Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1873-02-01
Whittier are We Drifting 4.

Nothing Is startling III these DrtZen Gays
Men Slipping their coffee in the morning. or
lingering over the tca-t3b!c i'll the evening
read The bald exposures Of bribery III Congress-
of jobs in the 1udan Bureau ; ot frauds on the
ballot box OF gross corruption penetrating
every avenue If public lite-aud then DROP the
newspaper with the doletul remark that there
is no heIss OF Importance.
Is the public conscience hardened that il Is
not touched by the shameless dishonesty Of
men in high places l. all sense Of deccncy
the lame aud hating excuses Of public officers
oycrtakcn 10 ihc very act Of rot blng the public
treasury?
has been more than twice told. But here are
thcorgaus. Just 4. ready now as before, to grind
out The praises Of the Sinirchcd, polluted trick
stcrs who have dcbascd and dlSgraced Amcrl-
can citizenship. And nobody is startled, and
few citizens give the matter second thought.
Whittier are we drifting?
The Iu,liun appropriation bill last year c1n-
taincd an KEN granting halt million ol ii '!lars
to the Teton Sioux. Now it turns cut that
this is all sham and few people are lazIly
inuliring what became OF the money.
Caldwell, OF Kansas bought his Way t. the
Senatorial seat. That fact wa| established
more than a year ago by The Kansas LeriSla-
turc. Which, after invest i@tt!ng the matter,
forwarded its cvi !cncc aud report to the Vice
President of the United States. A committee
of the Senate was named last spring, directed
to sit during the recess and authorized to send
far pcr>ons aud papers That committee de-
Iii.ra,ey neglected It's duties because Caldwell
WIS wanted. Last week The regular Commit
tee ON Privileges and Elections took up the
case and examined Sidney Clarke competent
witness. who testified that he himself had
spnnt twelve or fifteen thousand dollars in a
vain :.ttcmp; t. get 10 The Senate. but that
Caldwell was too rich Tor him and had bought
away his votes. lie testified further that CaId-
we'll offered to refund his lCarkc'>l expenses.
bl! had failed to do 50. because. AS Caldwell
Gxn!ainci. his election had cust him $15.oOO,
and he did not find Congress "a good Il pacr 10
make nouc, d, he SUPPOSED ii would be-. Tic
was oi III" ooi:out, however, for railroad leg
isaton in the hope If Squeezing something
MI, Of the corporlt:ous Fine business for a
Senator and fine Senate II Is which permits
sucn man to hold his seat Il year after these
rev. l;,ions arc public property
We have cited these cases IN illustrate The
dcprayitv existing in the legislative branch OF
H." ACKNOWLEDGMENT which l"!y pa
iadaa Itself without exciting all elective pro-
test from the poonir We might 20 further
and show other cases
But OF wuat avail are these exposures tlIi VIC
strike deeper aud cruuue the crust OF selfish
Indifference which seem, to cover the public
uind .jobn>r> are already at work to make
money ont OF the centennial anniversary OF orr
Independence Ii corruption stalk AZ II has
stakel Of late. our liberty in 1876 will he con
lind 10 the llbcrty which.knavc, enjoy to pun
der the people The endurance OF dcspotlsnI
depends un the srrcngth OF one controlling
hand but the If. OF . republic haagS on the
virtue and VIII a"cc OF It's citizens. We may
cxpirlc runpowicr over our independence
we may f the air with the noise Of wind III
struin~Dts. nc'u lng the voices of ready orators;
but we can only honor the memory of the
founders oi' the rrplbIic when We emulate the
example which they set. II the exp ,sllres Of
vcnailty, following fast and following faster
do no: quickly Arouse the masses to a:'lnn,
then cur doom is written We must pat our
houses in order to meet the fate which bcieIj
Old Rome We make 10 plea Tor party but
we hcs"c h all good 'iZ.ns tn consider the
dangers which c,nlrout u. Is i! not time
that a Gail itla,c hon sly vas mad: the test
Of his fitness for public place? Let u make
commun cause against dishonesty wherever
found. and Sc9llree political friends and foes
alike And first Of all, let us labor together
to destroy tho apathctc feeling which kept a
million c;;izcaS from the polls last November,
and which, in all ages, has been the tnrcrln-
ncr of absolute government. II 1t be true
that eternal violence i the price III liberty,
whittier are We drifting ?-Ltct U's'rrrr.