The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-10-23
THE GALLANT CAPTAIN CLARK"

4, THE GALLANT CAPTAIN CLARK"
. The readers of the FREE TRADER will bea
/; witness that thus far We have treated Mr.. Clark
the republican nominee for sheriff, with thu
utmost gentleness and forbearance. If W,
have not felt justified in saying anything il
his praise, we have at least relrained from pro
3 claiming his shortcomings and faults. Oul
sions of local candidates and to pay attention
to the larger and more general personalities
/ interests and issues involved in the contest.
The republicans, however have shown III
such courtesy towards Mr. Miligan. Not 1
week has passed since his nomination bu
either in the Ottawa Republican or some lI,tl,
republican patent innard" concern outside
Of Ottawa, some mean slur, dirty innucndo, OF
bold, dastardly lie has been uttered against
Mr. Mllligan, growing at last so bold and Sian
derous that he was obliged to give his person
al attention to The matter 1t took very little
of that attention, however, before he was able
to drive the whelps that had been barking at
his heels bowling to their kenDcls-where
now they are whining out excuses that they
didn't know they were lying, but had only re
tailed what they had been stuffed with from
the court house IN Ottawa.
/ We all know what from the court house in
Ottawa means and whom it involves. The
court house clique" are the peculiar friends
of Mr.. Clark, and their utterances, if not IN.
spired by HIM, are at least not made without
his mediation or consent.
Now who Is this Mr. Clark, that is thus CON
senting to slanderous utterances against Mr..
Miligan9 The Ottawa Republican says it con-
siders HIM, ''In point of qualifications, very
much superior to" Mr.. Mllligan. Let us see
He was solder-the companion of r. c.
Stevens IN the war and his warm friend"
After the war we believe he did IA starving bus
mess in La Sale by trying to run little wag
on OF cabinet shop. When Stevens was elected
sheriff, out of pure kindness, he brought him
to Ottawa and installed him as Office deputy
He did this at no small sacrifice, for he had a
SOD in every way more competent to fill the
position, but he sacrificed him in favor OF his
old friend" The sacrifice was all the more
conspicuous, from the fact that Mr.. Clark was
found wholly incompetent for the simple du
ties the position involved, so that MIR. Stevens
was put to some $3.50 extra expense to keep
Mr.. Jesse Ruger IN the office some six months
to teach Mr. CLARK his duties He ought to
have dismissed him from the office and made
him stable boy; but he didn't, and kept him at
good salary for three or more years His in
competency during all that time was 80 con-
spicuous, however, that he needed constant
watching-in one case at least he went so far
as to sell a piece of real estate on execution
and forgot to whom he had sold il, putting Mr.
Stevens to great annoyance to rectlfy the blum
der.
Now how did this very competent Mr..
Clark repay all this kindness on the part of
his old companion in arms Mr.. Stevens? The
time approached for new election. Mr.. Ste
.vens, who had suffered a great deal from sick
ness DUNG his term of Office was put to
great deal of extra expense and had run be-
hind financially, or at least made nothing out
o: the office, desired greatly to retrieve himself
by another term. He had made an exception.
ally popular sheriff, and it was thought he
would have no opposition But meantime
his friend" Clark had got the sheriffalty bee
IN his bonnet and employed the time Stevens
and the county paid him for in travelling over
the county peddling lnnuendoes against and
laboring to undermine Stevens, who lay on his
back at home helpless with neuralgia, Ste
vens meantime imagining Clark was at work
for him! A month or two before the nomi.
mating convention he crawled out of his bed
to realize his mistake. Instead of finding Mr..
Clark the friend he had cherished and for
whom he had made such signal sacrifices he
found that he had been nursing a viper in his
bosom, that had turned and stung him. Such
a man is our amiable and lovely Mr. Clark, in
whose behalf such a stream of stalwart defa-
nation against Mr.. Mulligan has been flowing
In a steady stream from the court house in
Ottawa"
CULLEN AND THE FENIANS.