Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-04-10


point as unpatriotic or improper, yet
they keep up their personal attacks and
misconstruction of motives These are
not confined to him alone. His wife,
sons and daughter are daily served up as
dish of scandal by the gossips of the
metropolitan opposition press during their
present visit to New York. Is anything
to be gained by such course General
/ Graut, as President, can do very
few acts in and Of himself If
he could, and, in so doing should
commit an error of judgement, or
intention even, could personal abuse
benefit the cause or rectify the mistake
Is such a course honorable to journalism
or American institutions? Nothing, in
our judgment, rs more calculated to lead
our youth astray than this constant mis-
! construction Of motives, and the endeav-
/ or to have it believed and understood
that our puslic men arc ell bad, corrupt
men. What is the natural result Either
and this is now trae to a very large
cxtent-all classes of persons, both
young and old, will look upon newspa-
! per statements as idle, senseless, I'M
meaning and false Grand this will
be Gar worse-they will consider that it
rs natural aud proper for public men to
be bad and corrupt, and that they can
attain position only by such means. A
sad day would it be for the country,
when either Of these propositions should
become true, or when the mass Of the
people should believe them. or either
of them, to be true. There is fraud,
corruption and wickedness enough
throughout the world now, and we,
probably, have our share of it. 1t is a
work, worthy of the thought and atten-
ton of any man, or body of men, how
best to stem the tide of corruption. He
must, however, be a philanthropist in
deed, who would, in these days, devote
his time, his thoughts and his efforts to
such an end. Fills motives would be as
sailed, his character blackened and his
every act misrepresented, because pur-
ity could not be understood and he
might, if successful in efforts for reform,
perhaps, stand In the way of some little,
miserable, petty politician. Services to
lac country and purity of motive would
gosfor nothing. Here is where we want
reform. Here is where we want peace.
1t is, as we have said, bad enough during
a political campaign 1t has then, if
any, only a bad effect If a corrupt
man desires Office, he does not fear to
take nomination. He knows, if he
knows anything, that there viii and can
nothing worse be said against him than
against the best and puresr man in the
community. Why SHOULD he care for
charges of frauda,id wrong-doing, when
the same charges, although unfounded,
are made age INST his pure-minded neigh
Dor? Ihle result must tend to foist
such m en- into public position. The diff
hcu ~ win be to expose them and get
rid of them. No one believes, for an
instant that General Grant is a bad,
: corrupt man. Why follow him with
these attacks Its tendency must be,
9 in addition to what we have already
! said, to bring the office he already holds
G into disrepute. He is President Of the
: United States and, as such, is entitled tc
, our respect. His great services to his
/ country, in the hour of her direst need
l. entitle him TO our love and veneration
g Nothing that he has done has forfeited
for him our respect, love and veneration
We are not speaking as a republican tC
republicans or democrats. We are
speaking as man to our fellow-men
We, all alike, love our country and he
: institutions, and desire and strive for he
l. prosperity and advancement. We-ont
a. and all-despise the gossipping slandere
is and calumniator of his neighbOrs Where
at is the difference between the one ant
II, the other? Let us mingle some Of thu
IN courtesies of every day life in politics
~ If we are sincere in our motives and &C
Is tons let us accord that some sincerity t.
ct others. Let us make war upon frau,
IN and corruption among the highest a
sc well as the lowest But where there
5 nothing of this, nor any pretence there
n of, let there be in or out of a politica
DIS campaign-no attacks on personal mo
= tives, no blackening of regulations, bu
90 'let us have peace, in this respect.