American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-10-12

embezzlement by subordinates. can be
carried on by wholesale and he know no
thing about It. Is it not time to put the
books into new hands and make an in
ventory Of stock I'm order that the people
may know how we stand, and how much
has been stolen ?-Erchange.
Republican Desperation and its Causes.
The desperation with which the. Ad.
ministration and its abettOrs are conduct
ing the pending electoral canvass is with
Presidential contests. The highest officers
Of the Government have practically aban-
doned their duties at Washington to en-
gage In the trough and tumble struggles
Of the political arena. Senators and MEM
bers of the House of Representatives are
running to and fro through the land
without much increase of knowledge to
their listeners, but with great moderation
OF speech In portraying the magnitude of
the present S'crisis." Unhappy warriors,
like General Burnside and his clansmen,
turned into still more Unhappy politicians,
assemble In political conventions to show
how fields may be won by men &C invinci-
The Republican press, draws daily on the
resources Of its s. sweltered venom in or
der to make q cruel thick and slab " for
its boiling callldron.
In explanation Of this ferocity it has
been common to point to two considers
lions first, the imminent peril which now
waits on the fortunes Of the Republican
party, stimulating its champions to draw
courage from despair, and secondly, the
fact that 1t is called to struggle with q de-
lection from its own ranks. But there is
another consideration which, more than
these, serves to account for the extraordi-
nary vtvacity with which the Republican
leaders are striving to retain their hold on
the Government.
II 1t were simply question of partisan
success or defeat the present canvass
might be left to the arbitrament of public
opinion with no more strenuous exertions
on the part Of the Administration and its
importers than such as are ordinarily
put forth by the encumbents of place in
their natural anxiety to retain the emolu-
ments OF Office and to preserve the ascen-
dency of their political ideas. But the vio-
lence OF the struggle which these men are
now making in the face of the American
but fearful looking for of Judgment
in the prospect of an adverse result.
And In view OF recent developments
no attentive observer Of public events need
be any longer Affected with surprise at the
trepidation and furious zeal of the spoils-
men enlisted in the service of the Repub-
ncan party. These men are painfully
conscious that defeat In the pending can
vass means for them not only loss Of place
but loss of character; not only the sus-
pension Of public plumber but the damning
exposure Of those hideous corruptions
which have made the present Admimis-
tration Kissing and byword among many
OF its former supporters.
The Republican party has now had un-
restricted control of the Federal Govern
ment during the last twelve years. Dur
Ing the most Of th ssesss {. q great majority
OF the State governments at the North
At tie South 1t has fattened on most of
Of the Southern commonwealths since the
end Of the war rs on so many conquered
provinces which had no other purpose
Than, tnan TO ieei its vengeance, crafty its ann
tainers- And all this arbitrary power has
been exercised under the most powerful
temptations to its abuse-the preoccupa-
lions of civil strife; the spirit Of gambling
made universal by q fictitious and variable
cS9,Tsnsy gigantic n. schemes her Of public
laws; and lastly, but far from beinx lanst
among the evils due to the Republican
party, the creation and endowment OF
monster corporations, with immense REL
sources at their command to corrupt the
fountains Of legislation at Washington
and to debauch the public conscience.
1t IL these agencies which have thrown
network of corruption over the whole
land, and the men who have woven these
tolls for the discontinue Of the honest and
lAboring masses3Are trembling now not
only at the prospect of losing their ILL
gotten gains, but also Of seeing their Sc
cret arts exposed to the light Of day.
Notwithstanding the vehemence with
which the friends of the Administration
resisted all inquiries during the last ses-
sion Of Congress into the conduct of the
Government, enough.was revealed to ex-
cite the alarmS0f patriotic minds, and
more than enough to strike dismay
into the hearts Of the Republican man.
ayers. whose craft was endangered by
csc untimely :nquisitions. And since
the present canvass began the very air
has been rife with the most unwholesome
exhalatiOns wherever q rent or fissure has
been made, though by chance, in, the |
crust which covers the arts of corruption
and robbery from the public view.
In the presence of such revelations, and
in the prospect Of others greatly more |
embarrassing, it is not to us q source of |
wonder that the orators and organs and |
retaincrs Of the administration should be- |
tray such panic fears and utter such panic |
cries just ut this juncture. When letters |
Ike those Of Cakes Ames to Colonel |
McCOmb are unearthed by even the indi- |
rect process of a civil suit before the |
courts, what ''6nds" might we not expect |
II the proceedings of the last few years !
were subjected to the scrutiniZing gaze OF |
q direct and critical censorship? It is the |
rear OF these things which causes the |
guilty to tremble. 1t is the dread Of such |
exposures which makes the apologists of |
the Administration SO clam0rOus in the |
frantic appeals which they address to their |
political compatriots, imploring them to |
lend no faith to damaging disclosures |
while the Republican party is on trial. |
And It fs with keen perception of that |
party's incapacity to stand the ordeal |
through which it is now passing that the
misses these accusing challenges as 'sslan- |
ders' and ''f0rgeries," while confessing,
with charming naiDete, that lit would |
very much like" to dispense with the |
trouble of meeting them. We can read
lily believe tn. r. World.
The Colossal Fraud.
The Credit Mobilier bribing of Con-
gressmen to assume its debt Of $17O,OOO,-
200 is the colossal fraud of the day. Mr..
Greeley stated the whole case i'm the fol-