The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-06-21
Curious Exploits Of Corrupt Admins
tratiOn.

A luxurious monster, who regards only his
own selfish qualification, for Chief Magis-
trate. A crowd of cringing underlings sur
rounding the throne of ''the sashed and epau-
letted sphinx, "and ministering to his sensual
ity with greater recklessness and depravity of
their own. All the Executive energies bent
on securing tribute of cigars and offerings of
rapid horses. All the corruption and licen-
tiousness of the courts of Caligula, Nero, I'll
berias and Heliogabalus concentrated at the
White House. Even thus we do not paint
Gen. Grant and his relatives in colors so
black as are freely laid on by Liberal and
Democratic hands. If we may believe these
gentle limners the President has improved on
all the antique models of private debauchery
and public mal-administration that history
affords as warnings to mankind. Under
such circumstances it surprises one to find
the government exhibiting all the substantial
results of honest, faithful, and energetic ad-
ministration. Indeed no other government
since the foundation of the Republic has been
able in three years of peace to work such mir
acles. The following facts will greatly puzzle
the future historian, who is reader of Dem
ocratic newspapers:
That a government whose sole aim was
plumber should take such care of the public
money that Congress was able in three wears
to reduce taxation by the enormous sum of
one hundred and seoenty.fue million dol
lars.
That an Executive disgraced by the most
shameless nepotism and the most wanton dis
regard of the public interests should not
outstanding the immense reduction of taxa
ton, pay in three years ouer three hundred
million dollars Of the national debt.
That during the reign of corrupt despot,
working through corrupt subordinates and
supported by corrupt political organization,
the annual current expenditures. including
the interest on the national debt and the ever
lengthening pension roll, have been reduced
ouer eighty millions of dollars.
That the securities of country which was
made the plaything of an unpripcipled and
besotted tyrant were worth a premium in
gold in three years from the beginning of his
reign, while they sold at SO in gold under the
constitutional government of his Democratic
predecessor.
That gold should command premium of
3o per cent. under the honest Democrat, and
only ten or twelve per cent. under the rascal
ly Republican.
That the demoralizing system of distribu-
ting the public Offices as rewards tor personal
service or political activity, which took its
rise during a Democratic administration
and was continued by the whole series of
Presidents down to the time of Gen. Grant
should have been summarily abolished by
that stolid horsejockey and reformed sys-
TEN, based on merit and ascertained qualifi-
cations as conditions of preferment, substitu-
ted therefor.
That country governed by military ring
should preserve peace with all nations under
the most delicate and trying circumstances
that government thoroughly pervaded by
alde-de-campism, should be the first to treat
the Indians with even approximate justice,
and should be among the first to discover
that philanthropy is often the truest states
manship.
Are these things credible that the enemies
OF the administration allege? The achieve
ments of which we have spoken are matters
of common knowledge. They are not mat
tiers of rational dispute. Can it be, then, that
men who ara wholly bad have natural in
capacity for doing anything but good?