The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-05-15
PUBLIC OPINION.

This language Grants Cairo speech if the
curious reader will turn to Gen. Grants report
TO President JOHNSON concerning the condl-
ton o: the South, he will find that the PreS-
dental candidate spoke then nearly as he has
now spoken, although the better part of four
Presidential terms has interviewed since that
time. That report like this speech, was made
after a tom through the South. lie then SAID
even more cmphaically than now, Let us
have peace while he Deprecated sectional
animo,rirS, and proclaimed the South not only
recOnciltble but rcCOnCiCd.
But when he got into power, what sort of
peace dId lac let those States have? One after
anothrrhr overturned their State Governments
at the point of The Federal hayUnCt, fastened
upon them horde Of carpc,.hig thieves who
devOurtd their substance, COlrulcd the negroes,
demoraIlzcd society broke up the industries,
burdCncd them with enormous, and for u large
part, with fraudulent Indebtedness, and made n
dcs0lation where he had promised peace.
He Is now talking again for the same pur
pose. Let him be ~ elected upon these spur
ious declarations, and he will repeat ON a larE.
or scale and III a worse form, because restrained
by sighter sense of responsibility, the out
RACES and corrupuons of his two former adj.
miniStrHrions Gen. GRANT Is u man with
out political principles, and with no idea Of
political accountability. In Office he Is IA law
unto himself and pledges, statutes, and cOHsitu-
tons are equally powcress to bind Hlm,-N
y. SIM.
The advocates of a third term pretend TO be-
lievc that it would he no change Of the Cons
tituton. On this point, perhaps, the lndg-
Rcnt of diSpaSSlOnatc onlOOkcrs is as likely to
be true rs that Of cnthu.latiC partiSans. Were
4 riciliaH re.eicctcd far administrative mart
there would merely be Il breach of a tradition
tnn li~b oil IA Ina OH
if soldier were reelected, not for almlnistra.
i've merit, of which Gen. Grant is VIGOROUSLY
devoid, bRt as "StroHg 4dt-'th OthCr jc0r8S,
as II mHitury ruier dDd poSSiHe 6jHGt"r-- TO
say that there was 10 change Of the COnslltu-
ton would be absurd. There might be none
ofits letter, but there would be Il serious change
of It's spirit. Nor do the more outspoken of
third tormers shrink from avowng that they
are for a fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh term,
as well as for a third. In other words, they
are in favor of military Presidency for life
which, after the long disuse of election, might
pass more readily into dynaStlcism than they
imagine If society can be saved from cOnius.
ion only by man on horseback, 1t must have;
HIM; but let it at least sec what ii Is doing
GOldciR !SmtM.
Our national interests are so varied, says the
North ImericdH and our commercial relations
with all 'hc world ~ impO-tnr that t''y" is
great and pressing urru FIR -tIt,.>Ur .'~t y ui
The very highest grade n all ,'r,'.. 'u.- 81
the public service. This is no time To-! the cA.
altaton of mere dcmagogueS; no time for the
elevation of township and ward politicians to
responsible position and power; no time for
quacks and prctendcrs for amiable obscuritos
or gOod.natured nobodics The nation wants
statesmen Of intellect and ability. When these
are in the field they should not he dlsregarded
or set aside
The fact about that Tilden convention seems
to be That after all it was not Mr.. 'Tildcn's 1t
should be remembered that the convention did
not instruct for Tilden, and that the delegation
to CINCINNATI Is known to have some mem
berS who are positively against him. Tn
doubtedly the majority of the delegates would
like to see Mr. Tiden nominated. Undoubt-
eddy the majority of the delegates are person
ally friendly to Mr.. Tllen. But the utmost
personal regard will be overcome 10y the sim
pie conviction daily growing even among Mr..
TIldcn's sensible friends that he cannot unite
the party, cannot be elected. Against the force
Of this idea Mr.. Jacobs succumbed and the
BROOKLYN E0gie-Nr. Tildcn's most devoted
and influential organ -~Urrcadcre.! And N"
force Of this idea will prevail much more
largely at Cincinnati than in New York or
Albany-.St, LoatS Post,
In the senate on the 2Sth Mr.. Davis of West
Virginia presented a report Of the nveStga
ton made by select committee into the Treas
ury accounts. 1t will be remembered that
Senator Davis charged nearly four years ago
that hundreds OF millions of dollars had been
added to the statement of the public debt for
the ostcnsible reason OF making the treasury
books balance. In this report IN which
Messrs Whytc and Beck concur he says that
all of his charges have been sustained by the
investigation, which, if it does not reveal any
thing worse, shows that accounts have been
kept with most reckless carc!rssness.