Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1869-01-16
NUMBER 116.
Truth from am Une.nec,ea source

If extended to members of Congress. IL
would give the Radical leaders chance to
remain at home, but it Is not intended to
extend the examination to them.
The Journal favors Mr.. JENcKEs' bill. It
fears Gen. GRANT, during the first week or
two of his Administration, will make bad
appointments, and that sheet urges the
prompt passage of the measure to prevent
that sad catastrophe, which might prevent
the editor from getting the place he de-
sired. We oppose the bill because of the
love and affection we bear that editor,
who, although not fit for the place he asks,
is vain enough to think he is, and the board
of examiners might believe as we do, and
give the office to another. But while we
do not concur in the conclusions of the
Journal we do endorse the facts upon
which its editor rests his conclusions.
These facts are these, tersely and truly
stated. That paper says: =, sst r1-
ssMORE MONEY HAS BEEN WASTED 4
AND STOLEN DURING THE PAST
YEAR, BY INCOMPETENT AND DIS
HONEST OFFICIALS, THAN WOULD Z
PAY THE CIVIL EXPENSES OF THE
GOVERNMENT FOR THE NEXT FOUR
YEARS. Economy requires that the blum
derang and stealing should be stopped bv the
passage of this bill. The shortest road to re-
trenchment is through the thorough re-
construction of our present rotten and ex-
pensive civil service system. Under this
system the Governments business Is done
mainly by servants who lack the three es-u
sential Qualities. ability, honesty and ex-.
perience." -
All of which is true, and our wonder Is,
how our neighbor managed to stumble on ,
the truth, and to condense so much of it
In so small space. an sass $500 /,
These men, who thus lack the sthree es-
sential qualities of ability, honesty and ex-
perience"-who have wasted and stolen"
more money during the past year, by their
incompetency and especially
do we endorse that it was caused by ssdis-
honesty"-"than would would pay the ex-
penses of the Government for the next five
years." were, when appointed, and are
now Radicals, every one of them. They
are of the leading men of the Journals
own party-the party pets, the represent
alive men of the Radical school, and con-
frmed by the Radicals in the Senate,
wholly and solely because they were active
partisaDs of the party in power. If we
thought that Mr.. JENcKEs' bill, would put
stop to the s'blundering and stealing" of
Radical officers, we might favor its passage,
butas the LEOPARD cannot change his spot
or the Ethiopian his skin,n we fear the
itching palm of the Radical. leaders, and
the stolid ignorance that party betrays in
governmental affairs, are too deep-rooted
, to be efaced by any law that Congress can
pass.
From its advent to power, if we are to
believe Radical assertions, the Office hold
ers of that party have been dishonest. Mr..
DAWES, one of their own number, lead
ing member of Congress from Massachu-
setts, in speech in that body, gave as his
deliberate opinion that, during the first
year of the war, more money was stolen,
by officials, than was required to support
the whole Government under any one year
of BUcHANAN's Democratic Administra-
tion. DOM PIATT, in his Mac -a-cheek
Press, said that a thief dismissed from Of
flee was sure to be succeeded by another
thief, and now the Journal corroborates
these opinions by announcing the fact that
"more money has been wasted and stolen,
during the past year, by incompetent and
dishonest officials, than would pay the
civil expenses of the Governm ,nt for the
next four years." and that too, when the
fact is known, that the United States SEN
ate rejected the nomination of honest men,
because they were not of the Radical per-
| suasion, and even went SO far, under the
tenure of office bill, as to refuse to allow tn e
to 81 T. a.,
New York Penitentiary, for the crime of
| stealing from Government.
How, then, when incompetency and dis
honesty are the rule, which.has but few ex-
ceptions, is the Government to be protect
| ed by the passage of Mr.. JENcKEs' bill? 1t
may enable the Journal editors to get of
| flee and it may prevent them, but that 1t
will make rogues honest, we do not believe,
and hence we oppose it. GJf 80 sHs
| THE venerable Mr.. Ewing has written a
letter on our finances, based on the as
sumption that the five-twenty bonds are
/ payable in greenbacks. He would give the
boldholders the option of accepting legal
4 tenders or new bonds bearing four per cent.
interest or less, and payable In gold. He
would not seruple to issue all the green
backs needed to meet the first part of his
alternative, but correctly supposes that
the amount would be small. Mr.. Ewing
adds nothing to his reputation by such
financial uggestions.-Ci Cincinnati Chronicle
Mr.. EwING was a leading Senator from
Ohio in the day when the United States
Senate, in dignity and TALENT stood as the
first legislative body in the world. This
compeer of CLAY, WEBSTER, WRIGHT, BEN.
TON, and the other giants of the past age,
is still in the full vigor of an unclouded
intellect and his letter on the finances is,
in our opinion, the ablest document ever
emanating from his pen. Without indors-
ing all he says, particularly in his propo-
sition to fund part of the Indebtedness al
four per cent. interest, in gold, to be paid
out at the end of forty years in coin, for We
prefer to pay it off as it falls due in green
backs, we yet, with due Difference to the
Chronicle, think it will add much to the
reputation of the writer. AT the earliest
possible moment we will gladly surrender
i our space to give it entire to our readers.
BUFFERS financial plan proposes the re.
tiroment of the National Banks and the
Greenbacks, and the issuing by the Gov
ernment of three hundred and fifty mill
lions of certificates of value to circulate al
money, and that the holders of bonds shall
have the power to draw 90 per cent. in
Greenbacks to the 100 deposited in bonds. by
paving 800 per cent. for tine use of this cur
ency,which currency is to be reconvertibls
into the bonds, at the option of their owners
This plan does not, by considerable, have
the merit of Mr.. Pendleton's plan.