The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1858-05-01

Mr. EpIToR IL the old .iarc be true,
that "patieu1e i a virtue" | ln'nk the peo-
pie Of the South .Ss{s must hy vi'ruouS IN a
supere minent deg, e oih, rwiSr tE,y would
long ago have raj>ei such whulwind of
their Impotence around our Aldermen as
would have satsti, the rui &c Lat they,
ithe Aldermeu) we're u qua! ii'd for the
stations they occupy. or gi;sS! remlss In
their duties to the pubic.
Who can blame the people who have to
approach this city from South OF the Illinois
for their late demo stratlon IN favor OF
free bridge, and III favor o. Il r"dd also from
the bridge to the tor OF the bun: 1t any
one thinks they are 10 blanc, let him make
the attempt to get either IN or out OF the
CITY in that direction with load, or even
an empty wagon, and he will soon alter his
opinion. Here is one Of the principal thor
oughfares Of the city, over which more
travel, produce, lumber, &c, would pass, if
kept in order, than any other one street IN
the CITY. And what is now, and what has
been the condition of this Courtney street
for the last tw monthss Why, just what
| and several Tiers predicted it would be
when it was first opened, -inpdssabte erery
rail- and spring, until it is either ptanhed or
pared or grarelled sixteen inches thick.
The distance from the end Of the bridge to
the top of the bluff along this street is less
than across two blocks or squares. And L
would respectfully ask if this short space
is to remain an impossible bed of mortar,
virtually shutting out all the business and
teaming from South of the Illinois? And IT
so. how long? While thousands Of dollars
are virtually thrown away, in what will ere
long be found unwise attempts to make ex-
pensive Improvements in other parts OF tho
city.
No work has been done on Courtney street
this spring, as can learn. During all those
two or three weeks of dry weather in March
while the roads elsewhere were in fine order,
yet !, like every one else who had grain to
draw to town from the the "South Side,"
was compelled to see those days OF good
wheeling pass away without improving them
ON account of that impossible bed OF NOR
tar, through which no team has been able
to pass with a load either way for about
two months,--I say either way, for it is not
the hill that is impossible. thuogh that is
bad enouch-but the street between the
foot of the hill and the end Of the bridge.
The length of street that has been impassa-
BILE is only about three hundred feet; over
which three hundred dollars, judiciously ex-
pended, would have laid q good plank road
sixteen feet wide. 1t is really too bad, that
for the want of So paltry an expenditure,
the farmers of the "South Side" should be
subjected to loss of thousands Of dollars,
as they have in The last two months by not
being able to draw their grain to market
when the wheelingwas good and they had
little else to do. But fear We are doomed
to have not only bad streets, but plenty OF
goose ponds, until some one gets the control
and direction of the labor on our streets.
who knows enough to dispose Of the surface
water before it has time to penetrate the
ground. If our city authorities would get
some practical old farmer to come into the
city and take the direction, and superinten.
dence of our streets, instead Of paying hun
dreds of dollars annually to engineers, he
would soon show them how to dispose Of
those goose ponds and mpassable mudholes
without any dwelling instruments except
his eyes and practical commonsense.
am no lawyer, but if the city is not liza
BILE for damages to hundreds of men, for
permitting Courtney street to remain i'm
possible for two months, then our represen-
tatives have legislated to but little purpose
understand the experiment will soon be
tried unless the street is made passable and
kent 20. NORTH SIDE.