Burlington hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1845-185?, 1850-04-25
WHO BIDSr
Going! Going. Gone !

:sWalk up, gentlemen, walk up! The
most magnificent establishment in the
United States at auciion A beautiful
White house, fit for Prince all the re-
quisite out-houses four years possession,
and perhaps eight withou! rent, and an
annual salary besides Of $4,000! No
drawbacks except the privilege of being
skinned alive BY the .iswspapers, and
handed down TO posterisy as an enormous
rascal. Speak quick! : ho bids ?"
zone hundred and sixty acres of the
puplic land TO all acttfal settlers, after
four years occupation screams a brisk
little fellow from lllinois.
One hundred and sixty acres after
three years possession, gfowls a dark
looking Titan from Mas ssacause,ts.
"One hundred and flIs acres to all the
world my own country ssen excepted, y
Russians, Austrians, Tutks, Huncarians.
Poles, Germans, Greeiss. Englishmen,
Frenchmen, Swiss, Romans, Chinese, Ja-
panese, Hotten,o.s, Africans. Tartars"-
shouts a philanthropic gentleman from
New York.
"One hundred and sixty acres TO every
body who hasn't land or money!" roars d
burly hunter from Texas.
zone hundred and sixty acres to all
mankind, with money or without, for
eigners or natives" cries portly per-
sonase from Michigan.
"ls there no higher bid, gentlemen !?
This fine mansion, a perfect palace, sur
rounded by the most elegant ground, and
within a stones throw ofevery man, wo-
man and child in the United States, going
at only one hundred and sixty acres TO
each foreigner and na,ive' Why, gentle
men, you certainly mus. be able TO afford
better bid than that, seeing none of you
own an acre of land yon are putting up.
Why not say thousand at once, as well
as a hundred, and, instead Of surrendering
it all to foreigners, give o portion Of it TO
the widows and orphans OF those brave
men who fell in fighting our own battles
with foreign nations?
A pause succeeds. Widows and Or
phans. indeed The auctioneer must be
fool! Widows and orphans have no
more right to vote than their dead hus-
bands and fathers. The men by whom
they were slain, howeve,, ,sM have ro'cs
That makes all the difference in the world.
At last the hunter from Texas rises aud
offers small piece OF prgEie Tor women
as we'll as men. Thus staaas the race for
popularity at present, Texas being de-
cidedly TO wiudward of lie whole squad
ron. The "Ione star" has made the taIest
bid for the "imperial purple"
"Going going gone Alas! il is not
only tic puoiic iandswi,ics, ore oiTTvrvt'.-
Would that il were! Individual consist
ency, political integrity and common de-
cency appear in these times to be ai!
brouch, 10 the hammer. Who can look
without disgust upon grey headed old sim
ners who ought TO be at home wrapped in
flanne's and sirling hot Cruel, as they
crowd around the auctioneer's desk and
bid, bid, bid, at the top Of their cracked
and wheeling lungs for a fanr years grant
OF power, when they would much better
bid for four year 5 tenure OF life, that
they may have time to make amends TO
their countrymen for the evils which their
personal and political ambition has brought
upon their native land
"Going! going" Here is something
more costly and better than the White
House. Walk up, gentlemen, and ex-
anime thi, magnificent estate, commonly
called the .1merican Union-wilh all its
beautiful tenements, antique furniture,
rich lands, enormous water power, i'm
mense cc!ton, tobacco, wheat and corn
fields an indefinite quantity Of forest, any
number OF land and water vehicles, and
an unduubted capacity al becoming the
richest estate in the whole world. Co
ing going! Who bids
Don't all speak at once, gentlemen -
The land is sold for no defect or draw
back whatever The present tenants
can't live in peace together. For that
reason. this most magnificent domain is
brought into the market. Who bids 7?
! Going! going shall certainly sell,
gentlemen, if it goes for a mere song. -
The estate is wei! worth your attention.
| II cost an immense sum. Mountains OF
yellow gold were paid for it. and rivers Of
red blood were part OF the purchase mon
ey. There is not a spot upon ii but bears
the crilns Oh impress. of revolutionary feet.
Here, too, is the tomb OF the great WASH
INGroS-,he patriarch shss was raised up
! bv Godto lead our tribes iuso this Canaan;
here he sleeps in his hallowed mount,
hard by the jordan Of our inheritance =
WHO bids? =? Speak out, gentlemen, aud
| let your voices ring clear and loud over
his monldering bones!
! Another group gathers about the auc-
tioneer. They are no longer the Ameri-
can aspirants, painting for place and pow
er. They are foreigners mt the poor
souls Of liberty The oppressed people
of Europe but kings and aristocrats,
creeping out of their eobweo covered
halls, ard with lips ievercd and tremnlous
with excited hope, clamoring for the sale
of the last abode OF Freedom upon the
face of she earth. And wien at length
;he word s'gople" shall be heard, wha, a
shout will come forth from palaces and
throne. upon the other side Of the Allan
tic--and what sroan from the oppressed
myriads oil earth, as their onl y city oi re-
fuge disappears i'll moment like the
bright cloud of a summer evening, or the
unsubs,antial mirages Of Tie desert.
We commend this great auction to those
asnirar,. who are bidding 70. tle pfesi-