Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1873-12-25

impressiyely shown to the public BY
examples as the results of these follics
so when The outs howl fearfully at the
ms, because populations both great
ana small are found among the hun.
nreds OF thousands of officers, made
SUCH by the ins. 1t is comfort to know
that there is no lane SO long that il has
no turn, and that in the midst of the
imperfections Of this world, the lypo.
critical howlers arc themselves some.
times brought up with round turn.
which shows their hypocrisy, and tina,
the lond-mouthed reformer NAV him.
self be found party, in political
sense, it not more directly privy, to
populations IN Office. according 10 his
own theory.
II is lamentablc that, in the great
multiplication of offices in this conn.
try. growing out of its wonderful
growth. and especially in these times
when a money panic succeeds long
season of prosperity, that there are SO
many defalcstions coming to light.
We say this is lamentable. and still
more so, when VIC find that these de.
falcations are not alone numerous in
public Affairs, but are of daily occur.
renee in the business circles of the
country. What we would regard
however, as still more lamentable
would be that the outs, whose past
conduct for years as body have new.
er shown themselves half as trust.
worthy as the ins as a body, should
succeed in placing themselves in pow.
er by their wailings and continuous
charging upon the ins culpable re.
sponsibility for these defalcations
The Chicago Times and Tribune, as
well as some other great journals and
some prominent men, have assumed
an independent role; have relegated
themselves into the position of being
the pillar of cloud by day and of fire
by night, to lead the people Of this
country up out of the wilderness, into
the land of plenty, of right and Of
Justice, with the old Democratic party
at their backs. To accomplish this
they seek to reorganizc under new
name the material of the Democratic
party, and place this new party in
power by the rout of the Republicans
Their weapon Of warfare in this work
is to keep continuously before the PEG
pic the corruptions, the defalcations
that are occurring, charging that they
are the result of inefficiency in the
Republican party. We have no faith
in their sincerity. We SO Judge, be.
cause We must either distrust their
ability or their honesty, and the evi.
dence uncrringly points to the latter
as at fault.
While therefore every good citizen
deeply deplores the peculations that
are laid bare in these days when we
are dropping down near to specie
basis, and the searching money strin-
gency Is finding the very bottom OF
mems and corporations purses. it is
still as we have said a comfort to find
these hypocriiical, sclf-stylcd immacu.
late journals shown up in their true
light. Though it be denied, the evil
dence is far stronger against the 1ri-
bNne that il knew of David W. Gage s
actual defalcation before it urged his
reelection the last time, than was ev-
Ell adduced by that journal in support
OF numberless charges il has made
against the present administration and
many of its officers.
But accept its innocence OF such
knowledge as true, and yet it shows
that though the Tribune may count
upon the fingers of half its editors the
number of officers for whose election
IL is responsible at this time, still
among this small number one has fall
en- away from grace. and the people
mourn the loss of $3.50, 600 that has
gone through his hands to "where the
twineth,' besides $4,000
more locked up in suspended banks.
If such is the experience of the lri-
buae as godfather over score of
talents, what would it be over several
hundred thousand of them. How
ever calamitous such events are, they
have also the effect to jolt out of time
many pretenders OF reform. We add a
from the Iater-Ocean
The Gage defalcation is startling
on the wicked fraud sur
named "no-partyism." Mr.. Gage was
fairly howled into Office twice with
the cry OF "down with party )" kick
out the political barnacles )" 'srepudi-
ate the political jobbers ;"ss kill off the
old party hacks" When he got into
Office be was responsible to nobody
but the Chicago Tribune and the Chi
cago Times, and a few of their satraps
who had recorded their DEGREES in
making the nomination. According
ly he soon began to abstract the city
money and invest it in cats and
dogs and the Riverside swamps.
He was nominated to the Office of
City Treasurer Of Chicago, three times
by two editors, respectively, of the
and Times, and twice the
people were fooled into supporting
him for no better reason than that those
two editors made eloquent affidavits
10 the effect that he was an honest
man, and would pay the interest accru-
ing on city moneys into the city treas
ury. l. did not occur to them to in
quire what he was doing with the
principal, and so the city is robbed
and disgraced. Cliques and factions
are dangerous to liberty, and equally
to the sacredness Of public money
trusts. They have been proved so here
in Chicago, and if the people in politi-
cal power ever again submit to the
dictatiOn of newspaper, or of fac
ton, they will deserve TO he robbed
again.