The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1866-03-03

| Court House on the goth ult., tb take into
| CONSIDERATION the remedy for the oppression
under which the productive and commercial
| industry of the Northwest suffers. have adj
iourned, and their works have foil owed them.
| 1t is, therefore, proper to inquire whether
what hey did worthily represents either the
! importance of the subject or the Intelligence
of La Sale county. To me it appears that it
does not do either.
The convention assumed that the evils
which Cypress our interests are,
l. An oppressive tariff, and an oppressive
excise law.
2. A Suspicion that the repeal Of tho Cana
dian reciprocity treaty was not COED.
3. Extortionate practices by the railroads,
and by the Chicago wareaousemen and Board
of Trade.
4. The want of better than, or COM
peting route with, the Buffalo route for the
, transport of our products to tide water.
S. The oppressive operation of the ma
tional banking system upon our interests.
Those five propositions, | believe, fully
characterize the evils complained of, and, as
l believe, characterize them correctly. As
to whether the resolutions setting them forth
are drawn in such q manner as 20 exhibit
those evils with a respectable degree of force
|
although that was important, i; was yet so
much less important than that the remedies
proposed should be adequate, that it will be
sufficient in so short an examination as this
to make it the principal object to scrutinize
! the remedies proposed only. In regard to
the statement OF :he evils complained of,
will, therefore, only observe tina: the REASON
why the repeal of the Canadian reciprocity
ATTY operated injuriously upon our interests
might have been stated in less than twenty
| lines. The REASONS why the tariff act opera.
ted unjgstiy upon interests might have
been stated and ploued in half column OF
| the Free TRADER The REASONS and proofs
which showed the same in regard TO the ex-
else law might have been embodied in q
single column, and the means Of removing
rnossc evils have been pointed out in q few
lines more. Nothing uhatere- % thus KIND
,eas done To me it appears, therefore, that
the case of the convention against congress
was not worthily presented that congress
will not, nor will the people, heed those rcso-
lutions any more than though they had not
been passed the truth Of which conclusion,
| think, can begin to be seen already.
In regard TO the presentation of new tran
sit routes, the convention appears to ne to
have acted with sill less intelligence than
they have upon the other branch OF the
question.
The new transit routes they propose are
two: |. The improvement Of the Ilinoi.
river, SO as to make it admit Of navigation
by frst>class vessels; and I'd. The improve
ment of the great natural highway by tie
lakes and II. Lawreuce.
These two improve ,nents, il is alleged by
the convention, viii give Us access 10 the
markets Of the world, and is all that they
propose on that subject. They have as,
signed no REASONS whatever ia favor OF
either of them.
The utterly illnsory character Of both these
proposed remedies can be shown IN a few
words. And in showing it, i; WI be seen
that til c improve mcnt Of the Illinois r1yer IL
imp ortant, for reason exactly the opposite
of tina. assumed by the CONVEX ton, to vi: :
10 enable :he product. oces! OF ihe meridian
Of La Sale 10 seek the Chicago and Buffalo
route, 10y going Ur the Illinois river. instead
Of enabling the products sas. Of that ueri-
dian TO seek the markets Of the world ~
going dolcH. tie Illinois river
ls,. The psop'e OF tn. Upper Mississippi,
below the rapids az we'll as abov them, are
vehement in their desires, and eI hit energy
in their efforts. 70 procure the coHsiructiou
of q canal from Rock Island 10 La Sale
and for the improvement OF the navi CATION
of Rock river as high up as possible, and
then its connection By caLal with Chicago.
Are these people fools They certainly
are, if the New Orleans route Dan compete
with the Buffalo route for tie tn .uIpOrtation
of our products To the markets df the world:
for in that event, all iheysAnt is. the i'm.
prove:neDt of the rapids Of the Mississippi
for the benefit Of those who live hbove them:
and those who live below them, By thai
showing, are already better off than We are.
But they are no. fools. Experience has
taught theiu that the lake and Buffalo route
ID the N ost profitable route for the transit OF
their heavy products to the market. Of the
world and hence their anxiety 70 connect
themselves with It, by means OF canals, from
Rock Island 10 La Sale, and Rock river to
Chicago. -
81. The New Orleans route is about three
times as long as the Buffalo route; req uires
transshipmeht at New Orleah passes
through semitropical climate on its ocean
route, that produces an average damage 10 q
very large per ceutage on our western freight
age; and requires a rate of insurance, rive-
and ocean together, equivalent, or nearly go,
to the foliage by tie Buffalo route.
These are the sufficient causes that now
prevent and will ever prevent t4e New Or
leans route from competing with the Buffalo
route in the transport of Northwestern pro-
ducts to the markets OF the world
1t il, however, the second most important
route OF dotnestIc commerce on the cont.
nent; for tho markets of the planting state.
were. before the war, and will be again, the
Second mark et III Importance for the products
of the Northwest And the truth is, that the
markets of the planting states, and the mar
kets of the rest of the world beside, are not
too much for the resources of the North
western producing states to supply. We
need both But,
Sd. The st. Lawrence route is presented
to the attention of the people, of Congress,
and Of the President, as route ''whose i'm
provement would greatly cheaper the transit
of our products to a market"
What improvement? The convention did
not say. Why cheaper our transportation
The convention did not say, They ask then
the efforts of the people, and the aid of
Congress and the President, id improving
The St Lawrence route, and cheapening
thereby the transport of our products to
market, without saying what Improvement,
or how 1t vii cheaper freightage. Is that an
intelligent why OF presenting q question? Is
1t worthy OF the Intelligence of La Sale
county that it sboald be so presented?
1t will be found upon examination, howev-
er, that it cannot be presented any better,
and therefore ought not to be presented at
all.
For the ST. Lawrence route has now near
ly all the advantages that can ever be cons
ferred upon It for competition with the Butfa
10 route; an the result shows that it cannot
now maintaI b a competition with the Buffalo
route and that the nature of the obstacles
is such that 1t never can
These obs acles are,
lst. 1t is longer than the Buffalo route By
about double.
I'd. 1t is locked by ice from four to six
weeks longef than The Buffalo route.
These two objections cannot be removed |