The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-12-28
The Whiskey Enthusiastically ON Van
Wyck-A ScOrcher.


Wyck-A Scorcher.
The attention of the public cannot fail to
be arrested by the scorching reply Of Mr..
Buckley to the report presented to Congress
by Mr.. Van Wyck in relation to the revenue
frauds. According to Mr.. Buckley the exclu-
sive authorship of that report is claimed by
Mr. Van Wyck, upR whom the sole personal,
If not official, responsibility Of it must rest,
although it is headed in such a way as to seem
to emanate from the Committee on Retrench-
ment.
Buckley does not hesitate to pronounce Van
Wycks sreport" SANDER He calls it "a
bucket of whitewash," and unceremoniously
hastens to kick 1t over. After enumerating a
long list of charges against himself he declares
that each of them is Misrepresentation, add
ing:-s'By that word here mean a represen-
tation, deliberately made, opposite to the
truth by person who knew it was untrue
when he made it, and, moreover, ''there is
shorter name for the same thing" He heartily
accords to his assailant ''that uncommon dis
gust, which, he says, Mr.. Van Wyck must
have intended to raise in him. He calls Van
Wyck 'despicable politicaster" and San
imposter." He asserts that after the arrival
Of the Congressional Committee In New York
sit soon came to be like one of the extreme
affectations Of statecraft to pretend to distin-
guish Mr.. Van Wyck from the miscellaneous
malefactors who now owe him such gratitude. :"
He says 81 can conceive no calamity which
could drive me to accept the inward humilia-
ton of an issue of veracity with this hireling
Of confederated thieves, or with any person
whatever who would corroborate his testimony
orprofess beliefin his honesty" Mr.. Buckley
pours on the head Of Congressman Van Wyck
torrent Of similarly strong invective. But
his language cannot be condemned as too
strong If he can prove and substantiate his
positive statements that Van Wyck, although
all the time pretending ''with boisterous but
nauseous hypocrisy" to be in hearty and zeal
GUS cooperation with him, was actually in
completely with the directors Of obscure in
fuences at work to counterfeit all his plans,
with the interested parties by whom his agents
and adherents were threatened, corrupted and
seduced. Mr.. Buckley, after abiding to the
dreaded danger of disinterested and unspar-
ing exposure, directly prefers this grave charge
against Mr.. Van Wyck 1.-THE guilty, there
fore, brought him to New York that he might
employ the authority of the national legisla-
ture for their protection against the laws Of
the country and the indignation of its plum
dered people, and he did SO employ it, and
with success-success for the present."
Now, the public care very little about any
personal quarrel between Van Wyck and
Buckley. They must fight that out between
themselves. But the people, who only know
that gigantic revenue frauds have been COM
mitted, by which the whiskey thieves have
plundered the government at the yearly rate
Of one hundred million dollars, are at length
anxious to learn the truth, and the whole
truth, of the matter. They cannot UNDER
stand, whatever may have been the blunders
of Mr.. Buckley, why Mr.. Van Wyck, who,
they presume, was sent to this city not merely
to investigate these frauds himself, but to
use all available facilities for investigating
them, should have made technical objections
TO the profered aid of any citizen, even If that
citizen could claim no official authority what
ever. Mr.. Buckley affirms that although he
offered to bring before Mr.. Van Wyck himself
certain witnesses and documents duplicating
numerous high officials in New York and
Washington, if he would place the sergeant
alarms under his direction for single hour,
Mr.. Van Wyck not only defeated this plan to
bring into his own hands disclosures of the
highest public value, but by violence consum-
mated his own plan for the Illustration Of Mr..
mission to New York and the pro-
lection of revenue corruption.
1t is manifest that Mr.. Buckley has failed,
hat the committee of Congress has failed,
hat the courts have failed, that Mr.. johnson
has failed to reach the lowest depths in the
Investigation of these vast revenue frauds.
The whole dirty mass of revenue corruption
must be turned over to be dealt with by the
next administration. The people viii have to
wait until the 4th Of next March, when it will
become one of General Grants Hcrculean
labors to cleanse this Augean stable.