Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1875-09-22
Ex-senator DOOlittIe.

This gentleman, not many years
since of high repute in the National
councils, delivered, yesterday, an ad
dress at the Wimebago County Agri-
cultural Fair at Rockford, ILL.,, treating
in an instructive and impressive man.
ner of water-routes, railways, pure
elections and household suffrage.
These topics are severally of sufficient
interest to give to an ordinary public
address combined attractions of a SUI
perior order, Speaking to the farm,
ers Of Illinois, Mr.. Doolittle dis
coursed on cheap transportation; a
favorite theme East and West, involv-
ing problem, however, having many
factors. Washington, said the orator,
sought vainly to unite the waters of
the Chesapeake with those OF the
Ohio; Clinton successfully joired the
Hudson river with Lake Erie. The
secret of the failure of the one and of
the success Of the other lay in the two
magic words-Free Labor Mr.. Doc
little holds that the value of water
ways to commerce has been greatly
moderated since the day of railways
came in. He thinks We have built too
many of the latter for the time, and
that they can develop their real value
only in the future. The thing in his
opinion, has been overdonc, Two
railways have been built to do the
business of one. The great regula-
tors of commerce he holds I, be wa
terways. He hopes therefore to see
the Erie canal deepened and widened,
and navigated by steam power; the
waterroutes through Virginia opened
and put to transportation service; and
the Dominion canals opened and the
st. Lawrence River improved, so that
ocean vessels may come up without
unloading into Lake Michigan. To-
cally, he would see also the canal from
Chicago to the Illinois river made one
hundred and sixty feet wide and eight
or ten feet deep; and the Illinois river
improved so that every Mississippi
steamer that comes above Chicago
may enter Chicago by that opened
way.
Then Chicago would be at the head
of river as it is now at the head Of
lake navigation Mr.. Doolittle also
hopes to see the Hennepin Canal COM
pleted, and the Rock River Canal
leading into it. His general theory is,
that "railways Of necessity tend to
centralizc power over commerco--wa-
ter-routes always tend to freedom and
gnard the equal rights Of all" Then
he turns his eyes to the Northwest,
and covets the sight Of the completion
of the Fox and Wisconsin river i'm
provement, from Green Bay to Prairie
dn Chen, Of the first importance to
three great Commonwealth. In the
South he hopes to see the United
States have control of the natural out
let Of the valley OF the Mississippi.
and ocean vessels of more than .
thousand tons burthen going up to
Cairo and St. Louis. He would see
the Kanawha and the James bring
the Ohio and Chesapeake together ;
the union Of the Tennessee and the
Alabama; and all other possible wa
ter-routes opened in climate whose
winters offer no obstruction to the
business Of transportation. On the
subject OF elections, Judge Doolittle
would make fraudulent voting impos-
sible by restrictions thrown about the
ballot box, the bare recital of which
would almost make up a list. But he
insists on the open ballot, large num-
Der Of voting places, and that the
name and residence of each voter, in
places containing thirty thousand in
habitauts and upwards, shall be placed
upon his ballot and publicly read be-
fore being received. An entirely new
suggestion Of his, however, is that OF
Household Suffrage; meaning that a
married man snail cast vote for his
household as we'll as himself. His
reasons are certainly ingenious, If they
are not also based in the nature OF
things. The family being regarded as
the political unit in society, he would
have it represented in addition to the
voters manhood. 1t might tie a ques.
ton wher the suffrage as at present es-
timated does not include the whole.
But the ex-Senator's proposition is
perhaps as neat as anything for flank
ing the woman suffrage movement
aYd at any rate should legitimately &C
into the general discussion.- Boston
Post, Sept. 10th.