Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1869-01-13
Petit Larceny.

DOM PIATT, acting as the Washington
correspondent of the Cincinnati CONNER
cial, and, by the by, writes most interesting
letters from that city, where the thieves,
in Congress and out of it, most do congre-
gate, has the following on the subject of
frauds:
We had this soderiferous subject veil-
tilated in connection with the stationery
business of the Interior. It was enough to
make an honest mans hair stand on edge,
supposing he has any, and to start fresh
crop in the bare places, to hear the infa-
nous frauds, impudent as corrupt, that was
poured out upon the listening House. We had
specimens of books, costing twenty cents
copy, and dear at that, charged to the Gov
ernmeut at the rate of $25 copy; and tags,
worth about one cent apiece, were bought
at $40 thousand, and of this purchase
100000 cannot be accounted for. But all
this has been telegraphed to you, and re-
fer to it only as specimen of the cess-pooI
of corruption we are about opening" 3lsS
In comparison to the more stupendous
ones perpetrated by the Indian ring, the Pa
cific railroad scheme and the Freedmen's
Bureau frauds, the stealing which Mr.. PIATT.
notices the above, is but petit larceny. But
then there is nothing from millions of dol
lars down to silver spoons. but is " worthy
the steal" OF these scamps.
The New York Tribune elaborately crit
icises so much of the report of Special
Commissioner Wells as relates to the tariff
question. His proposition to increase the
tax on articles. like tea and coffee, now,
ranking among the necessities of life, and
not coming in competition with our home
products, and to reduce the duties on arti-
cles of home production or manufacture,
is treated as somewhat remarkable mis-
take for one who is professed Protection
ist.-Cincinaati Chronicle. 81
Did it ever strike the Tribune and the
Chronicle that the great cause of the Amer
lean Revolution was taxation without rep
reseutation? Several of the States of the {
South are now taxed without any voice in
the Congress that levies the taxes, or voice
in electing the President who appoints the
officers collecting them. ss4.
The tax on tea and the imposition of
stamp duty brought matters to crisis.
Now, forgetful of the history of our
country, in this, the so called freest gov
ernment on earth, we have, in addition to
taxation without representation, the tax
on tea and a stamp act, ten times more on
erous than that which Great Britain, under
Lord NORTH, attempted to impose-the tea
tax paid by the citizens of Franklin coun-
ty alone, being greater than the amount
paid by the thirteen colonies, even if the
tax had not been resisted, and the stamp
duty paid by this city as great as that esti-
mated as the proceeds of the stamp for all
the English possessions on this continent in
l776. The Tribune and the Chronicle, as
well as MIR. Commissioner WELLS, seem to
forget these things which should not be
forgotten. -.
Almost every article that New England
manufacturer uses, is admitted duty free,
or at a mere nominal rate. Every thing
he manufactures for sale is protect ID by
tariff duty, nearly, if not quite, amount
, ing to prohibition. In carrying out the
, great principles OF making the people of
the South and West mere hewers of wood
and drawers of water to New England, the
proposition now is to increase the tax on
J Tea and Coffee, deemed, under Democratic
rule, SO much articles oil necessity, that
they were admitted duty free. lslA1 2 4 --@l