New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-01-17

dresses TO their fellow citizens from the stump,
| the knowledge of human nature they have
gained by practice at the bar at which they
in whole souled way invited their fellow
men to drink. their acquaintance with the
principles OF international law, obtained by
service on political committees, and the pro
found philosophy OF government acquired by
years OF experience in living at the expense
of the body POLITICAL these are qualifications
| for work of different grade from paltry and
contcusptible money saving.
| Fix your thought-we beg each reader
upon your own representative in Congress.
Ysu know how scholarly "A gentleman he is
what atfiuence of learning. large grasp OF
affairs. dignity and breadth of view, saeacity
prudence, foresight-n short, what qualities of
craftsmanship he brought into your service when
you invited him to represent You III the Con
gress. And you remember, too, with what
hesitation he came forward at your call, and
at what a sacrifice he consented to serve you
there. You are not unaware of his distaste
for public life and his unwillingness to act in
this representative capacity, and you know
well what exertions it will cost You to over
come his preiudices and induce his acceptance
and we beg each reader stil to keep his
thought on his own eprescntative-wouldy you
ask such man To let himself down 10
the consideration of dollars and cents, to
the pettiness and meanness of saving Il few
hundred thousand dollars in horses and car
ria ges and tooth-picks Would it not now IN
all candor be Il grOyclng occupation for these
great minds 1t seems to us there can be but
ono answer. No right-minded man can LOOK
over the array of talent III both Houses oil
Congress and consider how much money they
might be making for themselves were they
not sacrificing themselves here Tor their
c0untry-without feeling that these are no
picayune men to 90 housing round the de-
partnents for few hundred thousand dollars
spent in horse shoeiug and harness making
and horse railroad tickets, but rather the men
10 scatter millions develop continents, irrgate
deserts, expand the currency, ana PRINT
speeches. There Is not one of them out
desplses the business OF saving money for the
Government. Not one of them would sloop
to 1t.
And vet there seems to have come time
when unless a petty and contemplate system
of picking and stealing is to have free course
run and be goriiied, there should be some
thing done in the way of small economies.
''rhe system III vogue begins with the White
House and runs through all the departments.
Ii picks and steals and gathers IN ptrqnsltes
and appropriates in a thousand small ways
from the contingent funds till it amounts to
wholesale robbery, and is counted by thou
sands and hundreds Of thousands. II fObs
gold pens and gold tooh-picks and pen-knIveS,
packs trunks full of stationery. pays servants
and household expenses out of the contingent
fund, buys horses aud carriages for private
use at the public cost-pichs and steals, and
picks and steals, till the whole thing cul-
inmates in II salary grab, which makes
the people mad and sets Congress on
10 discreeter tactics. 1t should be stopped. OF
course we don't expect these statesmen 10 do
it, They have larger business. They are sent
TO Washington 10 discuss the weightler qacS-
tions of finance, to hold high debate uI0n
each Others worth and wOrthlcSSness. TO settle
questions of international law, to adjust TIE
relations of States, and shape the destiny oil
continent. OF course we do not expect them 10
steop to the business of spies or detectives, OF
to stop by legislation, as contemptible and dis
honest a system Of wholesale thieylng-begIn
ming with the President and ending we
don't know where, if anywhefe--as ever
cursed country corrupted people or
bankr,iDted Il treasury. These men are not
the ones TO undertake it. 1t is too small bust
ness Cor them. They are statesmen of too
high I'D order and with TOO lofty aims.
Aud yet it may not be so always. Indeed,
low down on the horizon there seems just
now rising cloud with the promise IA ii of
a gusty time for the leading statesmen OF the
period. There IS a notion scudting across the
Dopnla. sense that the sort Of thing that 3
going on at Washington behind the mask Of
craftsmanship is what is defined in The old
books as stealing. And there comes a dun and
shadOwy notion 10 that if it's plaayune
craftsmanship to give 1t any attention, pieayune
craftsmanship is jlst what we want. We have
had ensaigh for the present )f the brilliant
men who shed their money Oh the INST and
on the unjust. encugh of developing the Con-
tinent enough of Imitation, of brag, OF lying,
Of theft. Therc's 70 be a change. These men
are all too great for the business Of small
economies, too great to be honest There
must be another Tot, not too big to stop the
treasury leaks, but small enough and mean
enough to be honest themselves ana enforce
honesty in Others