The Van Buren press., 1872-06-25
WhiteWash.

Il is most fortunate thing for the Grant
party that lime Is abundant and whlteWash
cheap In this country. That party uses an IN
calculable amount of the article, and II It's
manufacture were limited to Massachusetts, or
Pennsylvania. and high protective tarill I'M
posed on its importation, the WhlteWash Dill
for single session OF congress would bank
rupt the party. Never were so many investl-
eating committees ordered and pat to work.
~ at the late scssiun-ordered and put to
Ork. be it remembered In spite of the oppo-
sitiOn OF the party whose officials ana favor
ties were to ne Investigated. Never was 50
much corruption inquired into; neverwer so
many reports made and never were so many
suspected official characters found to be 40
immaculate and shining. The administration
party could not consistently refuse TO investl-
gate charges against the presidents friends
and iavorites; but they did the next best
thing; they whitcwashed the last man Of
them. They vindicatcd Secretary Robson.
who paid the S93 600 Secor claim without au-
thority they vindicated the war department.
which sold arms to France knowing that they
were to be used in the war against the Ger
mans they ymdicated Casey, who used Cat
ling guns and revenue cutter for partisan
purposes in Louisiana; and. last of all they
yindicated those precious fellows. Leet and
Stocking. the" Knight. otthe General Order
az Mr.. Schurz called them. Some OF these ac-
cuscd presidential hvorites had been openly
denounced by the more respectable organ. Of
the administration, which mortified by their
shameless conduct, had loudly called upon
the president 10 remove them. They had
spoken of Casey as a dis grace to the civil SER
vice. and go nSelGd the president for the
good of the party TO turn him out ofthe New
Orleans colcctorship; and they had joined
with the opposition journals and the mer-
chants of New York, in denouncing the
general -Ordcr' robbcries of Lcet and stock
ing. and demanding their removal and the
abolition Of the general order business.
But notwithstanding all this, the majority re-
ports of the investigating committees found
no fault with the presidents pets. They dis
covered nothing wrong in Louisiana, and no.
thing wrong in New York The manage
ment of the New Orleans custom house under
Collector Casey, and of the New York Gus
tom house under Tom Murphy wa, reported
to be excellent Casey WAS found to be an
excellent fellow and "A most deCOTOuS and
proper official so was Tom Murphy; 50 were
Leet and Stocking; so were all the rest Il
them. They saw nothing wrong about the
gencral-Order business in New York, out Of
which Lcct was making hundred thousand
a year. and of which A. T. Stewart had com
planned to the president; they heard of no
Calling guns and miSuScd revenue cutters at
New Orleans; they heard of nothing wrong
anywhere. Atall places they found things
in n delightful condition. and the whole civil
service under Grant to be as pure and chaote
as in the most virtUous age OF the republic; I;
and so they virtually reported,
There never was more Coid-btOoded de-
defiance of the public sentiment than this
wholesale whitewashing Of corrupt Officials.
by the presidents party in Congress. The
facts rs charged and admitted by respectable
administration journals, were sufficiently cs-
tahlishcd; the whole country knew them. and
fair minded Republicans condemned them
Yet. in the face ttbiS universal Indignation
the presidents party refused to find the Of
tenders guilty, and the president refuses to
remove one Of them from oiiice.-N Louis
H,DUIicW.