The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1871-12-30
The Radical Newsate Gale n dar.

10 RUIN utterly the prospects al rejection OF
the unfortunate incumbent president Thus
Van Buren, was shelved on account of
the defalcation of Swartwont; Folks pros
poets were ruined by alleged steals of a few
thousands among quartermasters and COM
missaries during the Mexican war; Fillmore
was killed by Gardner, and poor old Buchan-
mans term was damned to everlasting fame
by the Galphin steal. But how contempt
ible and insignificant are the stealings of
Swartwo0t, Gardner or Galphln by the side
of the gigantic plunderlngs daily occurring
under the present reign of radIcalism In
stead of one thief to an administration, as was
the rule in democratic times, Grants admin
istration produces its Swartwonts and Gal
phins by the thousand. There is not week
but We could fill column with details Of the
new robberies and defalcations of the pre-
ceeding week.
For the benefit of the readers of the Ottawa
Republican, whose fragrant editor is so stupi-
fled by the pungent odors in which he is en-
veloped as to be wholly oblivious of the enor-
nous public robberies daily coming to light,
and who can only remember an instance of
! the sort that occurred in this state fifteen
years ago, by which the state lost nothing.
we shall give, in the form of weekly sum-
| summary, brief record of the stealincs of
| the preceding week as they occur regularly
under the present happy reign of radlcalism.
No. l. A very pretty steal has just been
brought to light through the report of til e
Secretary of the Interior. BY an act of con-
gress passed in July 1864, one of those enor-
nous landsteals ofw hich radicalsm has proved
SO prolific, was legally consummated in favor
OF the Kansas and Missouri Railroads. pro-
'jected railroad from the Missouri river to
Fort Kearney. The law gave the company
which consisted Of three noted western
spectators, half dozen members of congress
and a cabinet officer or two-ten alternate
sections per mile on each side of the road for
a distance of $50 miles The law excepted
from the grant, as usual such portion. of any
of the proposed sections as should have been
previously entered Or covered by pre-emp-
ton claims. But as the company found a
good deal of their best land thus CLAIMED,
they conceived the brilliant idea of getting
decision from the Secretary of the Interior
that should enable them to go anywhere from
Pembina to Texas and select other lands in
lieu of lands thus claimed. They first ap-
piled to Mr.. Browning, Secretary of the Int
rior under johnson, who secuted their claim
as an impudent piece of proposed robbery.
Their next application was made to Secretary
Cox (vho was removed by Grant for being
too honest) where like failure awaited
them. There is, however, no end to the per-
sistence of these land thieves, and when
Grant got his pet Delano into the Interior
Department the Company found man after
| their own heart, who gave promptly the
sought decision, BY which they get some
$1,000 900 of acres of public lands that con-
gress never intended to grant and which is q
pure steal of from $12 O0O,0 to $40 1000 600.
No. 2. The proposed congressional inves-
tigation of the corruptions of the New York
Custom House has already brought to light
the tact that the merchants Of New York city
have during the past year been enormously
swindlcd by system which was sanctioned
from Washington and known as the General
order system Under various specious pre-
lenses, the system authorizes a corrupt levy
OF black mail OH importers wiling to bleed to
enable them to get their goods out of the
custom house in advance of rival importers
The most startling revelation in connection
with the matter is that Grants confidential
Secretary, colonel Horace Porter receires one
fourh Of the money thus stolon! The infer.
ence is irresistible that he gets his pay for
procuring from Grant the "order' under
which this enormous steal is made possible
No. 3. Another 'loyal" ex.congressman
from Tennessee is in trouble: 1t seems that
all the radical congressman from that state
get into trouble. This time it is Mr.. Prosser
MIR. Prosser got up certain false, fraudulent
and bogus claims and presented them to con.
gress, and his radical colleagues passed them.
Mr.. Prosser shared the proceeds, melted
thereto, no doubt, 10y the evil eye of.the infer.
nal ku.klux. Mr.. Prosser now wccps over an
exposure OF his practices, and the radical
leaders hold up their hands and talk about
TammaLy.
No, 4. The New York SIN publishes as a
remarkable coincidence n decd dated Nay
- 1869, for 81 acres Of land Consideration