St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1873-07-18
The Real Significance of It.

Once upon Il time. as tradition reports,
there lived worthy ISraciitc who was
tormcntcd 10y hankrring after the for
Iiiddcm food. Al last. his curiosity and
appetite got the better of his religious
principles he ordered pork chop for
dinner. Absorbed in the sinful. de
lighttul rcpast. he did not notice the
approach of Il thunder storm. sudden
~ loud clap set the windows rattling.
Dropping his knife and fork in panic
Holy Abraham. he exclaimed. what
II fuss about Il little piece of pork -
y good many h0n0rahle Senators ana
representatives regard the storm of
popular Indignation NOW blowing. with
very much the same feeling. They are
scared. hut they are also agglievcd.
They find it quite uncallcd for and out
of all proportion to the exciting cause
RecoIlccting their many previous visits
to the public pork barrel. the much
bigger loads logged away on those oc-
caSi"nS. the utter Indifference displayed
10y the people. this hue aud-cry over
the salary grab. actually seeming to
grow louder from month to month.
puzzles quite us much as it alarms them
They had not counted on il at all. and
they find 1t very unreasonable and alb
>urd. What fuss about little piece
of pork ', says Gen. Butler in his famous
postage stamp letter. What a fuss
about little piece of pork - echoes
Senator Carpenter in his GAINESVILLE
speech. In all the published apologies
and detences. we detect this sense of
injury. this accent of complaint and re
monStrance.
Putting ourselves i'll their place. look
ing 1T the matter from their point of
view and 10y their lights. we are forced
I" own that the aggricvcd statesmen
have Just cause for feeling themselves
hardly and unfairly used: that there is
no little reason and force in what they
say. In itself the grab is very small
matter; compared with previous rob
berries at which the American public
has lmdulgeHtlN winked. it is the mcrest
| hagatellc. If our lawmakers had Got
the notion int" their heads that they
could steal with impunitN. that there
were no limits to the GOOD nature ot
the constituent and taN-pavcr, pray
whose fault was il Approaching the
subject from this side. We find tLrir
surprise and "Reminiscences entirely
natural. We agree with them that. if
. :.
about this sort of thing. they oumhr to
nave made 1t good while ago: that
there Is IN this tardy c!amor an element
"l Inconsistency. caprice, unrcasnn.
we viii 20 q step farther. There j.
Il real danger that this clamor may he
"Herdonc. This is not saying that tb,.
people can II" to" angry with the nm
faithful and dishonest public servants
gnlItlly active in the contamination o(
| 'he ttett: or too rrSolute in their do
termination to punish them. But if the
storm spends it>eltupon this one ottcnsc
TINS one set of offenders. and then di.s
away. 1t will have accomplished rrr,,
| little toward the permanent cIe,us;,,a =.
ana swrctcning of the air. As snnn ~
calm and sunshine return. we shall sna
thc practical statesman maxine h,,. a.,
InduStriuuSly as ever. az
| w hat the people want to clearly, -,
derStand Is. that the grab il oni,. ~,
outward and visible sign of an inv.,rI
ana spiritual disgrace Il surface s,,,'',' u
TOM OF disease that is att,cE ;nI, II,
thc vital functions of the body nHIi,; an
mat has already been allowed to ' ','i'
dangerous Roadway, and that is su r''H Ne
terminate fatally unless its nronra. ~
III some way arrested. Tho T,.,,I,
comparatively Il very small and -
"m,I;d the diseased condition of poIitins
pu".lG sentiment and Legislative mnr,I
tb ~ , millt'i made it possible. demnmd.
'nI MOST serious attention. ~ i 'F
MtiI ne excite the graveSt anxiety Of o "a"!
mm,iias and patriotic citizen Tbat
ron ti'' servants should openly and Iii" u;
trras S r" f., ,ht ti hands into the bubble
pockets '"a ahe benefit of their own
gone on y ", na'ii shows how far we have
stone, and it IL Jus road, 1t is IA mile
be startled ~. ~ well the people should
III 'front.' of it. But it viii a, i'i Il matt
, HTrS little to demolish tho AVA" n';1 them
any mf important thing is to f nao
hi'. get back as soon as nnss irIe about
s""ay'-Spri"atfeId Republican :" The