The Portland daily press., 1874-09-01
Political Rabies.

About two or three weeks before elections
even during the most quiet canvasses, it las
been long established custom of Democratic
journals in this state to break out in capitals
and full face type, reminding the reader Of
ticles thus published there are all kinds of
statements for which no one is held responsible
and which only the most simple minded ever
give the least credence to. Indeed, so accus-
toned has the public become to this kind of po-
litical journalism, that the most startling state
among the idlest crowds of politicians. Con-
sequently any considerable attention bestow-
ed by Republican journals in replying to such
groundless falsehoods is worse than wasted.
To show the ingenious character of this
class of statements and their utter falsity, we
can do no better than to refer to statement
of the Argus, claiming to be based on the
biennial register of 1873, that the number of
civil officers connected with the federal gov
eminent is $1,000 against 44,500 in 1859.
Doubtless the Argus is not entirely response
BILE for this statement since that Democratic
ASNuSA, EVAAdhuO VOOu3 uduC Lu6 SAME
on the floor of the House of Represen-
atiyes last March. If our neighborhad been
little more careful-if he had examined and
counted the names of officials in the ''blue
book" he would have found that this Five
Points Reformer had stuffed that pamphlet
stuffed ballot boxes in the slums of the me-
tropolis.
When Mr.. Wood made his speech in Con-
gress last spring, he stated that of the $4,000
of the civil officials, 0,225 were employed in
the postal department. Mr.. Packer of Penn
sylvania, met this statement by showing that
including postmasters, clerks, route agents,
mail contractors and every employee of the
service even to the boy who gets S. year for
taking mail bag from a train to an Office,
there were 47,010, instead of the 6O,225 as
stated by Mr. Wood-a difference of 1926,
due to this gentleman's habit of stuflng.
In his speech Mr.. Wood gave the number
of postal officials in 1859 as 1924, when the
mail routes OF the country measured 1000
miles against 72,0C0 at the close of 1873, and
during which time the business of the depart
ment has more than doubled. Certainly an
increase of less than 10000 employees for
more than double the work is not very ex-
travagant.
In the War Department, Mr.. Wood gave
the civil list as numbering 1866, to which
Mr. Kellogg of Connecticut, replied that there
are 992 by actual count, the balance being
undoubtedly officers of the army and cadets
at West Point.
The authority of the Argus-Mr. Wood
made the most startling error in the Navy
Department, where he quotes the register to
show that the civil list in that department
has leaped from POI in 1871 to s241 in 1873.
In reply to this Mr.. Kellogg on the floor of
Congress, with the register in his hand said
that all the employees of that department, in
GLIDING civil service officials, all the officers of
the navy from the highest to lowest, includ-
ing the navy cadets of Annapolis-all number
only 2349, of which only. 1872 are strictly civil
employees. Here the argus: list loses 5000
civil officials. The balance of Mr.. Woods
figures, which the argus copies, are of a
piece with those already given, and his false
hoods were SO bare when exposed that their
author never attempted to defend them. He
forgot to state that since 1866, the civil list of
internal revenue bureau has been reduced
from $500 to 1888 in 1873.
This is sample of the falsehoods which
are set off with large type in nearly every
Democratic journal at the present time. We
have noticed this statement as sample: and
having shown its origin and exposed in part
its monstrous falsity, we shall give the bal
ance of the campaign stock of lies no further
notice. From one learn all.