The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-04-19
SPIRIT OF THE PRESS.
EDITORIAL OPINIONS OF THE LEADING JOURNALS
UPON CURRENT ToPIos-coMPILED EVERY 4
DAY FOR THE EVENING TELEGRAPH.
THE ERA OF POLITICAL CORRUPTION.


From the NJ Y. Times.
The diseraceful incident which has just
taken place at Albany has attracted very
general attention throughout the country,
and we hone il will receive the careful con-
sideration of Democrats as we'll as Repub-
Hcans They are once more afforded an
opportunity of Judging how far the clique
which has obtained control of the Democratic
party in this State is deserving of public
confidence That clique asks the Democrats
of other States to place themselves under its
guidance. Yet it is doing something fresh
every day to bring the Democratic party into
utter disrepute. 1t is responsible for every
phase of the Erie swindle, including those
amazing frauds on the foreign stockholders
which have so much injured all our securi-
ties in foreign markets and excited the just
indignation of every American who has
looked into the subject. 1t has originated
those schemes for suppressing popular rights
at elections, for gagging the Press, and for
corruptng the Legislature and the Judi
ciary, which have brought so much reproach
upon our State. And now it comes out in
the face of day, and openly proclaims that it
governs, and wishes to govern, only by means
of corruption. No Democrat connected with
the Tammany gang sees the least impropriety
in the transaction which has placed q mark,
as indelible as that of Cain, on the forehead
of the despicable wretch, Orange S. Winans.
If you speak to them about it, they will only
laugh and chuckle, and say that the "Boss"
is too ''darned smart" for the Republi-
cans On Saturday night, Winans was
made a hero of at Fisks Opera House
where, indeed, rascals generally are sure
of a cordial greeting from the king of
rascals who keeps the place open, and
goes fourishing about it with his fat person
stuffed into ridiculous uniform, like Jack
pudding. Tweed telegraphed from Albany
81 60
Clubhouse for Winans accommodation.
There was no pretense at secrecy in the
whole matter. The Democrats of this State
rule solely by bribery and corruption, and
when they buy man they send him for a
nights 'treat" to New York, where James
Fisk, Jr., takes him in hand and tries to
make him a greater scoundrel than he was
before-a job for which Fisk's education and
habits peculiarly qualify him.
In this city Winans could probably have
statue if he wanted one, just as thief known
as the "Boss" can get one at any time; but
we may fairly hope that the power of discrimi-
mating between right and wrong, honor and
dishonor, is not so utterly lost elsewhere. We
hope that there are still communities left in
which Winans could not show his face with
out meeting with an extremely warm recep-
tion. The great point, however, which ought
not to be lost sight of is this-the Democrats
avowedly adopt political corruption as the
fundamental principle of government. The
work is not carried on by hirelings, but by
the very heads of the party. "But Repub-
licans are quite as bad, one hears it said
We submit that the recent struggle at
Albany convicts any man as a stupid SIAN
derer who makes that assertion. Sixty-three
out of sixty-four Republicans stood firm
although many of them were poor men and
money without limit was offered to them for
their votes. We say that these Republicans
nobly vindicated the right of their party to
govern this State. To get sixty-four men
together and find sixty-three of them honest
is great thing as the world goes, and is
result which we have no reason to be ashamed
of A much smaller proportion would have
saved the cities which were in ancient days
destroyed by fire for their wickedness. Find,
if you can, siXty-three members out of any
siXty-four belonging to Tweeds gang who
will refuse bribes. Our friends at Albany
did not stand out in vain. They have given
splendid encouragement to their party-they
have, we sincerely trust, rendered it easy for
the Republicans to carry the State next fall
All that we ask of the public is to judge inn
partially between us. Let us dismiss for the
moment party names and party cries. We
do not appeal to the people as Republicans,
but simply as men who earnestly desire to
see political purity substituted for political
corruption. If you show us Republican
and say that he is dishonest, we answer, in
Heavens name strike him down-never let
him hold Office again. Republicans or Demo
Gratis, give us honest men to rule over US, to
make the laws, to administer them, to levy
taxes, and fulfil the other functions of civil
liZed government-and we will not say word
about party. Is this an unreasonable thing
to ask? Does it look like wild partisanship
or radical hypocrisy?" We ask any fair man
to look at the proceedings which took place
In the Legislature recently. Measures abso-
lutely revolutionary in their character were
hurried through the Assembly without any
body being permitted to say single word
about them. A scheme for abolishing the
right of the Legislature to deal with ques-
tons of taxation was swept through without
solitary member of the House being even
allowed to know what the bill really CON
tainedl We talk about Louis Napoleon s
tyranny-it is easy enough to rave about
other peoples faults-but when did the ex-
Emperor ever attempt such a despotic
proceeding as this? We need never
go abroad for examples of a people
submitting tamely to tyranny of the most
odious kind. Let us first look at home.
This Tax Levy scheme was ordered to a
third reading without ever having
been printed, without a word Of explanation
and without a moments debate. What
other community in the world would quietly
submit to so monstrous an abuse of parlia-
mentary government The Democrats are
setting up more intolerable despotism than
any foreign potentate has attempted to
establish for two hundred years past-and yet
people only shrHg their shoulders, and say,
1T can't be helped"
Yes, it can be helped. Give us an honest
Legislature next fall, as you can easily do by
your votes, and the past can still be redeemed
kNan nIa zIrrkaa Il.