The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1874-08-21
A National Credit Mobilier.

lou. - 40 longer ul~puttu. III l. literally
held together now by the cohesive power
Of public plumber. Destitute OF any guild
ing principle, reactive in all its tendencies,
corrupt In administration. and with no
capacity TO solve the material and political
problems which It's imbecility has created.
there is nothing left for il but 10 die out
In disgrace and contempt.
On no important question which now
agitates the public mind, can unity of
thought or action be found in its ranks.
The late session OF Congress consumed
more than half a year in confusion. dis
cord and strife, and finally closed with a
virtual admission of Incompetence. After
five months discussion of the finances. and
the widest separation between the Presi-
dent and his party, the experiment of a
policy was &bandoned and sham
adopted which gives neither relief nor Sc
curity.
The panic last September and its conse-
quences, which still seriously derange the
great business OF the country, are the
direct results Of misgovernent, partisan
legislation, and the absence of anything
like statesmanship I'm the direction of pub
lie affairs. With more than two-thirds
majority in each branch of Congress, with
President OF their own choice, and with
all the machinery running freely in the
old grooves, this Republican organization
has been forced TO confess TO the world
that il is not able 10 provide remedy for
its own errors.
The sole aim OF the leaders is 10 retain
possession of power by any means how
ever desperate. or any deception however
enormous. The Southern States have
been treated worse than outlying Roman
provinces i'm the decline of the republic.
The army has been converted into pO-
ltical machine and subjected To the orders
of plunderers and Adventures by authori-
ty of the President. The name of party
has cOndOned the worst crimes
and outrages. The Constitution has
been trampled under foot. spit
upon. and patched over with
amendments like an old bed-quilt. intend
ed to serve partisan purposes only. Ii is
stretched or contracted or kicked aside
and scofled at. just as the seeming necessi-
ties OF the hour require, without concern
for its obligations or scruple for its abuse.
On the merest pretext Andrew johnson
was arraigned, though he never received a
present, and went out OF the White House
with name not darkened by suspicion.
Gen. Grant commits the gravest ofienses,
invades States in time of profound peace,
declares martial law in places wholly limo
cent of his fabricated charges. brushes out
by brute force every sign of free govern
ment, and is applauded by the men who
conspiredto disgrace johnson.
And now comes Senator Morton with his
quackery i'm set speech. gotten up 10 ca
jole the people with new and more mon
strous job than any recently spawned. In
his speech mt Terre Haute. prepared as the
keynote OF the campaign, he says:
''The great problem of increased and cheaper
transportation is one TO which the Republican
party must address itself with courage and I'M
firing industry untilitis solved"
This is the problem. Now how does he
propose to solve it? Let him answer:
''But il seems to me to be clearly irifhiR the
poref Of Congress. and 10 be practicable, 10 es-
tabiish Boards Of Railroad Commissioners, TO be
vested with certain powers, To be governed by
general regulations, within which they shall
have power 10 supervise and regulate the rates
for freiahts and passengers upon Interstate rail-
roads -
''As 20 what regulations would be necessary il
rouid be Ten 10 me discretion Of Congress- subject
10 the restrictions In the Constitution"
The supervision ana control OF Interstate
railroads By Congress would give rise 10 mum
Der Of regu atons looking to the safety OF passen
gers, regularity OF trains, uniformity OF opera
ton, connections, inspection OF tracks, bridges,
loo motives. and cars. -
This is the plan of the recognized leader
of the Republican party for attaining cheap
transportation, and il is deliberately put
forth a the solution of what he calls ''the
great problem" Louis Napoleon tried a
similar experiment i'm France. and with
what results the world Is now Informed.
Mr.. Morton has followed precisely in his
tracks. seeks Capitalization by the same
methods.and aims to concentrate at Wash
ington. in the hands of the President, and
under 1.-THE discretion of Congress, abso-
lutte control over the railroad system OF the
whole country. He proposes to enter the
States, deprive the Legislatures of all
power over corporations created by them
selves. stop all competition. destroy char
tiers. eniasculate the courts of jurisdiction,
send the Changers about their business.
and to confide these interests and all the
authority now exercised by the people,
Legislatures and courts, 10 'Boards of
Railroad Commissioners who shall be
appointed by the President. with the adj
vice and consent of the Senate, and
dwell in the pure atmosphere of Washing
ton,
The remedy against comparatively small
and separate combinations Is to create "A
huge monopoly such as the world has
never yet seen, put IL in the hands of venal
partzans selected for being INSCRIPTIONS.
direct IL by a corrupt Congress. and cstab-
lish it, headquarters in the pure atmos-
pnere of Washington. To run this ma
chine. the present army of seventy o
eighty thousand oilicc-holders would have
TO be doubled, with agencies in every prin-
cipal county in the United States.
The country has seen what a Credit
Mobiier applied to a single railroad could
achieve in the way of corrupt practices. Ii
is only necessary to multiply that expert
ence by all the railroads. in order to ar
arrive at the sum total of rascality that
wonld be attained by massing them
all together in the hands of Congress and
these commissions. A national Credit
Mobilier would be thus created. which