Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1872-03-02
what the Committee ACCOM-
pllssicL.

| mlllCc HuNc TcluTUcu W w "onItlH'
ton, and their work may bo consid-
cred at IN end. They will invite
all the young gentlemen Of the
Presidents official family and of
Col. Lcct's Mess to come before
them and purge themselves in a
quiet way of any imputations on
their honor or integrity. To al ow
this to be done without any noisc
or scandal, the Committee excused
these inculputed gentlemen from
coming to New York, and will
probably allow them to say what
and how much they please, They
will extend to them the same easy
courtesy and credit which they
gave Mr.. Leet, when they allowed
him TO swear he had never before
scon a witness whom he had daily
for nearly u week confronted in.the
Committeeman. But, grown wis
er by the Lect incident, they will
not expose his messmatos to the
hazards OF contradiction and i'm.
parchment. They feel that de-
cent conccalmcnt of possibly disa-
grceablo truths can be more easi-
ly effected in Washington than in
New York.
If there has been any guilty con-
nivancc of persons in the neigh
borhood of tho President with the
branded firm of Lcet & Stocking in
their deprcdations upon tho com
mcrce of this port, the Committee
in shutting off the investigation
before the matter is probed to the
bottom, are guilty of misprison
scarcely less criminal than the Of
fences they are seeking to palliate.
But if tho persons so mysteriously
sheltered and tcudled by tlb Com
mittee are innocent of no wrong,
than the attempt to spare their
sensibiities by excusing them from
that public. testimony for which
they volunteered, is folly which
should seem beyond the capacity
even of blindfold partisahs. Moth
ing can prevent the pablic from
drawing infercncos in high do
gree damaging to the character of
tho public officers whose reputation
arc held by these friendly Senators
as thing too fragile and DELICATE
to be exposed to the erisks of q cross
eXamihstion. ,t
Unfortunately, the conduct 6fthe
Committee while here was not of
nature to allow them to bid de-
fiance to suspicious of their par
tiality. Throughout the invastiga-
ton, the Administration Senators
played with barcfaced and synical
unconcern the part of attorneys for
the defense. Every effort was made
to browbcat and confuse any wit
ness who came before them to give
the information they professed to
be seeking for. In every case the
unfaithful or dishonest officers
mentioned by witness was promp.
lly SUNNI oncd and politely invited
to deny all that The disinterested
wilncBs had said Men of ominencc,
who are universally respected in
this community, who went before
this Committee, influenced by no
motives but those of conscience, to
give instances of official bad bcha-
vlor which had come under their
observation, were subjected to al
the annoyance which the exper
ichce pr Western courts could sug-
gest to Senator IloWo. lie paid
more respect to tao insolcnt swag-
gerng dcnials of thieving Inspcc-
tor of Customs than to the word Of
rcpcctacle merchants who have
been robbed by him.
But in spite of al! that was done
to make. tho Investigation n failure,
important results were s,ettrtheless
reached, and the Committee go BACK
to Washington with a rucful show
ing for their months work. They
tbIh6t deny that by the indications
of an independent press, and by the
testimony ofpublic spirited citizens,
it has been proved that the Gcner.
al Order system is I'm organization
of fraud and extortion; that it was
dishonesty obtained by Lcet &
Stocking, and dishonesty admins
tered by them; that although the
outrage and wrong Of their conduct
was frequently brought to the no.
tice Of the administration, nothing
was done to correct them until the
fnll blaze of publicity was turned
upon their performances, and the
disgust of the public cxEit6d tie iah-
guild conseicnces of those in author.
ity to a sense of tho aiscredit and
disorder of their acts. 1t is also
shown that the commerce of the city
was Systematically rlundcred and
oppressed by the Government car
;crs, the Government weighcrs and
inspectors; that merchants were co.
creed into bribery to get tie aitbn-
ton to which they had a right; that
an infamous system of terrorism and
illegal seizure kept business men
under the control of spies, inform
ers and bluckmhilers. 1t also Ger,
taihly appeared that the collection
Of the revenue was not the only b.
| jeot. nor even the principal one, to
which the enormous power and in
fluence of the Custom-housc was de.
voted; but that this entire o-ganiza-
ton and activity was directed not
merely 10 political ends, but 10 the
purpose of crushing one section of
The republican party in this State
and exalting another. And as a
sufficient answer to the cringing ex-
euse Of those journals who wear the
Custom house livery, that tiese
things were nothing newj II was
sHo&h that the stealing fad greatly
increased during the recent admin
istration, and that the impertinbtt
interference with fractional politics
was the invention ofthe man whom