Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1864-02-04

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mal.administration in their own p%arty-criti-
cising even more freely their own officers than
those Of the oppositi6n-with these theirs
may be unfaiibiulness in Office, and there
may be extravaganza and public plumber,
bnti The tendency, the party Influences, and all
the moral pressure OF the party IS toward pur-
CATION and reform CHI. GaE
As a matter of fact, the party in CON
troll of the Government, its Congress, aud
its press, do all that it is possible for men
to do, to hide, and cover mp tho rascality
of the villains whom it has elevated to
positions in which stealing is made easy f;
and it is only when concealment can no
longer be made, that We hear Of any at
tempt to investigate or punish. II is but
a few weeks since FERNANDO WooD pre-
ferred charges of corruption against a GER
tain Department, and demanded investi-
cation; but his resolution was voted down,
and the corruption WIS left to foster, with
out any effort whatever, at "purgation or
reform" Among those who "freely de-
nounccd unlaithtulness and mal-adminis-i
t%ration," was Mr.. JOHN Z. HALE, who
has Just been detected in selling his inllu-
ence as a Senator for a bribe of three thou
sand dollars. Another Of the same class
Of saints, ever ready to ''denounce I'M
faithiulness" with a free tongue. was OWEN
LovEJoY; and the very last thing we hear
Of him. is a charge very distinctly made,
that certain potent Influences had procured
his Opposition to the whisky tax.
investigation, so far as we know, has
as yet resulted in a very harmless manner
to the delinqucnts. Orthe thousands who
are daily rohbing the Government by
wholesale, who has been convicted and
punished I? We cannot think of 30 many
as a half dozen. We know that persons
whose testimony would he dangerous to
the criminals, have been sent where they
cannot testify, or dismissed in disgrace
from the public service. as n penalty for
being ready to testify of crime which had
conlo under their observation.
Was SIMON CASERos punished Tor the
oiFehses proven against him? Was WELLEs
punished for giving his brother-iu-law a
position in which he made one hundred
thousand dollars per month? Was FRE-
MONT punished for his speculation in mus
kets, and for the millions he ~squandcred
on worthless favorites at st. Louis? Was
the villain who stole the millions with
which he was entrusted to pay the amy
of the Southwest, and then set fire to his
boat, pretending that the money was burnt,
ever punished ? What has the "moral
pressure Of this party done toward bring
ing to justice the nest of thieves in CHAsE's
department ? Nothing as yet, and the
public will see that nothing will be done.
But we have not room even to refer to a
thousandth part of the villainy which has
peryaded every branch of the service.
Contractors, whose name is legion, have
perpetrated every species of scoundrelism
which human ingenuity could devise.
ShOddy blankets, shoes with pasted solos,
spawned and ring-boned horses, worthless
guns and rotten ships, have all been dis
posed of at %exOrbitant prices to the Gov
ernmsnt. Quartermasters and paymas-
ters have stolen millions. And who, of
all these, have suffered the penalties due to
their crime ? 1t is hard to specify even
one.
The only offense that has been punished
the ommenceme Of the Abolition
rule, is devotion to the Constitution and
the Union. Criminals of this class have
suffered unheard of punishment for their
They have been a~ssassinated /;
have been exiled; they have been ar
rested without warrant, and convicted
without testimony; they have been confined
in dungeons; they have been mobbed ;
their houses have been burned they have
en- made outlaws in the communities in
they lived. All the energies of the
hateful despOtism above us have been con-
to the persecution of the defenders
of the Constitution, and full and free H.
cense has been given TO all Others, to com
any crime, against GoD or man, which
= 4 IL