The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-05-05
RADICALS PAINTED BY RADICALS.


than those in which they are painted bs eacn
other. According to Butler, Bingham has the
blood of an innocent woman on his soul.
According to Bingham, Butler is not only
murderer, whom history will brand as such
for the execration of future times, but a de-
tected robber and thief, in whose presence
no portable value is safe if not effectually
locked up or guarded from his prehensile
propensities. Neither has attempted to re-
fute the accusation of the other. If thus
accused before legal tribunal, their silence
would be presumptive of the guilt of both.
Such was their position when they walked arm
in-arm into the Senate chamber to hear the i'm
parchment. Each seemed to acknowledge
the others fitness TO ply this engine for the
murder of constitutional government, and to
play the part of ''a eut-purse of the empire
and the rule, the playing of which part well
was SO indispensable to the success of the
radical conspiracy. If what they have said
of each other be not calumnious, it must be
plain to public intelligence that, instead of
standing foremost among the prosecutors of
the President for purely political offenses,
they ought to be expiating, on the gibbet or
in convicts' cells, atrocious violations of the
universal moral code. If what they assert of
the President be not false, he is unfit to hold
the executive office; if what they have asser-
ted of each other be true, they are unfit to
live But, ON the other hand, if the plea be
accepted that each knew his accusation of
the other was false and designed to serve
the malevolence or the interest of
the moment then it is clear that
the foremost men in the impeachment of the
President are INSCRIPTIONS and shameless
calumniators. But this is not a solitary
dilemma. The swiftest witnesses against
radicals are radicals. Senator Cameron
has no doubt of Forneys corruption
in the management of the contingent
fund Of the Senate; and Forney has over and
over again testified that Senator Cameron
was one of the most infamous corruptionists
that ever disgraced American politics. Not
long ago Horace Greeley proclaimed Gen.
Grant to be ambitious without principle; and
Gen. Grant, if we credit Washington gossip,
regards Horace Greeley as an indiscreet bab-
bier, and bold, not to say a reckless and
mendacious asserter, whose wild antics in
journalism are strong argument against the
freedom of the press Since Grant acceded
to the radical scheme for deposing the Presi-
dent and securing the next presidency, how
ever, Greeley allows that the generals ambi-
ton without principle is no serious objec-
ton, but may serve very useful purpose in
floating radicalism over the waves of re-
action. "
The latest batch of this sort of testimony
of radicals against radicals is contributed by
Congressman Washburne, of Illinois, and Con-
gresham Donnelly, of Minnesota. Wash
burne, in late speech in the House, under
took to expose the corrupt conduct of Dom
nelly with reference to bridge across the
upper Mississippi river for the benefit of
some railway monopolies. As this piece of
corruption concerns the free navigation of the
river and the commerce of New Orleans, it is
we'll TO give here Mr. Washburnes account of
it in these words:
The bridge has been the means Of INJECTING I'M
told injury upon the commerce and people of the
Upper Mississippi. 1t has been the terror of all
lunIbermen of Minnesota. and they have been
damaged in various ways by the obstruction of
the Clinton and Rock Island bridges hundreds and
hundreds of thousands OF dollars. Indeed, it is
safe to say, that the damage done by the breaking
up of RATS, the increased expense of running
them, on account of the danger Of passing these
bridges, the increased price of freight and nsu-
rance, on account of the bridges, cost the people
OF Minnesota half million of dollars a year.
When the bill came up in the House to legalize
the Claton bridge and make il post road aud
was pressed TO its passage, by the inscriptions
agents OF the corrupt railroad monOpolies, whose
object was TO so impede the free navigation of the
Mississippi as to compel your farmers to ship
their products East over railroads, at a vastly en.
HANGED rate of freight, resisted the passage of
the bill, IN the interest of your people, and the
people OF the Upper Mississippi, with all my
might. The day before the bill passed, Mr.. d
voluntarily came to my seat and assured me of
his hearty support, and urged me to keep up
vigorous opposition. You can well conceive my
surprise and indignation, the next day, on finding
him voting for the bill. could only account for
his sudden conversion on the hypothesis that he
had been "seen" during the previous night.
That the point of the last two sentences
might not be overlooked or misunderstood,
the speaker gave universal sweep to the i'm
putation by saying of Donnelly that "every
corrupt, extravagant and profigate measure
ever brought before the House has received
tumely of Bingham, Donnelly makes no
specific defense, but squares accounts by
hurting in return railing accusation against
his assailant-of whom he draws a frightfully
scorbutic picture if we may judge the whole
by the following specimen sent by tele-
graph:
II there be in our midst one low, sordid, vulgar
soul one barren, mediocre intelligence, one heart
calous TO every kindly sentiment and to every
generous emotion, one tongue leprOus with slam
der, one mouth which is like unto den Of foul
beasts giving.forth deadly odors if there be one
character which, while blotched and spotted vet
raves aud rants and blackguards like prostitute
if there be here one bold, bad. empty, believing
demagogue, II il the gentleman from Illinois.
The telegraph also informs us that no per-
sonal collision has resulted from the exchange
of such language, and that there is no pros
pect of demand for personal satisfaction by
either of these radical Congressman and ar
dent impeaehers. OF course not There is
no instance of two inmates of Nawoata or