Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1870-08-03
Appalling Corruption of the Repub-
lican Party.
Rerubllcan v Imess on The stand.

General Don Pidtt has one Of hi
strong articles in the Cincinnati Com
mercidL in reply to General Comley
the Postmaster editor of The Colum
bus Journal After crasing som
things from the letter that are rathe
personal and bitter, we make room
for the following telling extracts, an,
commend them to the attention Of al
honest Republicans;
WAsnINoToN, JUNE 27.
Ia
Let us see. It was the design 0
the fathers TO franc n Government
that its powers should be few, and il
duties simple. Recognizing the grea
truth, that the object of the Govern
ment was to keep the peace, they
sought to so frame its organic law n,
to have the powers intervene only
when the peace was broken. In /
word, their idea of scfgovornmcni
meant the Intervention of the con
stable They sought to leave all the
various avocations and pursuits of hu
manity to free individual effort, see
ing only that tho strong should not
impose upon the weak. 10 the State,
they gave the care of the local affairs
TO the General Government oil tn,
duties requisite to our protection as II
nation.
Ii seems, waste of time to repeal
these truisms, aud yet who recognizes
or believes in them And turning oul
backs on such great truths, where are
wey At the risk of a tiresomo repc,
tition Of all that have been writing
for year past, let me say in brief;
Under our present system the local
governments have lost all significance.
Throughout the South, under one so
called acts Of reconstruction, the law
of hate, the Legislatures have come
to be Congressional dependencies,
where ignorant negroes, under the
control Of unprinciplcd dcmagogues,
are made to steal aud plunder, until
the law maker and the law breaker
differ only in name. In the Southern
States seats in the Senate are put up
at auction, and knocked down to the
highest moneycd bidder, aud into this
Senate are gradually gathering, thro'
usurpation, all the political powers OF
the Government
To the Government thus central
lied come all the business interests of
tho people, save those of the farmer
aud the laborer, each striving to sc
cure laws that will enable il TO over.
reach the ether. And to this u,urp.
cd despotism como all the rogues of
plunder, through unjust legislation
1t is openly avowed aud generally be-
lieved that no law can pass to the sig.
nature of the President that has not
to use the slang Of the lobby, "money
in it,"
The late Secretary of the Treasury,
the Hon Salmon y. Chase, Informed
the country that in our hour of dis.
trcss and peril he was forced TO pur.
chase the bankers of the United
States. Aud % get these capitalists
interested in the Government that
protected them, he had to make most
extraordinary terms--l will not say
that they treated the Republic like a
gang OF shyl0cks-but they were so
treated by the eminent tinancicr who
was then at the head of the Treash.
ry, and they accepted the terms aud
the character. II is no eSaggeration
to say that for the purpose OF enrich
ing and sustaining these money. chang.
crs we pay more than our National
Government cost Us. Any attempt
to amend, revise, orrepcal these terms
considered war necessity aud TEN.
porary-is met by the violent opposi.
tion of eighty national bankers on
the floor Of the House, and enough IN
the Senate to give the leeches a ma.
jority.
All the corporations, firms and per.
sons interested in the iron business
are openly organized into an associa-
tion, and pHy into common treasury
fund that may be called corrup.
tion fund, for il is used to influence
legislation. Its filthy agents, when
not members, reside in Washington,
and are supported handsomely IN their
corrupt business.
The same may be said Of the salt
monopoly Indeed, the same may be
said Of every interest that has money
enough to use and is corrupt enough
TO use IT,
Generally your member Of Congress
has his familiar, through whom his
vote is purchased Sometimes organ
izations exist wherein ten, twenty or
thirty votes are represented by one
agent, who sells out by the direction
ofthe caucus the entire pen full
We have a corrupt Congress, stu.
pid Executive, and the only arm of
The Government that remains pure is
the Supreme Court, and that Prcsi.
dent has sought to pack with crea-
lures Of his own, aud the Senate
strives TO destroy.
| say, then, in all sobcrnoss, that If
we are to accept the Republic us it
now stands, self government is a fail
ure. And to the philosophical stu
dent il would appear as it these were
the net results Of oar boastcd institu.
tions. 1t may be there is saving
power yet held by the people, and
that when the worst comes to the
worst. this will be brought to bear
upon the money changers in the TEN.
pie, and drive them out. But do
not see IT, While Republican editors
affect a laugh at warnings like this,
Democratic editors pretend to fnd
salvation in the restoration of their
party TO power.
But true reform lies in ignoring
party lines and returning honest men
TO Office feel safe in this ] doubt