Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-06-02
ssGGvernOr Morton and the slower
Eraud.D


His Excellency directly by attorney mani
tests good deal of irritation over an article in
the Sentinel of Wednesday, upon the SLOWER
fraud, and retots by charging in the Journal
yesterday that it was a malignant attack upon
the officers of State, including the Governor
State Agent, Loan Commissioners and Attorney
General" We deny the soft impeachment. We
made no attack upon the "ofiicers of State" but
simply commented upon the statement made by
the New York Herald as to the arrangement
made with SLOWER for the return and cancellation
of the bonds fraudulently issued. Whatever may
have been the ultimate intentions of the Governor
in regard to the prosecution of the parties impli
Gated in the crime, there can be no doubt but
SLOWER was led to believe that if the over issues
we're returned TO the State Agent in New York
that no public exposure of his misdeeds was to
be made The Governor says he was advised of
the fraudulent issue in February last and imme-
diatelY placed the matter in the hands of the Dis
trict Attorney of New York. where the crime had
been committed, for prosecution. 1t appears by
the telegraphic report in our columns this morn
ing that the committee appointed by the
New York Stock Board to investigate the
affair, report that the fraudulent issues will
amount to 81 ,5O0,0 900. Yet, according to the
testimony of the Governor, at least three months
committed, before the matter was published to
the world. The Governor must have been cog
infant of the arrangements made with SLOWER,
or else he was singularly remiss in the discharge
of his official duties. During these three months
he knew those bonds we're in existence, and that
innocent parties were liable to be imposed upon
by purchasing them, not citizens of other States
alone, but those of our own. There may have
been urgent State reasons, and some may yet be
developed of a singular character which justified
the Withholding of the knowledge of the frard
from the public, and perhaps even private inter-
ests were best subserved by this policy. If such
was the case Gov. MORTON deserves no credit
therefor. He says that he desired and insisted
exposed and prosecuted, and that he had no part
in the arrangement with SLOWER to return the
irregular issues" The parties to the transac-
ton were all in New York, so that the Cover
nor's plea that a public exposure would have
given them an opportunity to escape, amounts to
nothing. The Governor by failing to inform the
public of the fraud himself, and by permitting it
to be withheld consented thereby to the arrange
ments made to shield the guilty parties from an
exposure of their crime He knew that the
LII. 49, A
cy in New York the same as the genuine, thus
making the State, or at least the officers of
State who knew these facts, parties to the fraud.
Suppose that ''the Governor. State Agent, Loan
Commissioners and Attorney General" were in
formed that there had been put in circulation a
million and a..half of counterfeit notes on the
Bank of the State For fear of injurng the
credit of the Bank arrangement was mado
with those guilty of the crime not to expose
them, if they would retire sos 900 or more of the
certificates weekly, and that too through the
Bank Would not the knowledge that such an
arrangement had been consummated and its con
cealmeut, make those who knew it parties to the
fraud?
w
nant over our article and thinks it unjust that his
official acts should be criticized, especially in
those cases where the interests of the State are
involved We have no disposition to do so, but
if he permits his organ to use such acts to ad-
vance the interests of his party, he cannot ex
pect that his political opponents will remain
silent or fail to retort Eminent Republican pol
iticians who have had the confidence of the Ma
tional Administration are implicated in the STO-
YER fraud Whether that was the reason why an
attempt was made to retire the fraudulent bonds
without exposure, it is not for us to say. We
knew nothing of the matter until last Sunday.
Without regard to the partisan sympathies OF the
parties engaged in the fraud, we called upon the
State authorities to use every effort to punish
them with the utmost rigor of the law. There is
no apology for the crime What we said in the
beginning we repeat now. But in so doing we
do not wish it understood that we include 1.-The
Governor, the Safe Agent, the Loan Commits
sioners, and the Attorney General" even by i'm
plication, as guilty parties deserving punishment.
And we yet have no evidence that any of these
gentlemen are wiser, purer, or more devoted to
the interests of the State than their predecessors
in Office
The Figures.
A ,r,to,oat;c afrort Ia henO made In discredit