The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1877-12-15
THE OTTAWA POST OFFICE ROW.

That there is many sip, &c, ana you
cawnt tell even when betting on sure thing
in this blawsted country" is abundantly illus
trated in the case of the Ottawa postmaster,
ship 4 week ago various dispatches were re-
ccived in town from trustworthy parties in
Washington announcing positively that on
Friday morning the president had sent the APP
pointment Of John Stout to the senate as post
master at Ottawa People generally fiocked
around John with congratulations and dodge
as he would he could do little else all day but
set up the cigars, But the thing began to
look dubious when the daily papers arrived
and Johns name failed to appear IN the list Of
appointments sent on Friday to the senate by
evening suspicion became rife that there was
''somc intrigue going on" in the business, and
next day the discovery was made That there
was "a niger on the fencc'-in fact two or
three niggcrs, and biz ones At that,
1t appears about The time the President had
decided To appoint Mr.. Stout 4 dcputation Of
influential Chicago gentlemen arrived at Wash
ington-to wit, Hon. b. {. Cook and ID. r.
Cameron, Esq, and these gentlemen had adj
dress enough not only to induce the President
10 change his determination in the matter, but
to bulldose Mr. Congressman Hayes from his
support of Mr.. Stout into consenting to the re.
appointment Of Mr., Cameron. While we all
have the profoundcst regard for these Chicago
gentlemen as men of the hghestrespectabiliy
and WORTH the inquiry naturally obtrudes it
self on unsophisticated country people, what
in thunder have Chicago politicians to dowith
the post office at Ottawa And what sort Of a
"hcavy weight" must the congressman from
the Seventh district be anyhow to allow him.
self to be bulldozed in matters purely his own
by the constituents of that fugacious, high
swelling Congressman, Mr. Carter Harrison?
We repeat what we have said before, that
during the whole Of this contest over the Qtta-
VA postmasership we have kept hands of, and
mainly for the reason that we really had no
choice or preference in the matter. Mr. Cam
eron had made very good postmaster, and
his rcappointmcnt would cause Us neither
special JOY or grief. Mr. Cad Gloyers APP.
pointmcnt would have been equally satisfactory
to US, and we imagine quite so to the people
generally. The appointment Of Mr., Stout Ger.
tainly would have created no rifle Of dissatis.
faction with us or anywhere else, while we
could cheerfully have borne the appointment
of Mr.. Cullen as due to him probably more
than to any of his rivals on the score of long
and faithful party service But we were al
ways taught to regard AS mean and rutlianly
the act of kicking the under dog in a fight
In venting spite over his own disappointment it
Cullen had aimed his kicks at Mr.. Cameron,
who was on the top, than meanly TO direct his
pedcular thrusts against Mr.. Stout, whom the
"othcr dogs had dragged to the bottom. It's
was the least popular of all the candidates"
Mr. Stout we are quite sure, would ask no bet
ter fun than TO run against Mr. William Cul-
len AS Il candidate for the post office either
before the people of all parties or the rcpubli.
cans alone of Ottawa. We hardly believe that
Mr. Cullen himself is simpleton enough to-
imagine that at the end of such race there
would be enough left Of him to make grease
spot. We dislike to say anything unpleasant
in this connection, now that II can do nobody
any good, but Mr.. Cullen having forced it out,
it is but simple justice To Mr.. Stout to say that
no man of sense in Ottawa will seriously main.
tain for moment but that if the question had
been submitted to vote, either ofthc people gen
orally or OF the republicans of Ottawa alone, Mr.
Stout would have beaten the field "higher than
a kite" 1t may be ungracious to say so, but
that is the simple, honest TRUTH and they all
know it.