The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1872-10-01
Gas Frauds in Richmond.

The City Council Of Richmond Is
engaged in investigating some little
populations that have taken place in
the gas Office in that city. The En-
guirer discourses concerning the matter
iu this seriocomic vein:
We are really amazed at the disclo-
sures OF our gas fraud" mot so much
at the "stupendosity" Of their proper.
tons, however, as at the beggarliness OF
of their mendicity. We don't know
which to be most ashamed of-that
they should have been committed at all,
or that they should be 30 Insignificant
and pitiful iu amount. 1t is no honor
to Richmond certainly to be booked for
such small frauds; and when we come
to compare our mole hill of corruption
to the mountain of New York, we
blush for our demerits, and feel like
hiding our diminished heads in q bushel
basket. 1t was only the otner day the
Herald spoke OF Richmond as the com
mercial rival" Of that city, and made
piteous appeal to all Virginiaps
and the rest of mankind not
to desert New York-not to turn the
tide OF trade from that city, aud prefer
magnificent Richmond to great Gotham;
and we had already begun to feel our
new importance and to hold our heads
aloft in the conscious pride Of well>
earned laurels to be worthily worn,
when along came this paltry piece OF
business-these contemplate gassfrauds
to trip up. our new dignity and ex-
plode the baseless fabric of our delusive
dream,-leaving only a villsinous smell
OF bad gas-not unlike the vile odor of
an extinguished tsllow dip-be,
hind. There was New York with
her grand stealiugs, aggregat-
ing millions Of dollars,-her steal
ings for carpets, window glass,
pIsstering painting, gas fitting, plumb:
ing, upholsteripg, white washing and
ali that sort of thing-doiug honor to
the city and giving her dignity in the
ewes Of all the thieves, swindlers and
pickpockets of the inhabitable globe,
not omitting the South Carolina and
Louisiana carpet-baggers. But New
York, the paragon Of big frauds,
stands without her rival; for unhappy
Richmond, which ought TO have done
better, can only exhibit beggarly &C
count OF altered figure twos" and a
score or go OF disputed 75-eent gas bills
True, we did try hard to make up for
our lack of "stupendosity" In real
roguery by the glare and importance
we gave the little we had through |
the newspapers, but the cheat, we fear.
will be too transparent They will see
through it all in New York, and accuse
US OF eudeavoriug to injure their repu-
tation by false representations and pre-.
tences 1t is a great pity that we should
have made SO lamentsble failure, and
had we but had any idea our city could |
do no better in the fraud" and "corrup' |
ton lines Of municipal business, we
should never have undertaken to
eclipse New York. Why, it scarcely
rises to the dignity Of the smallest per
formsnces OF the most insignificant OF
Grant 8 trusted and faithful civil service
reformers g"
1t will never do, gentlemen. We
must either give up the business alto
gether, and try TO get along with good
old>fashioned honesty, as OF yore. and
yield all hopes Of a pre-emineutly bad
reputation, or we must do something
more worthy the respect and conf lence
of the great lights Of Tammany and
South Carolina
Upon the whole, we don't know but
it would be the best policy for us to try
honesty, and put none but honest men
in office. 1t might prove a remedy tor
all the evils OF government. The ex-
pertinent is at least worth trial, espe
pecially as we have exhausted every |
other remedy.