Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1871-08-20

Let them understand and recognize the
fact that the public printing is public p!tt'1
der, to be seized by partisan press anc
divided among the craft, and their int1u
ence, which is almost potential in party
affairs, will be infallibly exerted to secure
the election to the General Assembly, and
other offices, of men who will tolerate
their depredations to the greatest extent
What better strategy in such a contin.
gency than the election of timid, vain
ambitious, inefficient and corrupt instru-
ments to the Legislature? While the leg
islator has the right to investigate and
revise the accounts of Public Printers.
Public Printers have the means of ex-
sposing the weakness tickling the vanity
and uncovering the frauds of Legislators.
| This mutual power to destroy makes them
fast friends. Their interest and sympa-
thies being the same, they will act in con-
cert to provide against common danger.
| They are naturally drawn together by the
cohesive power of public plunder. Silence,
| in such cases, is the watchwOrd, and the
| public press and legislative halls are fire.
| quently used to suppress the truth, de-
| fame integrity and cover up and advance
| the dissolute and corrupt.
Organized corruption is endangering the
purity and threatening the existence
of our institutions. It's machinery is per-
! feet and its working most successful. 1t
| stuffs the ballot box, invades the precincts
| ofLegsatures State and National, pOllutes
the Executive departments and is fast cor
rupting the press and every department of
| the public service, and must, unless thor
| oughly checked by the people, consummate
its fatal end-the extinction of popular
government.
The parties implicated will endeavour, ifthey
can to suppress what have written. If this
can't be DONE they will by defamation, by ridi-
cule fallacious reasoning, falsehOod and mis-
representation, attempt to parry its force, But
l say to the people and to tho peoples repre-
| sentatves, that the facts herein stated are not
Onl y true. but they are evidenced by the rec
ords Of the Comptroller's office and are of easy
proof They cannot and L presume will not
he denied. The defence most likely to be
adopted finds precedent in domestic incident
which occurred near me few days since. a
servant was detected in clandstlne and unau-
thorzed appropriation Of some syrup. Beng
accused and confronted with evidence that
could not be gansaid, REPLACED: a. am
not the orLy ore that takes syrup" With
equal truth and plaUsiblity the accused public
printers NAV interpOse the plea that their pre-
decetsors took syrup too. l admit the fact
but deny the legal sufhciency of the defense.
Others have plundered, know, but none have
for the same amount Of work taken anything
like the same amount of f'syrup'' that these gen
tlemen have taken. Their peculations exceed
any and everything of the kind ever known IN
the previous history Of public printing in Ten
nessee-and they Inelc IL. The amount OF COM
position" susceptible Unreasonable approIima-
ton; the press work and paper of precise ascer-
tainment; and no excuse or extenuStlon can be
offered for these parties. Claiming TO be honest
men and gentlemen, leaders of great party,
conductors of metropolitan journals, protested
guardians of public rights and defenders OF all
public interests familiar with their own; business
and thoroughly competent To estimate ems, tOkCHS
and paper, but concerted and premeditatcd
fraud ON the public treasury parties capable OF
deliberately preferring sn account and demand
ing and accepting pay for one n1lLt3oH one hN7I-
dTed and .eve1I thousand ems of composition, and
claiming and receiving 1t four times, when there
were only sic hundred and sixteen thousand;
charging for ttro hundred and thirteen tokens
and for forty reanss Of paper, when there were
only seventy of the former and seventeen and a
half Of the latter and who made similar over
charges for all the work done by them, are un-
worthy of their positions as central party or
gsns and it viii be well for the party if it
would supercede them by gentlemen better en-
titled to the public confidence and respect. And
if there is any one man elected to the incoming
Legislature with capacity and courage enough |
to grapple with and expose these stupendOus |
frauds, I respectfully commend the subject to |
his ca eful consideration And TO the honest |
part of the press of the State | desire to say |
here is field worthy of your highest powers, |
one in which you can effect much good for |
your overburdened and tax-ridden fellow-citi- |
gems.
The system against which l have protested, |
which recognizes the public printing As party |
tpoils, to be seized and and divided out among |
a partisan press. must necessarily corrupt the |
press, corrode tho fountains of public intelli- |
gence, and strike down everything like purity in
egslation-consequences fatal to the republic
and if we would avoid them, it is time for every
patriot to be up and doing all he can to correct
The evil. Respectfully, &c,
JNo. BAXTER.