The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1873-07-21
The PenitentiarY CaSe..A Retrospect
tive View.

patrons.
The PenitentiarY CaSe..A Retrospect
tive View.
The Supreme Court Of Appeals pro
mulgAted, Saturday, its decision OF the
PenitenisIy Case, awarding possession to
BRIDGES, the sppointee O! HESHr ;.
WALKER by grace o! the bogus Board Of
Public Works. Nobody, We presume Is
greatly surprised st such Eesu!t-a'
lest, nobody scqusinted with the per
s2pal p.oc!ivities o. the gentlemen COM
posing the court, snd the partisan charac'
,s: O. decisions inside by it wherever cass
involving questions growing out Of the
rebellion haye been involved Weprint
the syl!Ab1s Of the Opinion, in which the
LEGAL conclusions Of the court are fully
sisted. The Opinion itself is very long,
en-! has such S p:odigious stump speech
"a il belly" that we cannot ind room
:g:It.
We wish to suggest some salient Fes'
lures Of this business which our West Viz.
eiuia readers nay ST this juncture proda'
u.Y :tc.L- Il WAS aiwsys favoTite no
r..a q The sacred soiI' to give the
~xec1uvc department s generous share
d: power. When the Democracy came
10 the helm in this SiSte and framed q
lev constitution, this idea was conspicu.
ously carried into ihsi instrument. With
this Auoihe: idea wss not wholly cissoci-
s.ei, viz: 10 form sort Of ruling caste
o! Tiag, among whose members the spoils
- recently won should be distributed.
Certain members o! quietly formed
syndicate were 10 have Judgeships,
certain Other wAs to be Governor, another
L. ;. Senator, smother 10 hsve the public
printing with 6 liberal construction, and
- on down. The person who was 10 be
Governor hsd ns3e some sscTifces. He
hsi she'd his blood, 50 TO speak, that Is,
he hsI bled y 70! his beloved party, be
VS. in full and leading membership in the
syndicate, and his place WIS to be tignl'
lied with ali the consequence that could
he stischej 10 ii. Il happened, through
circumstances which the syndicate could
not control, that another person than the
chosen and arointed became Governor,
and BY this unexpected turn OF
afairs the harmony OF the ring
arrangement was disturbed. The
person who stepped into the place pre-
pared for Mr.. JOHNSON y. CAMDEN de-
clined to carry out Mr. CAMDES's ar.
engagements. He would not join the Ring.
lie didn't believe in addition, divis-
ion and silence" aud hence he became
especially obnoxious to the parties inter
csted in the public printing. lie didn't
believe in uaihcking away the patronage
intrusleI to his disposal by the people !;
hence he offended all the vultures that
hocked 10 the seat OF government as soon
as the carcass was supposed 10 be there
for their delectation. In short, JOHN J.
JACOB proved to be "a very obstinate
man." who could neither be Ca
joled nor driven into any Of the
rotten, plundering schemes hatched
by the Ring, who had long since
divided out and assigned the SpoilS.
Then the hungry pack turned on Govern
or JACOB, and how they have bounded
him and rent him from that day
to this IS disgrsceiul part Of
the history Of the State. The dig.
mites with which they had clothed the
office were stripped OF, so far as it could
be dene, by the wrathtul and hungry crew
that had control in the Legislature.
Though expressly forbidden in the Con-
stitution from making appointments, they
took this power into their own hands and
exercised it through creature Of their
own making, to enable their faction 10 get
control OF the chief appropriations for
public institutions. They made this crea.
iure out of material expressly forbidden
by the Constitution from being put to
such uses. The Constitution OF their own
hands was trampled under foot, because
by an unforeseen contingency it stood in
the way of their designs. We propose
no discussion here Of the legal power Of
the Legislature 10 do these things. We
believe they had no sucf power, despite
the ruling Of the highest court to the
contrary. But beyond that question Is
another OF more importance to the peo'
pie, viz; Whether, if it were legal under
the present Constitution for the Legisla.
ture TO absorb the powers oithe executive,
it was wise and e1pedient to do it;
whether such union OF executive and
legislative powers tends to efficiency and
purity Of legislation or administration.
\ brief allusion 10 the circumstances
which brought this case into the
court, may suggest the answer
to this vital inquiry, FOX il ever
more naked, disgusting rotIenDess attend.
ed any session Of stste Legislature than
marked the progress Of the war on the lie.
gitimstc powers of the Governor at Char.
lesion last winter, We should be pleased
to have it instanced.
The Democratic Printer, who got his
swag in due course Of distributing the
spells, was accused before the Legislature
with gross peculaiion. This officer had