The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1873-07-16

extent of the wholesale stealings
and unblushing robbcries which have
distinguished the last two years,
and made them without a parallel
in official corruption in any enlight-
ened nation Of the eighteenth cen
fury. Not only have many of our
national representatives turned their
holy and honorable Office into a mere
| market-staII to sell themselves and
the public trust reposed in them to
the highest bidder, but the principle
Of illegal and dishonest peculation
and bribe-tal1ing has descended to so
many official stations, great and
small, that public confidence is we'll
nigh reduced to zero, in regard to
any one who aspires to an Office or
position which brings him within the
magic circle of the money power.
But what is the remedy: We
must have remedy. Honesty and
public confidence must be restored
the civil service Of the country must
be purged, and rendered respectable.
The tables of the money changers
must be over turned, and those who
sell and buy in the temple Of Liber
IL, and make it den Of thieves,
must be driven out. The necessity
Of public order demands this thor
ough purifcation. There is no other
alternative for the people. No mat
ter what it costs, or what the nature
of the sacrifice may be, the work
must be done. 1t must be done, or
absolute ruin and destruction await
the American people The only
question is. how shall it lie done?
What instrumentality is sufficient to
the desired end? This is a matter
Of such Importance. and so deeply
affecting every interest Of every
class Of citizens, that no man can
innocently turn away his attention
from it.
The great remedy for official cor
ruption is public opinion-the moral
omnipoteuce of the American people.
Bad, ambitious men always make an
estimate OF the moral status Of the
society in which they act, and which
they strive to direct 4 congress
man studies the moral toue of his
constituents, gauges their honor,
and calculates what laxity and lib
| erty of action these moral forces
will permit. If he knows his con-
stituents to be mortally degraded,
if he is conscious that they estimate
public stealing and private brides
/ lightly. then, if he is Of this. class Of
/ character himself, he will dare to do
rs some Of our late congressman
did. But upon the other hand, if he
/ knows his constituents to be q brave
honest peOpe, people whose scorn
Of corruption and dishonesty is
ready to rise in a moment. and be-
fore whose rugged moral judgements
no rascality or derilection of duty
from base motives, can escape exer-
ton. lie will pause before strong
| temptations, and be faithful to the
trust put in him. This principle is
| we'll understood What man would
not shrink from doing when left to
himself, he will often die rather than
do. and meet the frOwn and moral
Indignation of the public. And
while men of feeble virtue are BY
! this means saved from committing
crimes, the robust in moral principle
are supported and strengthened to
! a degree which render them almost
! omnipotent. 1t is in this fervid
! glow and interaction of healthy
pervading moral sentiment that lib
erty is safe. and the progress of the
people steady, and of the right char
acter. But in its absence all the
conditions of true prosperity are re-
versed, and sooner or later the day
Of fatal catastrophe must come
And the nearess Of 4 nation to the
edge of the precipice from which
there is at last no retreat, is to be
measured by the absence of public
virtue, and by the common recur-
renee of the corruption of public
men, and dishonest populations in
the civil service of the country.
The American people must awake
to these things-these simple in
dubitable facts and harbingers of
approaching ruin or prosperity
The people must demand good men
to represent them in the political,
civil and municipal departments.
We want men who are true patriots
men whose hands are unstained
by filthy lucre Work first; compen-
sation afterwards, and chiefly in hon
orable reputation and in public
good accomplished-this is the true
order of things, toward which all
men should aspire. If it is but a
policemen that is to be appointed
or elected, We need that he should
I've a good and true man, 10 less