New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1874-04-09

The moral sentiment of the body polite
seems to wear dull edge. In the times Of
the Fathers of the Republic honesty, intcc.
rity, truth, these were characteristics which
adorned the citizen. To-day, VIC seem moi
to comprehend the old-fashioncd morality OF
The past. We simply draw line of sepra.
ton between thieves.
The man who is unfortunate enough to be
poor, and who from compulsion steals enough
to satisfy hunger, is dragged to prison, and
forever afterwards the slow-moving finger OF
scom follows him like his shadow. We
learn to hate this man because he did his
work bunslingl stole too little but the
man who puts his fingers into to Golfers OF
the State and relieves the public Treasury of
millions, he is metamorphosed into a saint
lnstautd, and society from among the rarest
and choicest flowers, wreathcs a garland for
his brow.
1t is oitimcs remarked that one had better
run his head againt stone wall, than to
contend with man who has a long purse.
AS society now ordains, there is world of
truth i'll the expression. We can look upon
truth and right tramplcd, bleeding, crushed,
and refuse to lend q helping hand. In how
many instances in our common courts, where
the defendant is pennilcss, fricndlcss, the
plaintiff, pursc-proud, bloated, spider, is
justice not throttlcd, and the innocent made
TO suffer:
And up i'll the higher regions of jukspru-
dencc, where the gods of the law arc sup
posed to reside, can't learning, and talents,
and influence be purchased for wicked pur-
poses Who doubts
We may, or we may not, have reached
our zenith, but it is not necessary to have
touched that point before we have freed our
selves of evils and their influences, which, if
tempered with, would end our national life
in confusion and chaos.
lie is deemed q wise man who, seeing the
evil approaching, avoidcth it, How much
more essential the strict observance of this
principle when applied to nations.
History, the mirror of the past, teaches
some very sad lessons, and, as it has been
thousand times said, often repeats ITSELF
Our legislators, whose duty it is to see
that no dctrimcnt bclall the Republic, would
do well, and confer blessings upon the coun-
| try, if they washed their hands clean of cor
| ruptlon, purgcd themselves of vcnality, and
iamiliarzed themselves with that home
made inllcxiblc honesty which :hc fathers
practiscd.
But politics and corruption have grown to
be synonymous terms. Few are the States
men left to us like household gods, coming
down from father to son their places arc
now usurrcd by vcnal men, whose aspiration
is greed.
The Roman Empire crumblcd, not because
she was too large not because her popula-
ton was ungovcrnablc not for the want of
wisdom, experience, talent, and cloqucncc
in her Senate not because her people had
become corrupted from the bad influences of
the surrounding Iiations but because her
rulers were corrupt, and the vcnality VIII ich
they encouraged gradually, infusing its poison
into the State, brought down that magni(i-
cent structure Of Roman genius,
We read Gibbon with the hope that not
for generations to come, will any such
dircful, irrcmcdiable calamity bcfal our Re-
public.
1t is possible for some men to cry .'rcacc,
peace when the clements of society are at
war, and the pillars upon which the State
rests arc crumbling.
The nations life is only heightened out in
proportion as We, the people, arc true to
ourselves, and the higher the moral plane
upon which our rulers stand, the lofticr, the
purer, the more honorable arc our aspira-
tons, the more secure our lib critics, the more
permanent our institutions, multiplying
the blessings which reach down to gladden.
the heart of the poorest citizen.
We must do right at all hazards. We must
stand as wall of adamant against corrup-
| ton.
| We must drive from out our political tenn
pie those who buy and sell doves. We must
not forget that God rules in the affairs of
men and nations.
We must erect no affairs to the unknown
god The sacrifice we offer must be pure
and holy.
God save the Republic!