The Sweetwater enterprise. (Sweetwater, Tenn.) 1869-187?, 1869-12-23
Pardon Peddling-HOw the Debt is
Being Reduced.

"Mack" writes to the Cincinnati En-
Quirer under date of Washington, Decem-
Der, II, as follows:
People must not misunderstood the mo.
tives Of Congress in refusing to grant a gem
oral amnesty, and preferriug to pass bills
every now and then giving pardous to Spe-
cially named individuals. This course is
pursued for a purpose basor and more vile
than mere politics. Not alone that they
are thus enabled to drum up recruits for
the Republican party in the South by cX.
Guiding all who lean to the Democratic
party from the privilege Of amnesty. The
chief object is to keep open the door for
corruption and bribery. a general am
nesty would yield no money-indiyidual
amnesties can be, and often are, made a
source Of revenue to the men who deal
them out. | cannot say positively that
any member of Congress has been paid
directly for securing the insertion Of a
name in any amnesty bill; but | can say
that persons have paid as high as SlO0f for
that privilege. The money is paid to the
influential friends of Radical members Of
the Reconstruction Committee and take
it that this state Of affairs is not entirely
unknown to those members. Men come
bore from the South to get their disabill-
ties removed. They want to be eligible
to office of some kind. They are very soon
directed to some one who can have their
names inserted in the next bill, and for
this insertion they are willing to pay lib
orally. Their money is taken-nor do |
believe it all goes into the pockets Of the
men who first receive it. These are facts
of which every member of Congress is
aware. Time was when the mere suspi-
cion of this truth would have called for u
searching investigation. But corruption
stalks SO shamelessly abroad, and so per-
meutes every department Of the govern
ment now-from the Executive who sells
his cabinet positions to the highest bidder,
to the Bureau Chiefs who eXtort dollar
donations from the starving clerks under
them-that it is dangerous to start an in
quiry, because it is impossible to tell where
it will stop or to what it will lead. One
of these days the people will wake up to
the fact that great crimes may be commit
ted against a nation by thieves disguised
in the livery of loyalty, then by brave men
wearing openly the uniform of rebellion.
Nothing is more simple than the pro-
cess by which Mr.. Boutwell, is enabled to
issue his bulletins every month, telling the
people how the National debt is being re-
duced. I have suspected all along, but
never knew until to-day, what was the
modns operamdi. Adapted to private
business, it would enable the worst bank
rupt in the United States to ''stand erect"
as Mr.. Micawber did after he had given
his | 0 U to Traddles. The secret is this:
An order has been given to the accounting
officers of the Treasury to allow no claims
whatever against the Government-to pay
nothing, to repudiate everything. There
are Just two exceptions made to this gen
eral rule-the bondholders and the office
holders. These gentlemen are paid to the
utternost farthing. All other classes of
Government creditors are denied even a
hearing. And so for the sake of appear
ing to pay off the debt, hundreds of mil
lions of just and equitable claims are re-
pudiated. Now, why not 60 a step fur