The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1872-01-25
D q. =. CALDWELL,

levotes q half column leader to the
Hon. s. T. Caldwell, q member OF the
General Assembly from this county.
The article is especially severe and
out Mr.. Caldwell from scores
IF other members Of the Legislature
who hold like opinions with him
touching the same questions, con.
corning which the Gate City COM
Of Mr.. Q. We suppose that
be is singled out because Of his in
duence, his ability to carry his point,
for certainly the Gate city holds no
personal i'll feeling against, him, to
account for it's raining down upon
his head alone, it's pungeDt, false
and ungentlemanly criticisms. That
our readers may know whereof we
speak we publish a portion Of the
editorial, promising by saying that
the balance Of the article is of the
same style as that We give:
Mr. Caldwell, of Wapello, has intro
duced into the House q proposition
to repeal the law directing the publ
cation of the laws in the papers Of
the State. Mr.. G. came very q
being defeated in his candidacy for
the place he occupies. And he now
takes into the House as urgent ne.
cessities for Legislation, the rash and
distracting promises that he made to
his constituents to keep them from
throwing him overheard at the cleo
ti6n. We apprehend and hope that
the Legislature will heed John Irish's
warning and carefully avoid making
itself responsible for either the sense
or the Stiffness which inspired the
gentleman from Wapello in the con-
duct Of his county canvass. A pub
lilo law has the prompting of public
need a private law the prompting
of individual right. But we doubt
whether there was such public. need
of his election /; or there would have
been such a public or individual
harm done by his defeat, as to make
either the threats or promises he
gave out in his clutchings after legis-
lative honors something that must
necessarily be framed into law by
the General Assembly Of Iowa. Mr..
Caldwell beaded the fight upon the
voting of newspapers to the members
because he had soothed the ramper-
ageroua Democracy of Wapello with
promises to that effect. He sprung
the di~scourtesy Of refusing to pay for
what the Senators had ordered, be-
cause he feared the bleared eyes of
the .Wapello Democracy would open
from Bacchic slumber and glare re-
proaohfully upon him. The Democ-
racy of Wapello don't want to read
the laws OF anything else, so Mr..
Caldwell, ridden with a night mare
vision of Democrats who can't and
wont read, proposes to repeal the
the law for the publication of the
laws.
The publication of the laws Of Che
18th General ASSEMBLY cost $47,'
t326.4s. The appropriation for news
papers for the same session was $685.
7o2.19. One-half the postage made
necessary by the taking of newspa
pers was $s, 100, making a total or
newspapers in round numbers o.
$4,000. Now Mr.. Caldwell has seer
fit to urge and obtain tho passage o
q resolution in the House that thu
members shall not take any papers
at the expense of the state. W.
must say that we think he is right
and we say this at the risk of being
called silly, or that we are hypocriti
cally Haunting to the public, ideas o
economy. We would not retort up.
on the Gate City in behalf of oul
friend and excellent representative
Caldwell, that it has an < to grinG
of say $500 in all this matter, for VI
desire to treat that paper rs sincere
and honest in it's views but canno1
think it advocates them with q de
cent respect for the candor and hon
esty generally accorded to gentlemen
when speaking of those who enter
tain opposite views to it. II so hap
pens that all the members from Wa
pello county agree upon the question
of supplying themselves with news
papers for distribution, and MI. Cald
well is by no mean at variance with
them on this question. We had mo-
noticed that Mr.. Caldwell had intro
duced q bill to repeal the act author
izing the publication of the laws il
newspapers. He might have done
so, however, and it escaped our no
tice. We have observed that severa.
bills Of this character have been in
troduced by other members of the
Legislature. Just how Mr.. Caldwell
stands upon the question we are moi
personally informed, but we say fol
ourselves, while we do not favor the
absolute repeal of the law, We do ia.
vor its amendment, looping off the
publication of many Of the laws
which we deem it unnecessary to lay
before the public in this way such
a looping off could be made, we
think, properly and justly as would
materially lessen the expenditure in
this regard. But let us consider an.
other branch of the Gates article.
We refer to Mr.. Caldwelrs promises
in the campaign, and tho cause of
his being nearly beaten a. it is al.
legged was tho case. We do not
know what particular promises MI.
Caldwell made, but such as he did
make he made to the people Of this
county openly, publicly, and not
to Democrats alone, and he made
them too, under an abiding sense
that they werc right, and he is just
the man, as we know from ten years