The sun., 1873-02-01
The Sacrifice Demanded.

The Sacrifice Demanded.
Visitors to Niagara remember the rush
and swirl of angry waters for little dis
tance above the edge of the fall, how they
boil and bubble and sccthc and foam, and
then leap into the abyss below. Whoever
falls by accident orplungcs ont Of a weary
life into this current leaves hope behind.
Rescue or escape Is impossible Timid per-
sons shrink away from the edge OF IL,
thoughtful ones mediate on il. and fools
Jest over II or try Riddy ana CHASTITY
experiments OH the bridge that spans
u or with the treacherous cddics that
curl along the banks. Many years
ago young man and his afIlnnced
bride stood beside the stream, aud with
them the young lady's sister, prnttling
child. The young man took the child in his
arms, and in what IL sometimes called by n
fearful misnomer spirit of playfulness,
tossed her up over the boiling food. The
child screamed, struggled, broke from his
hold, and the next instant was tossing in the
waves toward the falls, helpless and hope
les. Another instant, a flash Of time almost
inappreciable to thought, but crowded
with revelations of the dreadful conse-
quence OF his folly, and the young man
leaped far into the stream, catching In his
arms the struggling babe, not with any ex-
pectation OF saving II or rhimself-there was
no glimmer of hope of that-but to re-
deem himself and pay in full, as in no other
way he could, the penalty of his folly. A
moment later he raised the child above
him, and the two went down together.
There sometimes come 10 men Just such
occasions, emergencies that call for stu
pendous sacrifices; crises In which criminal
folly can only be atoned for by herosm
that counts not life or reputation but lays
down all to meet the stern demands of
Justice. II Is not difficult to see that TO q
number Of political leaders in this country
who have been counted among the best
and purest Of our public men, n time like
this has come Ignorantly or knowingly,
honestly or corruptly, with good or with
evil intent, these gentlemen have commit
ted great, a criminal folly. whichever
way you putt, as criminal folly or as foolish
crime, IL is OF most ruinous tendency. Un-
less some grand reparation is made, some
sacrihcial atonement offered, IL is fatal to
all our faith in free Institutions. This
amazing folly of theirs has tossed over
board the public confidence. They cannot
help seeing and acknowledging 1t. No
matter by what processes of casuistry they
may undertake TO Justify themselves to
themselves and extenuate TO their own
consciences their fault, the fact remains
that in the judgment of the people they
are condemned Against such an array of
proof as has risen up against them
no man can stand. They have passed the
time when they might have pleaded the
greatness of the temptation or thrown
themselves on the mercy of the court.
what they began in nat',-ai ouPidity ana
attempted TO cover by evasion and prevari-
cation, has passed on TO positive denial, false
hood, and in some cases downright perjury.
And these men represent moral IDEAS
great piiiiantniupics, poutlcai purity, re-
form, morality, sobriety, religionl They
were held up in the days of political de-
generacy as the good men in politics, the
sheet anchor of the nation, the living tes-
timony that our politicians were not all
corrupt or our politics entirely bad. Many
OF our political leaders have been known
to be corrupt, and through the bad odor
with which they have tainted the atmos-
phere of politics it has come about that
va piOltsslpbdi S n
title of infamy. But the people have
cherished the delusion that there was still
leayen of virtue among our public men,
and they have pointed to DAWES and Will
soN and CoLFAx and GARFIELD and KEEL
LEY and some Of those others who have
been besmirched, as proof that there were
still honest men in Office. And now that
these men have gone down under investi-
CATION, what shall the people sayl
The young man who followed the child
into the vortex Of Niagara had in the flash
OF consciousness before he leaped a whole
lifetime of remorse unveiled before him.
He could meanly live it and be dragged
down by ii, or he could wash his folly out
in the same wave with its victim and die
heroic. lie recognized the demand for
sacrifice and on the instant answered it.
Will these men do the samel II they
palter and bubble and undertake TO
stay In public life and remain in office,
the people will not only lose confidence in
them but faith in free institutions and
their products, perhaps all faith in human
nature. To exonerate them from blame
and say they have done nothing dishonest
or disgraceful is TO approve venality and
corruption ana set up officially standard
of political morals under which no govern
ment can long survive. They cannot drag
mp drowned honor by the locks; but they
ran say This is our folly and our fault; il
Is for us to make reparation to the out
ragged moral sense of the nation, and not
for the nation to be dragged down to our
level" They can resign and disappear.
This is the sacrifice required of them.
Politics in Connecticut.
The political cauldron in Connecticut,
which has been actively boiling for sew
eral weeks or ever since the Republican
newspapers began bringing forward their