The mountain sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1844-1853, 1849-10-04
From the Keystone.
Federal Reforms.

about reform, ana 10 prOHliSe lle cOrrecuOn
of all real or imaginary abuses. But prom
;ses, whenever success attends their efforts,
are forgotten, and they signalize their term
of authority by broken pledges, abuse of
power and contempt of popular rights.
"Ritner and Reform their ral-
living cry in 1885. Through accident
they elected their candidate and majority
in the assembly; by purchase they obtain
ed the senate, and thus had the unrestraln-
ed possession of the government OF the
state. All, familiar with the transactions
of that day, remember how the power thus
gained was abused; that injuries were IN
flicted upon the commonwealth under that
dynasty from which she will scarcely re-
cover during the present century; that pa
per expansions were promoted by it which
resulted in bank suspensions and wide
spread individual ruin: that 50 ,S67, ,5I4
surplus revenue from the u. S. and $3,-
446,790 derived from the sale of bank
charters, were expended mainly in COM
rnencing new railroads, feeders and ca
nails, (which were prosecuted until the
state was involved in bankruptcy, and her
debt swelled to over forty millions Of dol
lars, from S24, ,5s0,743, its amount when
Gov. Wolf retired, though this vast ex-
penditure did not add single mite TO the
railroads or canals from wbich the state
deri?es tolls; that under the same dynasty,
the sacred ballot-box was treated with
mockery, thousands Of illegal votes were
openly poled, and when Notwithstanding
all this, they were outnUmbered and their
cause condemned by honest voters, their
followers were admonished to treat the
election as if It had not taken place, and
troops were summoned to ihe seat Of Gov
ernment 10 maintain them in power against
the fair decision of the democracy; that
the solemn forms of the constitution were
tramplcd under foot in the attempted or
ganzation at the same moment, OF two
houses Of representatives; and that these
are but part of the enormites perPctrated
by the federal party during their brief ex
ercise Of the power under the plausible
cry Of "Ri:1.er ana rJ1T31.'
"HarriSon and rgf0rna' were the watch
words of the next successful federal cam
paign-a campaign made remarkable by
the exhibition of log cabins, coon skins.
cider barrels and drunken orgies, accom-
panied by bachanallan songs-fetegal.sm
run riot and exposing lis high claims to
sail tie decency." Seated in power, their
through congress, of national bank Of
.3fy millions capital, which was arrested
III conseq uence of the death of General
Harrison. Had he lived through his
term, the nation would have experienced
ali the evils of federal policy-a United
States bank, paper expansion, high pro
tective tariff, government money III banks,
distribution of the proceeds of public lands,
Ill. III ,-,41
provements by the general government, a
period of feyerish hot-bed prosperity and
the wound up by crash, more ruinous
and destructive, than that of 1887.
"Power and reforn1," formed the next
federal shout. They said great extrava-
gance and corruption were practced in the
management of the public works, and
reform was loudly demanded. Accident
again aided their efforts and Mr.. Power
was elected. Thus was another honest
federalist placed in the board of canal COM
missioners, whose supporters promised
the public, that he would ferret out and
expose abuses; cut, slash, amputate and
cauterise along the railroads and canals;
reduce expenditures and reform the sys
tenn. Facts show that there was neither
truth in their charges, nor sincerity IN their
promises. Mr.. Power never could find
any abuses of his predecessors to expose,
for the reason that none existed. During
the three years preceding his induction in
to office, the. annual expenditures IN the
repairs and management OF the pubic
works averaged only S499,500 per an
mum. The same expenditures, during his
first year, run up to S698,475 SO and du-
ring his second year they reached 81 ,052,-
394 80 besides over 100000 IN debts
accumulated during these two years, which
makes an average annual expenditure, OF
more than one million Of dOllorS upon the
public works, during the first two years oi
federal "POloer and refornlr" Let not
the federalsts say in excuse, that he was
but minority of the board. The federal
organ, the Telegraph, said he acted in
harmony with Mr.. Burns, thus proving
that Mr.. Burns joined him in his reforms;
and there is no doubt, had Col Painter
been as plant as Mr.. Burns, the same ra-
ito of "Po10er and reform" would have
raised the expenditures upon the improve
ments this year to a million and hGT!
But Col. Painter refused to harnOnise in
federal reforms and he was denounced by
the Telegraph and the whole federal press,
and thus the people are deprived of the
benefits of the third year of '.Po1cer and
rgorm.''
Johnston and REFORM next echoed
from the war-bugles of federalism, and the