The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1868-08-15
COMPLAINT.

past week. The question We suppose was
suggested chiefly by the very flattering re-
marks in reference to Mr.. Cook in the letter OF
our Earlville correspondent, and also, in part,
by the fact that we seemed to give credit, in
our remarks on the appropriation of $4,000
for the Illinois river improvement, to Mr..
Cook for obtaining that appropriation. In
both cases, it is urged, and we concede with
entire justice, that Mr.. Cook is entitled to no
special credit In carefully attending to the
correspondence of his constituents, and look
ing after their business matters in the vari-
Gus public departments at Washington, Mr..
Cook has done no more than John Went
worth or Jesse O. Norton, our former con-
gressmen, always did promptly and cheerfully,
without making any blow about it or getting
any special credit therefor. John Wentworth,
we have no doubt, did double the work of
that sort ever done by Mr.. Cook and he had
no committee clerk, as Mr. Cook had, to do
the heaviest part of the work tor him.
AS to the appropriation for the river i'm
provement, we did not say, nor can we see,
that Mr.. Cook is entitled to any special credit
for it. Congress made an appropriation of
million or two for the general purpose of pre-
serving from falling into dilapidation and
decay, continuing or completing, certain pub
lie works, harbors or rivers upon which more
or less public money had heretofore been ex-
pended; and the bureau of public works, in
dividing up this appropriation among the OBJ
jects contemplated in the bill, assigned the
crumb of $4,000 to the Illinois river, upon
which $4,000 had been expended in very
useless dredging three or four years ago, and
perhaps a larger sum in making, survey last
summer. Possibly, as chairman of the COM
mittee on Internal Improvements, and spurred
up by two paid agents from Illinois, Mr. Cook
may have put in claim for this crumb, but if
he did, any other member from this district
doubtless could and would have done the
same thing, though it is quite probable the
appropriation would have been made anyhow.
Personally, we are free to own, our rela-
tons with Mr.. Cook have always been friend
ly and pleasant, and when, in mentioning
anything done at Washington in which our
readers were interested, Mr. Cooks name nat
urally appeared in connection with it we have
felt no disposition to be churlish, and scratch
it out. To say that Mr.. Cook presented in
Congress and pressed with earnestness, bill
in which his constituents had deep interest,
while it would be doing him simple justice,
would certainly be presenting no argument in
favor of his reelection, when we know any
other member we might send to Congress
would do the same thing.
Move are not in favor of the reelection
of Mr.. Cook-much, especially if there is hope
of eecting democrat, or halt way demo
crat, in his place. There are even republ-
cans in this district whom we shonld prefer
as congressman to Mr.. Cook. Politically. GER
tainly there is nothing about the man to
make him favorite Of ours, or even endura-
BILE. Though he may have been less noisy and
offensive in his talk than some others, his
every vote in congress shows him to belong to
the most rabid and offensive coterie of the
radicals Wendell Phillips, Sumner, or Thad.
Stevens have, in that respect, shown no great
er bigotry or intolerance. For democrat to
vote for such man as congressman, would be
crime. AS well vote for Grant and Colfax
at once. Indeed, denuded of his power as
the President now is by congress, radical
member is capable of doing more mischief
than the President.
Let the Democratic convention which meets
at Joliet next week, if they wish to test the
question whether the FREE TRADER is for the
reelection of Mr. Cook or not, give us man
for whom we can at least labor conscientiously
if not wit, a hope of success. We ask
for no able or brilliant man. All we ask is
man of good, sterling common sense, and an
HONEST man. The scandal of the age is the
OPEN shameless, putrid corruption of our
public men. Carrying a bill through congress
with money is talked of with q nonchalance
and levity within the last few years that even
in the days Of Buchanan would have shocked
the sensibilities of the people and aroused
them to pitch that would have made them
ready to drive their representatives out of
Washington with scourges 1t is always so
when utraism gets rule. 1t was SO in Crom.
wells parliament, and in the French legisla-
ture during the French revolution. There is
no remedy tor it but return to conservatism
and peace
River Improvement.