Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1872-04-04
Helena, Montana, Thursday, April +, 1872.
WHY THE ADMINISTRATION Is ATTACKED.

| Appeals are made specially to laboring men
| That we have very corrupt administration at
Washington. One would suppose, to hear
our Democratic friends talk, that we never
ways been pure, because they never punish a
thief. [Applause and laughter Ipropose
right here to lay down this proposition: That
the reason why this administration is so as
sailed is not that it has been corrupt, or as
corrupt as it's predecessors, but that it is doing
much to expose thieving and to punish men
who steal The Democratic party-I mean the
modern Democratic party--came into power
in 1929, under General jackson. One man,
Samuel Swartwout, in Jackson's day, when
the government raised only few millions of
dollars year, stole $1,000 900 in the New
York custom hOuse-nearly as much money
as has been stolen under this administration
in three years, in collecting and paying out
nearly So, 100, 100000. The percentage of
loss under the administration has been less
than under any administration since jackson
was inaugurated President of the United
States. There is not shadow of doubt of
it. l assert here and now that there has been
less per centage of loss under Gen. Grants
administration than any other administration
since the days of John Quincy Adams. John
Tyler, a son of President Tyler, in letter
recently published, states that there were in
Van Buren's administration, ninety-eight re-
ceivers of the public money, ninety-six of
whom were defaulters. Ninety-six out of
ninety-eight! Laughter Is there any man
here tonight who knows that any one of
these men was ever sent to the penitentiary?
l believe a Republican thief is a worse man
than a Democratic thief. [Laughter.] He
has not SO many bad examples. Laughter
and applause A Republican thief is the
wickedest and meanest thief in all the land.
He joins great party that was brought into
being to give freedom to the slave, maintain
the unity of the country and preserve the life
of the nation. In the ranks of that party is
large mass of the intelligence of the country,
of the praying men and women of the coun-
try. A man who joins that political organi-
zation, betrays his trust and steals the money
of the government, is base creature, and the
penitentiary is the only place where he should
go.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REPUBLICAN AND
DEMOCRATIC THIEVES.
The difference between Republicans and
Democrats on this question is this: The Re-
publicans try to discover and punish their
thieves; the Democrats never punish theirs
You cannot tell me tonight of a man who
stole from the national government under
a Democratic administration who was sent to
the penitentiary. Under this administration
several thieves have been sent there. Most
of their stealing was under the late admins
tration, for there has been little stealing under
this. Under Andrew Johnsons administra-
ton mean men got office. He went back on
his party, on his record, and upright Demo-
Gratis paid little attention to him. honest Re-
publicans kept away from the White House,
and mean men of both parties sought the
benefits of his patronage. Since
General Spinner entered upon his office as
Treasurer of the United States, fifty-five
thNuCapH nf hop
through his office, counted by from three to
four hundred men and women. We have
lost between fifty and sixty thousand dollars
in these eleven years, while forty-tive thou
sand millions have gone through the office.
We punished one man, fined him, and he is
now trying to get back five thousand dollars,
for he says we made him pay five thousand
dollars more than he stole. Laughter. We
have sent to prison three trusted clerks, men
of capacity and ability; everybody trusted
and respected them. That is the way we
have served our thieves.
THE Gross THIEF OF THE WORLD
About the same time the discovery was
made of the boldest and most gigantic rob-
berry ever perpetrated in ancient or modern
times Bill Tweed" Boss Tweed"-a man
who few years ago went through bank
ruptcy, and who is said to have boasted, with
in year, that he had eighteen millions of
dollars, and with him the tribe of Tammany
Hall have been discovered and exposed.
Some of them have gone to Europe, some of
them are enjoying the pleasures of the health
full breeZes and snow drifts of Canada, and
some of them are in one part of the country
and some in another. While we were trying
Major Hodge, and sending him to the Peni-
tentiary at Albany for ten years, with the ap-
proval of the entire Republican party of the
country Bill Tweed the greatest thief in all
the history of the human family, the boss
thief of the world, loud laughter and ap-
plause was sent to Albany, not to the Peni-
tcntiary, but to the State-hOuse as a State
Senator by twelve thousand Democratic ma
jority. Applause. These two cases illus
trate exactly the difference between the two
parties; the one denouncing thieves and az
resting and furnishing them when it can, the
other never furnishing any of them. l am
told by leading Democrats, some of them
members of the Committee of Seventy, men
who have done all they could to expose and
break these men down, that they do not be-
lieve one of these thieves will ever 60 to the
Penitentiary. They stole the Erie railroad
they stole the State of New York from Gen.
Grant in 1868; they have stolen their millions
from the city; they have stolen judges and
stolen juries, and they get elected TO the Leg
islature; they do net get sent to the State
prison. And the men who denied this steal
ing, who denied that they stole the State of
New York, when they knew that they did it,
who denied the stealing of these Tammany
Hall men, until it was finally brought out and
established so clearly that nobody should have
denied it-these very men are accusing the
Administration of stealing have heard of
Satan's rebuking sin, but l never saw any,
thing so brazen as this before. loud ap-