The Portland daily press., 1874-03-09

The Impending Danger.
There is some danger that the Centenni-
al anniversary of our national existence may
bring to the country its GROWING humiliation.
In the " exhibition" which is proposed,
there is ground for apprehending that the
things exhibited may be the products of which
we are least proud. A disinterested observer
cannot help fearing that preparations are in
progress for erecting spacious stage, in
viting all the VOL to the spectacle and then
exhibiting our most disgraceiul national faults
and our home manufactures in the way of
fraud, jobbery, trickery, lying and embezzle-
ment. If great care be not taken by Con-
gress in guarding the expenditure of the public
money the ''show'' which has somehow been
determined upon as the sole possible means of
measuring century's progress, will display
much more completely state of moral re-
progression than of national progress. 1t is
evident from many circumstances, some Of
them trivial in themselves, that there are
persons already identifying themselves with
the exhibition and ntrulin themselves in its
management who see in it primarily chance
for a great job If the Tweed, Butler, War
moth, Simmons, Sam Randall, Fernando
Wood or Cameron element of the American
people get control of the anniversary arrange
ments, the result will be most serious blow
to the national pride instead of the intense
patriotic exaltation am self complacency
which are anticipated.
The class of people to which reference is
made above, whether in Congress or out,
seem determined in the first place to lay out
the proposed exhibition in an expansive,
spread-eagle, manifest-destiny style. No
mere gathering OF the national family at the
old Philadelphia hearth-stone will answer for
them. But such private reunion would ex-
actly fulfill the legitimate purposes OF CEN
tennial celebration. All outside participa-
ton impairs the significance of the occasion
and obscures or destroys its results. An in
ternational exposition is utterly illogical, ut
terly useless and is morally certain to prove a
failure; but its projectors know full well
that it will form good basis for an immense
appropriation of public money and that is
what they want. 1t is immaterial to them
the republic an object of contempt in the
eyes of those whose respect it is desirable to
conciliate. The true object of the celebra-
ton should be, not only to enable us to form
definite conception of our condition and
prospects at the close of hundred years of
independence, but to commend Republican
government to the rest of mankind by show
ing what it can do under favorable circum-
stances, toward rendering a people prosper
GUS, honos. and fappy. we uuyuJ 10 pe aplr
to prove from facts patent to all, that ''gov-
eminent of the people by the people for the
people" produces results that make it incon-
testify profitable and eminently desirable
political arrangement. America. began in
life with small encouragement from its sister
nations, who have ever since hoped and ex-
pected to see it fail. Shall we invite them
then, after the lapse of hundred years, to
witness failure in moral plinciple-a failure
which is ominous of every species of evil in
the future? Shall we exhibit our country at
its worst? Shall we invite kings and princes,
statesmen and publicists, scholars and arti-
sans here from abroad to enable them to go
back to their homes, saying that American
civilization, after attaining luxuriant mate
rial growth, has already begun to decline and
that the symptoms of decay are already Wis
ible? 1t is the duty of Congress, if there
must be worlds fair, to see that it is conduct
ed with view to the display of our best, in
stead of our worst qualities-with view to
the interests of the nation and not of few
individuals.
1t is gratifying to know that the senate on
Friday, treated the Philadelphia scheme with
marked disfavor. In this we are confident
that they represent the average sentiment of
the nation. The proposition is disfgured by
too many indicia of possible plumber to be re-
ceived with much favor. Let us have ma
tional house-warming of moderate expense
and unlimited self Qualification, and without
the suspicion of a joo. We should indulge in
no extravaganza on that occasion, except in
the Way oflanguage.
The balance of the correspondence rela-
tive to the Sanborn contracts to collect Ger
tain class of revenues, part of which was
published Saturday, contains no new devel-
opments. The only fact is that Sanborn and
his confederates, friends of Gen. Butler, re-
received contract under the Butler-Sawyer
amendment to the appropriation bill of 1872,
to receive fifty per cent. OF such revenue
claims as they might collect, and that Messrs
Boutwell, and Richardson directed revenue
officers to render them any assistance in their
power.