Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1872-02-07
ClRPET-BlG GOVERNMENT.

tAkfEI-b ld wv
What q frisa,fui train Of evils does
the above head suggest. Lying. steal
ing, swindlinS, robbery, murder. i'm
prisunment. all the crimes that blark-
en- human character, atsl all the evil
that demorslize ani dcrang" huma'
society, rise up ut ourc before Us. tt"
world furnishes No ~laral"! I" Eadl-
cal Carpct-bagg.ry. A. political
and social evil. its rn"rnnity Is notrX-
cecdcd BY French Communism. For
Communism is honest vi"lcicr, but
carpet. bayyrry is downright rocnrr,
aud violence combined. From the
close OF the war until now, ii has
cursed anil oppressed l." greater "r
lrss extent every Southern state. In.
stead of being checked. it has been
fosirrcd and prrprtua.rd by IN adj
ministration which j., only an Illus
tra,ion of The ''rarprt-baS idea on II
gramdrr scale. Clrprt-bi"grry.whri
er IL attaches itself To State ur count,
governments. so"u draws 10 its sup
port ali The thieves. aivcniur"rs and
IL" less characters in the community.
To meet the demands of this hungry
crow, who's. sol. aim Is to fill their
pockets with money, warrants and
bouds are issued hy Tie wholesale.
aud a system ct public plumber j. III
a%uyuratrd. followed by Increased tax
alton until the State or county is
involved in bankruptcy. Missouri
has tasted the bitter fruits ofihi- Kind
oil government. The lc"rlr"il.ria,-
cite ave To-day wlili,in" under it,
heavy hurirr-. for u".lriug but car
pei, ha-9"rN would ever have placed
the county III it, present crippled com
diti"n, with / Lrhi -! Trll II million
and Il half dollars hanging over il.
Hence we are prepared to .ymI,nIlIHr
with our Snuiirrru friends. Ina lSi>
Louisiana owed nearly II million and
n halt dollars. less t;r,n LAFAYETTE
county does to-day. but in three wears
under ~carl.ri-l';t" r.ii". tEr -u.lli debt
OF that State ran up To nearly forty
zine million dollars. Til. following
from The Nation shows the figures
and the sharp practices OF the thieves
who have had control OF the STATE
government:
1T il certain that none of the carpet
bag governments ut the South, not
even the South larolinii rin".l- more
corrupt and drI,.-rd than that OF
Louisiana. Under II til" taxes have
risen from th%irty->rvcu and IL
half cents on the one hundred dollars
in 1866. to two dollars in ISL, and il
has raised the State debt from four
teen thousand five hundred dollars III
1868. to nearly inrty-mimc millions in
1871. Before the war. sixty DAYS sos
SION of the legislature cost from ONT.
hundred thousand dollars to two
hundred thousand dollars: the regular
aud extra session of the legislature
cost seven hundred and fifty thousand
dollars in 1870. and the rrgular-e>>iou
i,louc OF 1871 costs over nine hundred
thousand dollars. The modes of steal
ing. Io".a dopt"d by these ra>ca 5. bear
the most striking resemblance to the
~opetatiouS "ftim New York ring from
which they have doubtless been,
copied. We have before IL the report
OH the ufihc legislature for
1871, made by order of the district
our of New Orleans. in proceed
ing. instituted against the State all
dltnr. The commissioner only got
hold of the books with great diiiicui-
". and he found enormous frauds OF
five kinds: alteration and cra>urc OF
warrants: forgery of lathe, "li'war-
rants: issue of warrants by uniutii"r-
lied persons. for purp"."> forbidden
10y law, or in payment at services not
rendered. The Legislature" %apIr"rIia-
ted for the expenses of the general
assembly six hundred and tUrtv->cvcu
thousand four hundred and forty dol
lars for 1871. Cudrr this the thir>c,
forthwith Issued warrant, for eighty
eight thousand. one hundred and
tw~cnty-cight dollars: and when in
quiry is made, tits found that the
books of the warrant clerk and OF the
chairman OF Tia" committee OH ON
fingcnt expenses ave been lost! The
committee on charitable institutions
stole seven thousand four lfundrc,
and twenty dollars by drawing mile.
age for tours of inspection which
they never made. The committee o.,
railroads stole thirteen thousand tire,
hundred and filty-six dollars in /;
similar manner. The committee o.,
banks stole six thousand two hundred
dollars in the same way and tho
committee OH canals and draina.,
followed their example.