Des Moines courier. ([Ottumwa] Iowa) 1848-1854, 1852-04-29
The Statesman VS.. the East.

1
victim of wooden nutmeg speculation
lately! We should judge so from an ar
,icle under the head of "Pharisees''
which appears in his last weeks paper
in, BY and through which the Old Thir
teen may consider themselves used up
community, for the Editor of the States.
man, q paper printed on the banks Of the
Mississippi, in the Town of Fort Madi-
son, and State of Iowa, has tcen study.
ing profoundly their institutions; pene.
tsating deeply beneath the .refnemen,
of manners; high culture Of intellect;
| polished exteriors and outward semblan.
ces of religion" of their people; and has
hunted round, discovered and counted
an astonishing number of prostitutes,
doggeries, and gambling hells, in the
midst of their "beautiful public edifces,
and places of worship, luxurious and
splendid all Of which he has dissected
and holds up in his paper to the astonish-
ed gaze. and the contempt of the wes.
tern people, and from which he deduces
the conclusion that the people East Of
the Alleghanies are not much pumpkins,
mere preienders and hypocri.es. He
is highly indignant that such a people,
should take any interes. in the West,
and especially assume the superiority
which he says they do, over the West
IN matters of virtue, morality and in,elli.
gence, in all Of which particulars the
people of the West are greatly their SUI
periors. He for one is in favor of a
declaration OF Independence, of the
West against the East; state of embar-
60 and non-intereoarse; an injunction up
on colporteurs and bibles; upon donations
for colleges, churches, seminaries of
learning; loans for Rail Roads, Canals
and River Improvements, and we sup.
pose credit for any more goods, wares
and merchandise.
But seriously we question whether
the people of the West will feel under
any special obligations to their self con.
sttuted champion, d wholesale slanderer
Of the institutions, character. and motives
OF people with whom they are connec
ted by SO many ties; the Yves. will hard,
ly thank him for extolling them SO much
at the expense of other sections of the
country. The Editor imagines proba-
bly, that there may be antagonistic feel.
ings, interests and prejudices existing
between the East and West, and that he
can make capital in some way by
pandering 10 them. We believe that he
is mistaken in this assumption; there
may have been formerly feelings of this
kind among portion of the people of
the West; an instance in point we have
heard of; that of a member of the
Illinois Legislature from the southern
part of THAI State who opposed the ILL
nois and Michigan Canal long and siren
uously, on the sole ground that it would
lei the Did Yankees into the State, and
who, i, was waggishly said, on the COM
pleiion Of that great and important
work, and the simultaneous appearance
of mosquitoes in Chicago, had detailed
them from the swamps of the Mssissip-
pi. armed with bowie knives and blood
thirsty propensities, TO guard The portals
of Lake Michigan, against them;
but we believe that these feelings
and prejudices have gradually given
way before the influences of CONNER
cial intercourse; better acquaintance.
and those numerous intimate ties which
now bind the two sections together.
What good will il do the West, or e.
ven injury TO the East if thatbe the OBJ
ject, forthe Editor Of the Statesman, to 90
forth in such crusade against its institu-
tons, and, in this wholesale manner, i'm
pugn the motives and character of peo-
pie Of other sections. Cannot the really
noble qualities, and the high character Of
the people Of the West, be brought to
view and sustained in any other manner?
Besides. the Editor of the States man,
if all accounts be true, and if his paper
is an index of the man, is poor Judge,
and an unfit expounder Of the morality,
decency. intelligence or religion Of any
people. lie is said to be preacher Of
that religion which teaches peace, chari-
~. and good will among men, and yet
who practices more than him, the oppo-
site OF all that; who more than he dab.
bles in the dirty pool of party politics
and plays more habiiually the part Of
the braggart, bully and slanderer! There
may be hypocracy, iniecency and self
conceit at the East; but the Editor OF
Il