The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1870-02-12
spoons" and Jackasses.

The little squabble between Butler and
Dawes does not concern us but the matter of
diminishing the burden of taxation does The
country is suffering; almost every interest is
laboring in death struggle to sustain an In
tolerable load, and yet men IN congress cannot
dry up any placer" or withhold any ''sub-
sidy.' Congressman have houses to build,
children to educate, or rusty and eiiete cous-
lns-lank, hungry, Unsuitable and "pious"-to
look after; how can expenses be cut down
Does any man suppose the war is over yet 2
Look at our taxes, now due, and you will get
the idea. But this years tax is only the index
finger, pointing to the sum of our pecuniary
burdens. What we pay the collector Janu-
airy Goth, 1870, is but small part of the bur-
dens of red republican rule. my tax this
year. said farmer friend, sis SIS" Let him
deduct from that sum what his taxes were in
1860, and he will find a snug little pile of
money left. How many pair of shoes for
the children. or new dress tor the wife, better
tools Tor the farmer, and little silver in the
purse besides! Add to that the extra cost of
all he buys, the high price of labor, and the
low price OF wheat and horses; then multiply
by the years following 1865 to-nobody
knows where, and he will find sum of money
bigger than he had in his pocket when he
opened his farm or settled in Illinois. That
sum would give his boy John, or girl Mary, a
ofa RI ,,,t 1,n INl,,, ~
see it, though. They will have to begin the
world poor. Mcnwho showed off their sons into
the army, and by reason of "our members" in
tluence with Governor Yates got epaulettes and
greenbacks for them, awhile Democrats with
out influence at headquarters carried mus
ket, have feathered their nest and can stand
it more easily. They can afford, as Butler
does, to call men disloyal who cut short the
profits in the "spoon" business: or who inter
fere with their "buying that jack" or who
went fetch and carry for their interests.
Such men ought, at some point, to be salts
fed. After their selfishness and greed are ex.
posed, and their over patriotic zeal found to
have an ancient and fishlike smell, they ought
to be willing to have the old rookery cleaned
out, and housekeeping set up at reasonable
and living rate for the whole family.
Shrieking for freedom" is played out
The cry of disloyalty is still heard in the ru-
raj districts, among those who wear the in.
itias of " our member" on their collar. They
have the same sleek and pious way of six
years ago, and are still praying for q our"
President and tour war; 1t is hard to learn
an old dog new tricks. They know where
they get their grub But shall whole coun-
try bleed for them Must every farmer, every
mechanic, every day ,laborer work month or
two every year just to pay taxes to buy beet
for their bellies, and silks and feathers for
the wives and daughters of their owners ?
We can pay the war debt with some degree of
cheerfulness, but don't ask us to provide for a
set OF thieves, or support standing army of
blood-snckers. We have not got enough of
the red fluid "to go around" Like poor
Dawes, we may be accounted disloyal for this,
but the spoon business is about played out.
and new cry is being heard across the quiet
prairie, and along the belts of timber; it finds
echo from populous cities aud from homes in
mountain and vale. 1t is somewhat indis-
tinct as yet, but nevertheless sounds much
like" Stop thief"