Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1873-06-18
A suPERcILIoUs BUREAU.

When the New York Times opened It's
fearless battle on the corrupt Tammany
Ring by charging Oakley Hall and Tweed
with being there's, the highly indignant
| Mayor, standing upon his social position,
| refused to take any notice of the charge
But blow after blow followed in every is
sue, until the "ring" was made to see that
the people did not regard any man or set
of men too high to answer serious charges
preferred by a newspaper of character
Public clamor soon brought the supercili-
Gus Mayor and his Christianity friends
down from their stills to notice
the charges. When the facts be-
came known, their corruption startled
the American people. The charges of the
Times were more than sustained. The
first efforts of the 'ring" to hide their cor
ruption by silence or general denials were
then understood. We had supposed that
since their ignominious failure no other
"ring" would ever attempt to answer
serious charges in a similar way.
Some days ago the CHRONICLE charged
the Agricultural Bureau of this State with
absorbing in exorbitant salaries to their
officers-the annual appropriation of ten
thousand dollars made by the Legislature
to promote the agricultural interests of the
State. We charged upon what we deemed
as entirely reliable information, that to
their Secretary, j. b. Hillebrew, they
paid So 900 to their chemist, DIR. Stafford,
good salary, and to two other Secretaries
in East and West Tennessee, 81, 900 each.
We cited acts of the legislature, by which
the authority of the Commissioners to pay
these high salaries was cunningly secured.
The charge at the time we regarded as
serious one. We so regard it now. 1t is
either true or false. If true, it is an impu-
tation upon the Commissioners which
they can not suffer to pass unanswered.
If false, but few words are needed to so
brand it.
Our charges were considered so
important by Governor Brown that
the Nashville Union and american,
speaking for him, felt called upon to notice
them. 1t practically admitted their truth
and justice by saying that the salaries voted
by the Board seemed to the Governor tex
brilliant" and that he had called the
Commissioners together to "rectify' their
mistake The Governor did convene the
Board. They met last week in Nashville.
The following gentlemen compose it.
Messrs. Nicholson and Crutchfield, East
Tennessee Jackson and Killebrew, Mid
die Tennessee, and Hunt and Hays, OF
| West Tennessee. Instead of recognizing
the right of the press to criticise their action
or of the people to know in what way, as
servants, they were discharging their duty
by meeting the charges like honest, sensible
men, they set themselves up as a body
above suspicion, above the reach of the
people, possessed of divine rights which
the common masses have not the right t
question.
Their proceedings are about as foolish
and weak as any ever sent forth by sant
men. We publish them elsewhere and in
vite attention to them. If they deny any
charge made we do not know it. They at
tempt to break the force of the charges 10y
saying that they come from political" pa
pers and are prompted by hidden mo
tives," but they do not deny them. Wha
part of these charges is "unfounded." L
Killebrews salary 50, $50 instead of $4,000
We charged that there were seven Commits
sioneIs, whereas it seems there are but six
There may be some such slight mistakes il
our charges out of which they can creep
but they are true in all essential particu
lars we do not doubt, IF they were not, tn
: Commissioners would soon deny them.
The idea of these men assuming to b
better than other public servants, in tina
they are above suspicion is a good joke
If they think the people of this State vii
recognize any such a right they are mista
ken. They may imagine themselves yer,
great and very pure men, but until the.
answer the charges the CHRONICLE an
the Union and american present, the
stand as good as convicted.
DANGEROUS CLASS