The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1871-07-29
Sensible 4tn of July Talk.

ROBERT Laid COLLIER, of Chicago, is one
of those "liberal'' religionists who can talk
politics in or out of the pulpit IS freely as he
can talk religion and morality; and during
the political excitement Of the war period
was one of the most vehement shriekers Of
''loyalty" of the whole prostituted Chicago
pulpit. The giant corruptions and usur.
pations Of the present administration,
however, seem to have alarmed or disguised
Mr.. Collier, and having been prevailed upon
to deliver 18th of July Grafton to the pre-em.
inently "loyal' people of Plano, in Kendall
county, he took occasion to give them little
honest, plain truth. The utterance Of such
sentiments by man like Collier, on such an
occasion, must have been not little startling
to his "truly rural' hearers. We give few
extracts -..... ..
Scarcely potentate Of the civilised world
is less limited and restrained, less the subject
OF constitutional and convential circumference
than the American President; scarcely one
with such power of patronage and the ab.
sence Of either complaint or criticism when
Ill WWtuiiy OCotOVSAs uc CCuuCuCy VI CcLe
traization in the government marks either
apathy to the consideration of national affairs
growing out Of great commercial activity and
financial property, or seminal decay in the
moral virtues OF the people.
Of this very spirit OF the government itself
has been begotten the appalling power of cap-
ital Capitalization in corporations. Indeed
the government is chiefest among the offend
ers, itself little less than corporation of par.
TITAN politicians who take the jobs and see
that they are all we'll cooked" H' .sr
Legislation is advanced or retarded at the
will of railroad kings and monied princes, and
bill sleeps or is resurrected according to the
fulcrum and lever of capital Not content
with the the overlegisation of military bills.
reconstruction bills and Ku.klux bills, proving
the unsteady policy and consequent inability
of the government to manage the people of
existing dominion, it reaches out to the north
for Alaska and south for San Domingo, the
last greedy ambition succeeding, if in moth
ing else, in bringing in an agitation that has
hushed for the time criticism of more serious
dangers.
And how shall we arrest the current and
tendency of the time towards these prcpos.
ferrous demands of Capitalization in every d.
rection short of boldest censure and vigorous
industry?
Remember the over.plus of activity expend-
ed in five years. war and the necessity of
some channel for the artiicially excited pas.
sions OF conquest and acquisition, and then
that the Administration was a rudderlcss,
captainless experiment upon this surgipg ex.
element with no defined and announced port
mo open way devised by wise statesman
ship, and we should not be surprised that We
have drifted upon those rocks of danger and
shoals of distress.
We are in the presence of the peoples neces-
sity to arrest these tendencies and recover our
individual integrity Our first obligation is
neither to party or administration but to our
country and the permanency Of personal lib.
erty and free institutions. And our hope may
we'll take to itself good courage when We re-
member our freedom loving and trained cit
liens have never been slow to move in the
presence of existing or threatening dangers.
These evils when fully brought to light cannot
be permanent in our body polite. Already
offsetting them in their glowing boldness Of
criticism upon the part Of many leading jour
mails, the movement for civil service reform, the
distrust of the military spirit in the manage
ment of our civil affairs, and the leadership Of
| such names as Sumner, Cox, Chase and Trum-
bull-trusted men in trusted times, who love
the respect their cOantrymen above the
patronage oftheir party. The loyal sentiment
of this country IS not going to turn over the
guidance of its destinies to such political ad-
venturers as Butler, Cameron and Chandler
and set Of partisan dead beats generally.
Although the steok Piano IL comparatively .
new instrument, it has rapidly grown in favor,