Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1849-05-09
Correspondence of the Portage Sentinel.
---. New York, April %, 1s49.

many OF The readers OF your paper are IN
the habit of visiting the great city Of
'eGotha M and taking peep at the ''ele-
l.phant," or Col. Flemont's Woollv Horse,
one Of the great humbugs of these latter
days. This is the great emporium for
humbugs, as well as the great commercial
mart or this hemisphere, and destined, at
no distant day, to be the center Of the COM
mercial world. 1t contains human beings
of most every class, sort and kind, from
street loafer 10 the great sacbems Of Wall
street, the latter class Of men who rule
the destinies Of this nation, politically, re.
ligiously, morally and socially. They be-
long to the 'ton,'' the supper ten thousand,
and are called honorable, because they rob
the people of thousands and tens Of thou.
sands Of dollars in wholesale way-in an
honorable way,-while the man who picks
your pocke is in the street is called a thief,
vagabond, and is sent to The "'rombs'' to
mourn over the loss of that which he never
possesed-the reputation Of being an ''hon-
orable nsan''-P Poor devil! What strange
and peculiar notions is the world coming to,
he exclaims, while musing over his past
and present condition. And we say, what
strange ard singular IDEAS false and er-
ronious-are entertained by mankind gen
orally in regard to the duty and destiny for
which he was created. Here, every being is
estimated according to the number of dol
lars he is worth. 1t is true that is the case
to some extent in the country, but not so
strikingly carried out in all the detail Of
| life there, as it is in the city. And how
can it be otherwise, while ever since the
dawn Of civilization, men have been legis.
lating to benefit the few at the expense Of
the many-con(erring powers and immu-
mites upon capital which are the property
of man-all to benefit those who believe
that noble blood courses in their veins
And what is to be done? Past philosophers
have not devised any plan whereby tfaeeisu.
man family may be rescued from that great
whirlpool which swallows up each success
sive generation as it rises; although, on the
whole, we are progressing as nation, and
rapidly too, and mankind are continually
unfolding the mysteries Of nature, diffusing
knowledge among the people, and devising
ways and means to ameliorate the condition
Of man, to cultivate his intellect and ele-
vate him in the scale as moral being
Each and every association that springs
up throughout the land, has its beneficial
effects, although errors may be committed
in carrying out the design of their associa'
ton, and sometimes it would seem to cas-
ual observer that we as people were ret.
regarding instead Of moving onward and
onward on the car of progression. But ev-
cry year, every day, developes something
which goes to prove that there exists [eel'
ing, instructive in the human breast, to
place all mankind upon one common lev
el, that is to say, the enjoyment Of those
natural rights which he received from the
hand of the Great Law Giver. The a.
bridgemcnt of those rights by the creation
of unjust laws, has been, in my mind, the
cause of the evil which now exists in soci-
ETY.. The creating Of laws granting TO men,
10 the feao, powers and privileges which
are not possessed by the many, has been
the ruling passion of our national and
and State legislative councils. Your own
State presents bold and striking specimen
of such legislation. The creation Of your
State Bank system is beautiful specimen
of granting special privileges to the few.
1t opens wide field for monopoly, une-
qualled in power by any legislative act
that ever graced, or disgraced the statute
book Of State since the formation of the
confederation. 1t is bound to control the
destinies OF that great State for long time
to come. Inow speak OF the system ol
that soulless corporation, the State Bank
of Ohio. 1t undoubtedly is we'll managed
and its paper will be safe to the people:
but that it is a powerful monopoly, contra
ry to the fundamental principle that al
men should be equal, possessing no other
than natural rights in the pursuit of gain
in the accumulation of wealth, no ole neee
deny. Mark you that on the expiration
of the charter of that institution, there viii
be one universal voice that will be heart
throughout the State, against granting spe
cial privileges TO any man or set of men.
But tn ere is still another and greater e
vii, more unjust and unrighteous Law
} which covers this whole Union. | meal
the so called Protective system--a name
which has insdiously lured the people II
: create and perpetuale only to benefit lev
who have made princely fortunes out o
1 the great mass of the people, the producers
a system, which, to protect certain clas
of men, demands of their poor laborers thei
: physical energies for twelve hours each day
IN earn sufficient fo meet their dailv WANTS