New-York tribune., 1874-05-29
TAKING THEIR SHIRTS OFF.

When Mr.. Benjamin +. Butler Offered Dill
in the House of Representatives the other day
to convert certain negroes into Choctaw In
dams, Democratic member inquired, in a
timid sort of way, whether tho Government
had any right to do what the General proposed.
"The Government" was the prompt and con-
temptuous reply, "has right to do what 1t
"pleases with anybody within its jurisdiction.
"The General Government, if it chooses, can
"take the shirt off your back"
We feel very much obliged to Gen. But
Ter for this frank and compact statement of
the political principles of which he is such
conspicuous representative. 1t seems to us
that the Administration has been running on
the Butler plan for some time; but we have
never before seen this theory Of government
so tersely and so clearly expressed. In the
matter of CustOm-hOuse management, for ex-
ample, it has been the habit of the Govern
ment to raise immense sums OF money fOr
election purposes by mulcting importers In
heavy penalties for technical violations OF in
tricate and confusing laws. Half the fines
thus obtained went into the Treasury and the
other half was divided among certain revenue
officers who were expected to give large
part of it to the political fund. And now that
the outrage upon the mercantile community
has been fully exposed, now that the mis-
chieyOus and demOralzing consequences OF
the system are shown 80 clearly that nobody
presrlmes to question them, the foremost
members of the Administration faction in the
Senate are working with the greatest industry
and adroitness to prevent any reform in the
law, The Government has no doubt OF Its
- <hn chan tl'
backs il it has any use for them.
1t is just the same with the SanbOrn con-
tracts. Those scandalOus bargains were car
red out in such way that the people were
Numbered of some hundreds of thousands OF
dollars in order to enrich one OF Gen. Buffers
friends, and the rObberies would have
amounted to millions if the newspapers had
not found it out in good season. The con-
tracts have been suspended, and will probably
be repealed but the Government, holding
that "it has a right to do what it pleases
"wth anybody within its Jurisdiction" and
that the plundering was perfectly proper, de-
clines to censure the guilty officers, or even
to discharge them from the public service.
Nay, Mr. Sawyer impudently assures the Com :
mittee of Ways and Means that the conduct
of the Treasury Department in the SanbOrn
business meets with his entire appreciation,
and whatever he did in the matter himself he
would do again if he had the chance Mr.
Sawyer nevertheless retains the favor Of the
Administration.
Then look at the Cluss case. Here is man
who testifies before an investigating commit
tee that the Board of Public Works has been
swindling the public. The moment he comes
off the witness-stand the President takes him
by the collar and hustles him out of office for
speaking ill of those in authority. His state
ments happened to be true in the main; they
were substantiated afterwards, and they were
made in answer to summons; but what of
that The Government claims the right to
"take the shirt Off the District of Columbia,
and it brooks neither interference nor criticism.
May we venture to suggest to Congress that
the people of the United States have certain
prejudices on the subject of shirts and other
personal property which cannot be safely dis
regarded much lOngerf