The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1868-08-12

themselves. whom they can buy With
q glass of greg, while the Iamentatioiig
of deserted women go up to.God, and
hungry children cry piteously fdf
bread. The courtroom, where justice
and equity should preside, is contamiu-
ated with the leprous touch of bribery
and chicanery. There the man who
commands the largest pile of glowing
greehbacks buys the largest lot of m.
priDcipled souls. Justice hides behind
a green screen, and there, over the flow.
ing bowl of internal tormeots, he
stipulates with the devil for place and
rower. The business of selling out is
carried on extensively 10 the halls of
legislation. There il can be seen as
one OF the 6ne arts. The style of the
thing there, not strictly parliamentary.
an, is, to say the least, Machiayelian.
The procedure Of buying sordid souls
goes on as softly as running oil. Grave
senators, bewildered by the glitter Of a
p~rcsideEta' chair. or fascinated by the
Elinpscs OF a foreign court, descend to
the low grade of selling out public
honor and self respect, oblivious Of the
fact that they 0nce rose to eminence by
means of honor and truth. Candidates
for Office, in conventions are bought
and sold by their partisan friends ac-
coldiDg to the within and caprice of ex-
pert money-changcrs. These
tons are transformed into national
gambling saloons, where the man who
boasts the.biegest pile of public plum.
der or appropriates adroitly the reve-
nues Of the State, or plies an Illicit
trade with the most accomplished
s~hrewdness, at the expense Of the Gov
eminent, is acknowledged to be the
most successful and Yirtuous man of
the age. The successful man, no mat.
ter ty ~hot means is trumpeted before
the world as a coDgueriDg Zero, and is
devoutly ~worsbiped as the great Mogul
of national prosperity, and the banner
he bears before him bears the inscrip-
ton "Monev answereth all things"
and the multitude of stupid throw M
their caps AMID wild huzzahs. Onee
the time wss when all men were SUP
posed to be honest until proved to Be
dishonest : now all men are marked as
rogue until proved to be the opposite.
Deleetalle state Of thingsI
The pulpit, too. has caught the con.
tagion. the professed followers Of the
meek and lowly Savior, elevated 10
The pulpit, bankcr after the flesh. pots
of Egypt, and propose to sell out for
worldly honor ind places of prefermcnt.
High salaries induce them to sell the
truth, instead of buying the truth at a
great sacrifice and keeping it sacred.
They are hired not to tell the whole
truth. They hire themselves out to
please the people, not to please God.
Not satisfied with humble spheres TO
work in, they offer themselves to the
highest bidder, on the condition that
they may be placed in easy positions
among refined and popular people.
They stipulate with His Satanic Moi.
esty not to hurt sinners. The preacher
may talk about Temperance in general
terms, bur not al out the poison of al
cohol in specific terms; he may talk
about the follIes of e~xtTayagaDt people
at an enchanted distance, but must say
nothing about the fooleries and fash
ions or his own flock ; he may speak
of the cunning and cupidity Of orpres-
DTS in distant lands. but woe be to him
il he perchance rufies the sleeping con-
sciences of avaricious Shylocks in his
own co. grega:ion ; he may speak Iov.
inely of tie distillation of rain drops
and dew-drops, but he must be forever
silent on the distat0tion of whisky. If
tSo Thousand dollars fail TO buy the
putty preacher, three thousand dollars
will super:nduce the poor tool to sur
render manhood and conscience. With
shut mouth he goes like a sheep to the
slaughter. What is friendship, and
plighted faith, and sacred promises
ard pure principles with such an one,
compared with human exaltation, world
Iy pride, the pomp Of life, the tempta.
ton OF sordid gain. But his soul 10 for
sale, and be sells body and brains to
the highest bidder.