The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1866-01-20
But Besides the shio canal and tariff. There


our railroads. These roads had been cher
Ished and fostered by a magnaniinous public,
and they are crushing that public under their
iron heel. The fact that tLey carried coal
from La Sale to Chicago cheaper than from
Ottawa to Chicago, was proof that in the
latter case it was eXtortion. We must in
spire our legislators to lay hands on these
railroads and compel them to do right. He
had no doubt it was entirely competent for
the legislature to fix the tariff of freight end
fare per mile on all our railroads. Talk Of
vested rights What were they? We had
vested right to use our own money, but did
not the Legislature come in and say we must
not lend it for more than ten per cent? In
Chicago, they fix the price to be charged by
hacks, drays, &c. What difference was there
between this ard fixing the prices TO be
charged by railroads? He Mr.. d. granted
that the first attempts to fix these rates
would be crude and imperfect, and might
occasionally work injustice, but that would
be nothing to submitting to the present sys-
TEN of blood >suckiEg and eXtortion ; besides
time would eventually find the true mean.
He knew there were many difficulties in the
way of accomplishing this. Wealth was all
powerful, and the members We sent to the
legislature to DO it would be bought and sold
half dozen tines before they knew it. AS
an instance how legislatures could be man
aged by money or impudence, or both, he
stated the case Of the law Chicago had pass
ed enabling her business men to sue their
debtors i'll all parts Of he state in Chicago
courts-a most outrageous and upheard of
enactment! Money would undoubtedly corr
rupt the best men. The only way was to let
our legislators know and feel constantly that
our eyes are npon them.
As Col. Dickey concluded his remarks, a
motion was made and adopted, to appoint a
committee IN resolutions. The chair ap-
pointed the following: VI. Perkins, VIM.
Reddick, s. X. Lewis, I. L. Dickey, and i.
Campbell.
Before the committee was announced,
however, the audience called on M. CAMP
BELl. for a speech, and he proceeded TO adj
dress them, advocating 1T some length his
peculiar financial ideas, which in various
communications from his pen have been
heretofore presented in these columns. He
said we might build dozen ship canals, and
regulate the tariff on imports and the charges
O. railroads as much re pleased, and they
would bring no relief. The great want OF
the times was the proper distribution Of
property between capital aud labor. Twenty
years ago We had neither canal or raiIroa1,
yet we were 10 better off to-day than We
were then. The trouble was behind the rail
rcads and cauals-it was in tie unjust and
iniqU;tous advantage which capital, under
our present money system, enjnyed over
labor. 1T Is impossible, however, to con.
dense the remarks of Mr. C. wl.hin the
limits allowed u, So as 10 presel: his ideas
inteligiblyJ
Hon. j. .. GlorER Was next called out
He said he was not farmer. except perhaps
very small scale, having i thousand or
two bushels Of cJrn. He though. he knew,
however. what had brought 80 many farmers
here today. He knew the interests of the
Northwest centefed Ia the corn cribs Of the
country. Whenever he had note or &C.
count to collect of q farmer, and the farmer
wanted time, he always knew the money lay
in corn crib. So he assumed that ANYTHING
that affected the price of corn affected the
prosperity OF the Northwest. II had been
said that the cause OF the low price Of corn
lay in the cost Of transportation, and that
the creation Of rival lines of railroad would
remove it. The idea was new TO hil. He
was not aware that one bushei Of corn in a
thousand was transported to market by rail
The relief we wanted was more water com.
munication As to the idea he had heard
thrown oct. that if, By ship canal, We could
get our corn to Qswego instead of Buffalo,
thai would give relief, il was fallacious. 1t
was within his own certain, personal know
ledge, that it cost as much to take a bushel
of corn from Oswego to New York as from
Buffalo. Our only hope, then, was an outlet
through the 81. Lawrence. If it was true
tina, the lower Provinces Of Canada favored
annexation to the [. S, he hoped they wo Id
come at once, and then We can build up a
CITY at The mouth of the ST. Lawrence that
would make Us independent of New York
and Boston. Doubtless one cause Of the low
price CT corn was the law regulating the
manufacture Of highwines. Formerly we
could get $3.50 worth of corn to market in
the shape Of highwines for $50, while the
freight on the corn itself would have cost
Sl0 but the distilieries were now about
closed. As for the tariff, he hated it in all
shapes and forms. Take it home to any
family. The poor man with nine children
must have cloth for nine shirts the rich !
man, without a family, buys one shirt to the
poor mans nine-by the tariff it was clear
the poor man paid just nine times the tax of |
the rich man. The articles most in need
always paid the highest tariff. The only
tariff he could conceive of that he woald be
willing to favor was an export duty on cotton
50 high as to make England pay back at
least part of the unlimited injury she had |
inflicted on our commerce under the preface |
of rebel pirates His judgment was made
up that our only chance for speedy relief was
in the modification of the tariff. The tariff. |
in connection with high freights, is what has
crushed out corn growing in the west. Free
trade and an outlet through the St. Lawrence |
were what we must work for.
The committee on resolutions here made |
their appearance, and submitted the follow
ing report, viii eh was unanimously adopted;