New-York tribune., 1873-03-01

and cannot attaint the cause Of truth or the
Church Of Christ. They stand or fall by them
selves, and whoever supposes for moment
that their conduct brings the Church or
Christianity into disrepute makes very great
mistake Christianity does not depend upon
the good conduct of its vOtares, and the
sensitive souls who shrink from censuring these
men through fear of injuring the cause, take
altogether too narrow view of the subject.
1t is possible that the gentlemen who re-
ceived Credit Mobiier stock by purchase OF
quasi purchase did not intend any wrong.
They were without experience in that kind OF
business. So much is in their favor. 1t was a
great temptation and the religious manliness
and thorough going personal integrity tnat
resist temptation do not find congenial
atmosphere in Washington. They fell before
it, MISUNDERSTANDING how much it involved 10
hold an investment under such circumstances
that paid thousand per cent and over. IL
was an easy step from that to the evasion,
instrumentation and falsehood of the cam
paign, for to their sight in the Importance OF
carrying the election all other things were
dwarfed. Then came the wild entanglements
of the investigations and the disgraceful ex-
Worse men than they would have bcen-nay,
,cere-wiser. These were just innocent enough
and Just human and frail enough to fall. Had
they been sharper in worldly sense, or had
they been more conscientious, they wouid
have put the temptation away.
AS to Messrs POmeroy and Harlan, 1t Is
possible that through the old jesuitical pro-
cess of justifying the means by the end
they descended gradually to the sin and shame
of being habitual traders in politics and cor
rupters of their fellow men. In the stress OF
our great national trial aud peril, questionable
acts, whereby advantage was to accrue to the
common cause, were easily overlooked and con-
doned. That to bribe voter "tO do right'-that
is. to vote for the party of the Union-was
"better than to let him do wrong for nothing"
was the logic of the hour. The men who
trusted Providence in a nebulous wordy way
in the main, sometimes had sneallng
distrust of the ability Of the Almighty TO
carry out His purposes except as they should
lie and cheat little to help Him, and 80 they
grew to look with serene satisfaction upon the
adoption of measures by their friends which,
if used by their opponents, would be infamous
Familiarity with the means employed to carry
elections for the "party OF loyalty" against
the "red handed traitors" deadened in some
sort their powers of discrimination and when
it came to contests within the party for hOnors
and spoils, they did not scraple to use for per-
sonal and selfish aggrandizement the means
they had only winked at before because
great and holy cause was promoted by them.
So Pomeroy and Harlan fell naturally.
The Church is not disgraced because these
men wore its cloak or assumed to represent
it. Its hold on humanity is of no such frail
and feeble tenure. We may for time be led
to doubt tho professions of public men who
faunt their assum ptions of superior virtue in
our faces; we may scrutinize more closely the
conduct of our so-called " "Christian statesmen"
but beyond that the church will suffer no
harm, true religion no discontinue. And it
will perhaps be just as well for while to
put to some test religious professions that are
brought forward for political consumption.