Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1873-06-27
Official Honesty.


The cheapest way of establishing rep
utation as q reformer nowadays is to de
nounce with the utmost absence of re-
sponsibility the corruption and profligacy
OF the body of men who are employed by
the Federal Government in its vast and
important transactions of every kind.
From Maine to Texas and from Oregon to
California, in ustom-houses, post-off1ces.
Internal Revenue bureaus, and in the De
partments at Washington, there is vast
army taken from all classes of the people,
engaged in all classes of employment col
lecting the revenue, paying pensions,
handling the mails, making the payments,
keeping the records, none of them over.
paid, few with any brilliant prospects of
promotion, great many contributing not
merely their routine service, but the best
thought of their brains and the most val
liable suggestions for the public good, as
part OF their duty to their country.
Among them there are and there must
always be some dishonest ones until the
millennium comes we may not hope to find
all men beyond temptation; but do the
reckless denouncers of the ofliceholders
ever pause to ask themselves whether
these oftice-holders are not possibly as
| honest as the same number of men of any
other class in the country? We do not
claim for them any superior honesty; we
do not ask that they be considered para
gons, but we insist and we honestly be.
lleVe that they fairly represent the average
| morality of the community.
1t Is to be borne in mind that the char
acter and methods of transaCting public
business necessarily give prominence to
any irregularity or dishonesty. Each en-
ploye Is only part of system, and his
transactions and records pass through so
many hands that it is merely a question
OF time how long he can conceal any dis.
| honesty OF which he may have been guilty.
AS eooh as his fault Is known il is at once
public property, and the telegraph sends
the news from one end of the country to
the other. 1t is known because there is no
way of hushing it up, and even his SUI
periors in office who might be disposed to
hide it would only shift upon themselves
both the moral responsibility and the PEE
cuniary responsibility at the same time.
The merchant or banker in private life,
who has suffered by the depredations of d
trusted clerk, is very often disinclined tc
give any publicity to the fact unless there
Is prospect of recovering the amount
lost, and every one who has had any eX
perience of business knows how otter
this consideration prevents any exposure
at all.
But even with this odds against thu
Government, does it not make fairly
favorable showing compared with private
enterprise in The matter of honesty
During the foolish time when the tax OF
whisky offered premium to dishonesty
the corruption of the internal revenu,
was as bad as the corruption of the out
side whisky ring There were as many
official thieves to take bribes, as thert
were thieves in private life to offer them
But that was an exceptional period, which
has gone, we hope, never to return; anC
we can point to the record of the Interna
Revenue Department in the past five years
as we can to any other branch of the pub
lie service, and say that it is fairly honest
In this city of st. Louis, we can point t,
, our Internal Revenue Office, where on
Collector has gathered in nearly 100000
0OO and the Government has never lost
dollar; we can point to Custom -hous
where the duties amount to some -, 900
900 year, and every dollar of it is &C
: counted for or to Post-office, managin
,, the mail business for the fourth larges
5 city in the Union, without the loss of
dollar. Is ST. Louis exceptionally honest
e We are proud to believe that in all depar
r ments of business honesty is the rule, an
+ that the good name OF our city is not III
n deserved. But if our officials fairly rel
resent the high average of honesty her,
4 is that not strong presumption that tn
h same thing is the case elsewhere; and
!. not such a circumstance a tangible an
= definite fact, ontweighing legion {
i vague and windy diatribes about CORFU
Il ton and appeals for reformg 1t will
least do to think over, and as often as tn
) attempt is made to throw on the Admin
8 tration and ON its whole force of servant
i the blame of one mans dishonesty, W
Il will ask the public to think of the thol
{ sands who honor their country by til
faithful discharge of their duties.-S
d Louis Globe