The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1847-12-17
Col. Gaklcy's Reply.

! Col. eakIcy'> Krpiy.
We publish to-day the reply Of Col. Oak
ley TO the letter Of Mr.. Chief Engineer Goo
ding. recently published in the Chicago pa
pcrS. Although this is 10y no means the end
of the matter, as we infer from the language
/ of Col. o. where he speaks Of a "mass Of
| evidence" that will be submitted TO ''anoth-
or tribunal" yet it must be admitted that he
/ makes ont strong case against Mr.. Good
/ ing. After reading this conclusive, and yet
! Il would seem, but partial exposition Of the
management, If the Chief Engineer, no rea-
/ sonaGle man can come 10 any other conClu-
sion than that he has been guilty Of gross
misconduct.
We have proved here errors ofjudgment,
not TO call then gross plumbers, on the part
Of Mr.. Cooling in estimating work, that
squint a! least strongly towards incompe-
tency.
1t is proved that Mr. Gooding has bor-
rowcd money from contractors, and that one
contractor boaS,ed Of having made three
thousand dollars by loaning Mr.. G. one.
A system Of favoritsm towards relatives
! is shown grossly corrupt as it is astounding.
In one case proposals are received for a
work in which the stone are to be brought
from great distance, and bids are made
accordingly. a broihsrin-latr, who may
DC supposed 10 have received hint private
ly on the subject, bids lower than any body
else, receives the contract, and is then per.
United TO use an inferior stone from neigh
boring quarry. In another case, a brother
is permitted to depart from the terms Of his
contract, and do a job in SO rickety man.
ner that it is destroyed by the rains.
Mr.. Lynch, whom Mr.. Gooding abuses
without stint in his letter to the foreign truS-
tees, is proved. (comically enough by a let
ter signed by Mr.. Goodng himself, TO be an
energetic, pesevering, and Trustworthy man.
But the strong point against Mr.. Cooling
in this controversy, and it is clearly made
out from the whole tenor Of his conduct, is
this: that he has acted throughout with an
eye C. his own interests, and those Of the TO-
reign trustees, rather than TO those Of the
state. Our state occupies an anomalous
position in reference to this canal. While
the whole management Of the fund for lie
completion Of the canal is in the hands of
men over whom our state can exercise no
control, it is yet burthened with the reim-
bursemcut of this fund. As TO the foreign
bondholdcrS, all they ask is that they shall
have secured TO them the payment Of the in
terest upon the money they have loaned US,
and beyond that they have no concern what,
ever as to how the canal is managed. As
they feel safe Oh this point, the foreign trus-
tees, Mr.. Gooding, and the whole corps Of
officers Oh the canal, knowing this, have no
fear of mourning the displessure of those
from whom they hold their appointments,
should they even he guilty of the crosses,
misconduct, only so they manage TO make
the canal available with the 81 5000 loan
The only possible check there can be upon
the most unbrid!cd pecula,ions upon the CO.
nal fund, under these circumstances, is the
integrity Of the state trustee. Mr.. Gooding,
and the whole batch of officers besides, from
/ David Leavitt down, know this, and hence,
from the day Col. Oakley came upon the
/ line Of canal with the avowcd purpose of
| ferriting out abuses if any should exist, a
war has been waged upon him, and deter
minaton manifested TO stice utterly the on
ly voice Illinois could have in the manage.
mcnt Of the canal. Boasts were made By
men interested in this neiarious scheme, e.
ven before Col. o. came upon the line, that
!iin, and that the chief engineer aud other
officers onihe canal would not recognize his
authority; and the past years history Of the
canal show, that this determination was ri.
Sidly carried out. The voice OF the repre-.
sentative OF our state in the canal board has
been stilcd the authority that properly be.
! longed to him ia the absence of the other
trustees is turned over 10 the chief engineer,
and the canal goes diIly .dallying along
The chief engineer enjoys good Fat salary,
and lie is in no hurry abou, its completion.
The foreign trustees get outrageous salaries
for doing nothing, and they are in no hurry;
besides, Mr.. Leav,t can make speculation
by the tariy passage of the money through
his hands. Meantime the people of Illinois
become inpatient, aud the spur is applied
to Mr.. Gooding to hurry on the work. lie
apparently wakes from his torpor, puts up
hnndbills calling for thousand hands but
when thy are sent TO him is not ready for
them. and those that are at work he quar-.
rcls with about their wages and discharges,
and to gloss over the whole, when his mise
rable management is charged upon him, his
partnersand hackers altogether and white
wash him by sham investigation.
Now, it is n question for Illinois through
her governor TO determine whether this ac-
tive agent Of those who are combined
against her interests shall be continued in
! his place.