The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-02-26

Duty of the LegislRture-The National
Honor Must Be Defended by the Nation.
The natural application of the story which
absorbs SO much Of our space this morning is
the lesson that national honor must now be
rescued and defended, whatever the cost may
be. We have no concern with the adventures
of greedy and needy Bohemian. The only
way to deal with a man of that stamp is to
initiate the example of the resolute British
rulers in India. When the Sepoys rose in
rebellion-burned towns, massacred garri-
sons, laid plantations in waste, impaled
children on their spears and rended
innocent and delicate women limb
from limb or consigned them to
fate compared to which death would
have been a blessing, the leaders in crime
were blown from the mouths of cannon. Mr..
Wilcox and his class are the Sepoys of the
press and, figuratively speaking, we take him
and those who were partners in his adven-
lures, and blow them from the mouths of our
guns. With men Of his stamp there can be no
punishment too severe.
There still remains higher duty, and this
not alone for the HERALD. The public virtue
which, as a journal, we strive to represent,
must do its part. What do we see in Eriep
Here is railway built for the develop
ment of the commerce of New York, and
binding it closely to the West. No nobler
highway exists in the nation, and its
early history is one of the prOudest evil
dences of modern enterprise. The money
which built the Erie Railway was contributed
by the people Of New York. There was ne
cessty for the road The Erie Canal, for
which we are indebted to the genius of De
Witt Clinton and the great men who in the
early days presided over the destinies of the
Empire State, was the first step we took in
that path which has really made us an En-
pire State. With this we had the Central
and the Erie and the Pennsylvania Central.
The New York Central was for many years q
political engine In the hands of Dean Rich
mond and the Albany Regency. Its revenues
were diverted to the use of the old demo-
cratic party, and its patronage used to build
up candidates and conventions. The result
was that the Central Railway was para
lyzed and kept in o PROSTATE condition,
aud those who owned its stock were
at the mercy of the Regency. In time the
honest owners of the shares made 1t a bust
ness, and the road passed into the hands Of
men who used it to build up New York and
earn o fair and necessary revenue. The same
was seen in Pennsylvania. For years the
Pennsylvania Central, which held the same
relation to the Keystone State that the New
York Central did to New York, was managed
in the interest Of politicians. A ring in Har-
risburg, like the Albany Regency, controlled it,
using it and abusing it for political ends. The
tradition in New Jersey has been for genera
ton that the managers of the Camden and
Amboy owned the State.
The effect of this political management of
railways has been seen in the debasement of
politics which the history of New York, New
Jersey and Pennsylv ania have shown. Legis-
lation in these States has become mockery
and byword, synonym for corruption
and crime. eff Tom Scott has no more BUSH
mass for us to do" said member of the Penn
sylvania Legislature in open session, 81 move
that this body do now adjourn" Mr. Scott
as the chief Of the Pennsylvania corporation
was at the mercy of the political vultures, and
he had only one way of making them attend to
his business. He controlled them by feeding
them. Gradually public opinion has been
destroying this influence. In Pennsylvania
the great railroad has been taken from the
control of the State, and is now managed for
business purposes by keen business men.
In New Jersey the Camden and Amboy
has surrendered its monopoly and its politi-
cal aspirations and become what it was
always intended to be o branch Of a great
through line between New York and the
West. In New York Mr.. Vanderbilt has
done for his roads what has been done in
Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The share
holders in these roads feel that their prop
erty is prudently managed-their dividends
are honestly earned. When an Englishman
buys their stock or their bonds he is sure Of
his dividend and his interest. No highway
robbers sit in the boards of direction, and the
frauchises--the patronage and the income of
the roads are not devoted to the purposes Of
building up and tearing down mere politicians.
Commerce grows-busness prospers-New
York keeps her pace in the path of empire
and the nation feels that she can be proud Of
the bold and gifted men who preside over these
highways of business and travel.
How is it with Erie? As we have said,
there is no nobler highway than the Erie road
1t was the natural successor to the Erie
Canal. 1t was built by honest men, spending
the money of our honest citizens. 1t was
necessary to our through trade with the West.
Englishmen and Germans-the alien and the
citizen-invested in its shares and its bonds.
Millions and millions Of dollars were given to
its managers by men who saw that IT was a