Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-06-13
The Question of Honesty i'm Par

The Democratic party, according to the
| assertion of its organs and leaders, has all
the honest men in its ranks.-J ournGl.
We are not aware that the Democratic
party, according to itsorgans and leaders,
ever made such an assertion. If it did, il
might not be very far from the truth. Il
the Journal had ever made such an asser-
ton for its party, it would not have dared
publish the following:
zlzAPoLIFIoAh MEETING.-The Union Club
at the meeting last night, instructed the
Secretary to invite Coll W.. I'll. Gibson tt
| address the Club on the evening before the
State Convention. 1t is the intention ol
the Club to have a large meeting ON thai
evening""
This 'Colonel W. II. GIBSON" is the same
GIBsoS thatwas indicted in onr Courts some
few years since for filching from the Treas
ury of State some Eight Hundred Thousand
Dollars of the peoples money, and was tried
by jury of his country. and found guilty
of felony. Previous to his sentence to the
Ohio Penitentiary, his political friends or
the bench granted him a new trial, and
liberated him on bail. The war came on
and this man, GIBSON, thus found guilty
and while a criminal at large, awaiting his
second trial for Penitentiary offense, wal
complimented By the Governor with com.
mission as Colonel In the Ohio Volunteers
to command honest men. Subsequently the
present Attorney General, now a. eahdi
date for denomination and reelection
nollied the Indictment; and let GIBSON &c
scot free. without even "Ticket of Leave,
such as the thieves of England let out o.
prison are obliged to, carry and to produce
when required. In gratitude for this
GIBSON, within sight ofthe building where
he robbed the Treasury, and in the city
where he was indicted, tried and convicted
of an offense that would have sent any 9TH
er man, not backed by political friends in
power, to the Penitentiary, is to instruct
the Abolition party in their duty to the
And strange to say this notice appears
in the Ohio State Journal, then owned
and controlled by F. w. HURT, who,
during the war, was made Quarter
master to aid in supporting his newspaper
He did so, but it was at the expense of his
honesty. While the Government was ex-
hansting means to raise money to carry
on the war, the soldiers suffering for nom
payment of the pittance due them, and the
Government selling its 7-30 bonds for one
half their face in gold, this man HURTT-a
model man in loyalty and in damning
Copperheads-was engaged in swindling.
Detected in the nefarious act, while still
the owner and controller of the Ohio State
Journal, he was tried, found guilty and
condemned, but, in consideration of his ex-
cessive loyalty and his subserviency to his
patron, SALMON p. CHASE, his sentence was
remitted, and this loyal thief, like GIBSON,
was allowed to go unwhipped of justice.
Had either of these loyal Republicans
been poor, and stole loaf of
bread to keep their wife or child
rem from starving, they would have
beenA placed on the chain-gang, their
legs fastened with ball and chain, and made
to clean the streets. As their crime was a
higher, nobler one-stealing from the State
Treasury and swindling the soldiers and
the Government in the hour of its greatest
necessity and of its darkest travail, both are
now abroad in the land, gentlemen at
large, and not convicts in the Penitentiary.
How true it is that
"'Tis theft to rob q corn-crib of an ear,
But thieFing largely makes fnancier."
To so great an extent has this 'sthieving
largely" been carried on during the reign
of the so-called Republican party, that Mr..
DAWES, one of the members of Congress
elected by that party, charged that more
by contractors and Governments officials
than up to that time had been paid as the
rfghtful dues of the soldiers in the field.
While thus millions upon millions were
filched by leading Republican "financiers"
from the Government Treasury, the lesser
thieves had also their saturnalia. DOM
PIATT, than whom no man knows his party
friends better, in late number of his Mac
a. cheek Press, says:
"We never could make out what the late
Lincoln wanted with de-
tective system at all. From the hour of his
first Inauguration to that of his. death, the
thieves were all in Officer Excepting
Messrs. Chase, Stanton and Holt, it was i'm
possible almost to lay hands on an official
and not touch man made rich through his
position. This was especially the case with
the monied offices. Honest men. stood
aghast at the impunity with which stealing
went on. All cries of shame and outrage
seemed unavailing. All opposition was
thrown away. Thieves were turned out to
be succeeded by thieves, and colossal for
tunes were made in an hour. The amiable
Did President, cracked Jokes over the ras-
cality, and said that in his appointments he
had to run his hand into sack of fifty
snakes to find one eel. Among the latter
acts of the Congress that preceded his death,
was an investigation of the cotton frauds,
and out of great number of permits to
'teal, three-tourths were signed by the
President" H
Thus it will be seen that, with the Re
publican leaders, thieving was the rule,
aud honesty, if it existed at all, was an
Why the Mac-a-cheek Press
makes an exception of Holt, STANTON
and CHASE, we are at loss to know.
By these facts, which we commend to
,he Journal, that sheet will see, that the
claim, if ever made. that the Democratic
party has ali honest men in its ranks,
IS supported by state of facts that will
go far to prove its truth.
Democratic Nominations.
The Democracy of Hancock county, at
heir Convention on Saturday, renominated
Capt. ISAAC CUsAc, their late Representa-
i've, to, the position he filled with SO
much satisfaction to his constituents
in the late Legislature. Than Capt.