road in marketing each load of forty bushels! Perhaps, too, some of the young wives of to-day can appreciate the situation of a young, married woman living on the prairie alone, for a week at a time, and being compelled to look after the farm chores, while roving Indians might call at any hour of the day or night ! How little do those who have never experienced the labors and vicissitudes of pioneer life know of real hardship !

But the grand crops of 1S59 had renewed our courage and inspired our hopes for better times, and eveiy one commenced the year 1860 with the expectation and hope of a "happy new year."