The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1873-11-08
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..

.orty or fifty years ago political parties IN
l ais coGntry were divided On the question
,whcther the national government should
undertake, under the thin disguise Of "regu.
Hating commerce between the states" to con.
street an extensive system .Gf internal improve
acnts to facilitate travel and the exchange
cf commodities between the states, Henry
Clay made himself the champion of this syS.
item, to which he had tackled high protective
tariff and christined the whole the american
system" One of the first good jobs Gen.
Jackson did was 10 crush the first branch OF
this system by his veto OF the "Maysville
road bill, AS che projected great national
wagon road was called, to run from Maysvile,
Ky, through ohio, Indiana and Illinois, to
St Louis. The arguments of the veto were
so overwhelming against the power of the
national government to embark in the pro
Il posed system of improvements, that no
politician 0fnote for half a century ventured
since Their 10 risk hsrepu,aton by undertaking
to but hrs head against them. Since the war,
Ihowever, and the fearful unsettling of old
constitutional landmarks which its neCessi-
ties and reckcssncSs cngendered, the princi.
pies regarded as settled by the Maysville
road veto seem to he partially forgotten or
overlooked, and men who aspire to political
note and distinction are here and there found
whc dare to propose the revival of the eX.
Iploacd American System such men ap-
pear to bc those who compose the notable
! Window committee: and such men appear
te have had control of the recent so-callcd
Farmers Convention a, Chicago, that body
having adopted the following resolution.
1--WE demand the construction of railroads
and the improvement of water communsca-
tons between the interior and seaboaid, the
same to be owned and operated 10y the gen
Ieral government, for the purpose of atFOrding
cheap and ample transportation, and TO pro
tcct the people from the eSactiOns OF manopo.
lies"
About the same time this farmers cOnven-
Ition" met at Chicago another body met there
known as the National Board of Trade
This was composed of men of much larger
experience in and vastly more intimate
knowledge Of the great transportation prob
lem, tuO WHO NClt LtiCltlOit III klhNu w DN
more conservative. While some of its men,
hers were inclined 10 favor the 'internal i'm.
,provement' project, they were cautious about
committing themselves. While, however,
they refrain from endorsing the policy, they
seem to take for granted that congress will
adopt it, and recommend the creation of a
bureau" or department" at Washington to
have control of the railroads and canals" of
the country.
Suppose such a policy, to which the mis-
called farmers convention al Chicago thus
hastily blurted ou, its favor and to which the
other was afraid to express itself unfriendly,
were adopted, where would it end? In
answer We can do no better than copy the
| language Of the judicioys and sensible New
York EceHiRg Post:
| Once adopt the rule that the government
| may enter into competition with private enter
lprise as common carrier, and there is absO.
flutely no limit 10 the business. If it can
tbuild a railroad or cut a canal from the
Mississippi river to tie Atlantic Ocean, it
may reasonably purchase those that are
already constructed, and if it may purchase
any it may puchase all. In fact, there is
reason to suppose that the policy will not be
Satisfactorily carried out in the view of ITS
supporters. unless the government seizes
owns and conducts the whole transportation
business of the country.
There is cause to apprehend that this poll
CIV will have more strength ia the Congress
sional lobby during the coming session than
it ever had before. 1t will combine with 9th
er interests to force itself upon Congress.
As we have said before, the plumber which
this combined lobby contemplates covers Il
wide field. Three or four canals through the
Allegheny mountains will want as many hun
dred million dollars; the Northern and Pa
cific Railroads are expecting 10 receive new
subsidies, amounting 10 about one hundred
million dollars; the Mississippi river wants
a new mouth, and IA canal 10 drew water from
Lake Superior; the southern states want their
debts paid by Congress and the southern 10y
alists, whose loyalty depended on success or
defeat, want damages; Mr. Ores well wants to
purshaSe and control the telegraph somebody
else wants to build marble aNansions for the
cabinet officers, and hosts of other claimants
want the governments help to do things that
are as impractcablc rs they are expensive.
These schemes had little hope unless they
could gain the sympathy and rhe cooperation
of the more honest part Of the community.
Therefore it is that the well-GeSrved com
plants of the farmers at the cxtortiOns the
have given great strength to a
movement which before had been upheld
mostly by spectators having no visible means
Of support. Unwitti9gly the farmers are adj
uocating course which would build mp one
O: the worst of monoPGiies-that Of politi-
cal ring-having no knowledge o. transpor
tGlion and no ambition except for their own
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT However we may Sympa-
tlL1e with them in theig complaints il is de
piOrable that they should be mised Into the
support of such Schemers rs those which
ihiesten the country with ruin withoN!. hav
Ia. q single compensating feature.