Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1872-02-10
The New Patriotism.

"Brigands," there is collector Of
revenue who is in great and grot-
csquc distress, and cannot sleep ut
night because his books won't bal
ancc, and the Government seems to
owe him one ccntimc. Of course,
he turns out to be n great rogue
and the plundcrer Of thousands,
The condotturi Of the New York
Custom. house seom to be in like
condition just now, except that their
concicntious disturbance has rather
reicrcnce to patriotism" than to
pennies, The only pretcXt for the
Ilcet and Stocking job, by which
100000, Or, by their own admis-
sion. $50, 900, are filchcd from the
pockets of the merchants, is "pa-
triotlsm." Good natured Mr.. Grin
mel, who created the job, could not
bear to see foreigners" taking
charge Of the landed goods. Muir
ply, whose name is not racy or re.
dolcnt of our soil, felt tho same re.
pughancc, and could not reconcile
it to his American heart to see tho
"Britshers" of Jersey City or the
"Tsutons" of Hobokcn taking care
of goods destined for the New York
market, even though the merchants
wished it and the cost was nothing.
1t was proved before the Pattoon,
and, no doubt, will be before the
Buckingham committee, that the
receipt for storage for three years
Of the Cunard company averaged
about 81, 900, and the Bremen S3,~
600, making joint average of about
$4,000, while Leet testified himself
that his net profits were over $685.
600. There is, in some of the re-
cent testimony, mild allusion TO
difficulties about ice in crossing the
river, but in view OF the fact that
for eleven months out Of the twelve
the ice is no impediment, and this
winter there is no leo at all; and Of
the further fact that the merchants,
anxious to get their goods quickly,
make no complaint On this Store, it
was not pressed. "Patriotism," the
"Amorican spirit" WAS the great
induccmont. All the general order
dependents felt this emotion swell
ling in their hearts. 1t porvades
everything and everybody, except
degenerate semialens like "Phelps,
Dodge & Co." and rs. B. Chitten-
den," and "Arnold & Constable"
and III. 3. Claflin, "and W.B. Dun
can. We pretcrmit ihe initiate Soc.
rctary of the Treasury. Mr.. A. II.
Stuart, and a discrcdited Democrat
like Mr.. Belmont, who are Of for
cign birth.
The fact remains that Leet's pat
rons, Messrs. Grinnell and Murphy,
were victims of this native Amer
lean enthusiasm, and can give no
other reason for the removal of tn,
place of storage from New Jersey
to New York than theirrcpugnanco
to see "forcigncrs" take honest
charge of their goods. Oddly en-
ough, too, it turns out that the only
man who really seems to have been
animated by II sincere desire 10
thwart the irregular and fraudulent
operations of foreign importing
agents in New York, General Pal
mer, is the one to be ignominiously
dismissed. Nay, the ecstatic "Amcr-
lean" feeling seems to pervsdo ev-
erything, for, according to the Gov
eminent testimony taken u few
days ago, when foreign firm were
caught smuggling iron, they sent
ah "Amcrican" member of the con-
Germ to arrange it by a comprom SO,
and he ultimately succeeded "He
came in,' says the witness, "to my
private office. lie seemed very
much excited, even to emotion.
Closing the door, he placed his hand
on my shoulder, and said, in most
feeling and tender way, What can
l do to stop this thing-to settle it,
to avoid suit in courtT / was
touched by his manner and voice,
when he said "Come now, as my
partners are all foreigners, and /
am the only American in the firm,
1 suppose we can get along better
than you and they can"
Were the subject not in every
aspect serious, such spurious SEN
timentalism in the guisc of Ameri
can feeling would only provoke Il
smile. 1t certainly, in this case, is
new illustration Of one of Mr..
Summers very familiar quotations
the other day as to whose ready
refuge patriotism of some ort is
very apt to be. The men who thus
prate of "Ametican" feeling and
jealousy of foreign influence are,
too, let ii be borne in mind, the
agents and active exponents of that
political organization and school to
whose teachings and practices we
owe il that no Ameriean-built steam
er-scarccly an American sailing
ship, crosses the Atlantic or anchors
in our waters. 1t is the thinnest
varnish that ever was smearej over
political profligacy. Besides, thero
is not, we venture TO affirm, an hon
est merchant of New York, native
or foreign born, who would not in
finitely prefer his goods being guar
ded by such men as Mr.. Franklin
and Mr.. Schwab rather than fugi-
tive flibbertigibbets like unattached
Colonel Leet of Sutler Stocking
the 'revolted tapsters and discarded
unjust serving" of the military
"mess"-"cankers" of a peace not
yet long-or even the Bixbys, and
Lindsays, and Horizons, and Masons
Of Republicanism.
We have referred, in this conncc-
ton, TO the case Of General Palmer,
dismissed from the Appraisers Office
by Murphy, with the acquieseence
of the Administration, and TO his
steady and resolute anlagouism to
the mal-pFactices Of irado in New