Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-01-25
U NEIN It = n . y
Letter from " Ii. IL y

Mr.. EDITOR One cannot read the ire
quent delinquences, not to say sins, Of our
public servants, without feeling that there is
q cad lack ofpolitical integrity, and shame
full disregard of moral responsibility, which
ought to make US tremble for the perpetulty
of our Republican government more than any
other consideration.
How shall the public conscience become
ouickened? When will men learn to feel
that the same responsibility rests upon them,
while acting in large collective body, as
while acting alone /? When will they learn,
that the moral turDitude of Piyerjng is the
same, whether by one many?
There is so much Of good common sense,
so much Of truth, and right, and justice, in
the following paragraphs, which appeared in
YOUR paper of Nov. 9th under the head of
!. The Real Nature of Official Corruption.
that we beg you viii reprint them, for the
reconsideration of your readers. We wish
they might be printed in letters Of gold and
be made a standing advertisement in every
newspaper in our country until all public
servants in the United States should be
brought 70 see and feel their responsibility to
their constituents
THE code OF public morals is at fault Men who
maintain high reputation for purity IN their pr
vate relations are apparently becoming too often
accustomed to think that they may speculate at the
expense Of the public treasury 80 1t be done md
rectly without deserving to lose the esteem IN which
they are personally held by their fellow men some
times men selected for responsible posts, because
their honesty was held above reproach, have caught
rarrancy. Such men 30 acting have eye en- appeared
{ u.
evil spreads from the already corrupt, 70 those VINO
have been honest extending its corrosive influence
through every grade of society.
There IS a notion or habit of thought or rather OF
thOughtIes5ness in circles, that it is less wrong
to cheat the public than cheat single person.
In the of the public, there IS no definite one
who can claim that injury Il peculiar to him.
II widely distributed, that the part of each IN
iIappears indnitesimal and therefore not wor
minding. But the aggregate of injury IS as large,
the sin the part OF the offender Is as great the
wound to his conscience Is really deep, when he
dehauds the public, as when the whole amount oi
his depreciation falls upon q single person lie has
taken so much that belonged to others and not to
hi, IS as lnuch ana a. niue a. can 0e 5ii % W.
transaction Considered IN its proper light the duty
to be honest vi the public Is more obligatory than
that OF dealing fairy with persons. Men can ,iil
do look out for themselves The public cannot
look for itself, but Is dependent upon the very
officer who makes himself q party to the frand upon
IT, fOrSalI the protection it expects can receive
To the ohense OF defraudlng ne adds that OF Vi0t-
ton OF an obligation which ne mas soleInnly taken
upon himself. such wasithe light in which the sub
ject regarded by the oldfashioned morality of
the ancients, of Aenophon and the tIreeks, anu q
Cyrus. 1t a stain upon the character OF Christian
quify."
1t would seam from the above that with all
our boasted superiority Of intelligence, and
better religion, with all our splendid meet
ing-houses and tinsel show, with all our lists
and isms, we have really fallen behind the
heather in point of morality and political
integrity, and the heather would be perfect
Iy justified in sending missionaries among US
That we in Republican America are no
toriously deficient in this = old fashioned
morality = cannot be denied Were our
Congressmen more deeply imbued " ith it,
the .. holidays in Congress would not take
precedence of the important business of the
country, nor would the Legislatures of the
States presume on the liberality Of their CON
stituents by frequent and long adjOurnments
at the expense of the people, to the neglect
of important business, and then plead the
necessity Of adjournment. or an extra session
All this would be avoided did we possess that
nice. discriminating sense Of public fidelity
of right and wrong, accorded to these hea-
then. Is there any remedy for this laxity Of
the public conscience? Very likely the APP
plication Of the '' bread and butter argu-
ment, if it did not act as perfect panacea,
would operate as a very salutary restraint,
and might place us in conditions, 50 that we
might become more receptive Of the elevating
principle of doing as we would be done by.
Let the people exercise the same discretion
and rigid supervision over their public ser
wants that they do over their private ser
wants, and this /" notion or thoughtlessness - +
that it is less wrong TO cheat the public than
a private individual will soon be done away.
VIII the people do it?
We have noticed in the FREEMAN Of late
reference to theproprieties and improprieties
Of the = Mock Session " of our Legislature,
and we judge, therefore. that a brief notice
of the True Session may not be altogether
improper even at this late hour. Indeed, We
think it a great fault that the people lose
sight Of the doings Of our Legisla ture too
soon-that the important measures, unacted
upon by the Legislature, noticed by the edi-
tor Of the WatchmGn and Journal in his
comments on the adjournment of the Legis-
lature, should be held up to the public gaze
and scrutiny by the press
The Watctman says, = We have very little
doubt that the necessity Will arise for an ex-
ira session" We trust the doubt expressed
by the Watehmda is the offspring of fear in .
stead Of hope at least. We hope it is. We
sincerely hope no such necessity will arise
but if there should be such contingency,
we cannot sec why it shoulA be more to the
prejudice Of the biennial than the annual
system. We should certainly regard it as a
calamity, for we believe the people would
choose to 9 bear the ills they have" rather
than enter upon that unknown sea Of eternal
tinkering with the laws
Again the WatcLman says:
e" No one dispute the economy Of the Legis-
lature or Vermont 1t steadily and stodly votes
down all unusual appropriations, and never gives
ten cents for services rendered by its officers if it
can get along with slN The Judges are sun TO de-
vote their time and energies to the State rnea-
ger pittance. The Legislature thinks of gen
erosty; scarcely even of justice. The Judges must
work on for an incompetent salary"
According to statement of the FREEMAN
last fall the second adjournment of our Leg
islature costs the State $4,000 Now this
may have been good economy for the Legis-
lature, but, like the fable of the boys and
frogs, it is - death - to the people. Here
was ample time wasted, to have considered
come of those important neglected measures
which makes the " necessity > of an extra
session so apparent. 1t seems to US that our
old friend Of the Wdtchman, Of Abolition
memory, will hardly think this, upon sober
second thought, as good economy.
We do not feel sure that the legislature
erred in not raising the salaries of our