National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-04-14
ANOTHER LNYEsTTGATION-H0W
LONGs

During the last two years nearly nifty In
vestigatious have been ordered by Congress
into the different departments Of the Gen.
eral Government. In 1872 Congress did
little or nothing but investigate, The Re-
publican majority in both Houses COM
pletely surrendered all control over its bust
ness to two or three Liberal Republicans
and to the Democratic minority expended
hundreds of thousands of dollars to make
campaign capital for the opposition to i'm
pregnate the public mind with the idea that
corruption on q vast scale existed In every
branch of the service, and in that way
weaken the Republican party in the
confidence of the people. The War
and the Navy, tho Treasury and
the Post Office Departments, and,
of course, this unfortunate District,
were al put upon the stand as so many
criminals, books and records and papers
were produced, witnesses were brought
hundreds of miles and volumes of testimony
were printed containing, for the most part
only the mere idle gossip of the bar-rooms
and the unfounded ISLANDERS of the opposi-
ton press. Every department of the Gov
eminent which was investigated was &C.
quilted of the gross charges made against it;
officers who were accused of high crimes
and misdemeanors were shown 10 be guilt
less; but nevertheless the mischief thus
wrought was incalculable. The reportof
acquittal came slow, and the contradiction
and refutation of the allegations, scattered
almost world in the pamphlet speeches
of Congressman and in the columns of the
opposition press, were never seen by thou
sands and thousands who read the original
charges. -
The present Congress has followed in the
footsteps of its predecessor, and yielded as
submissively to the commands of the minor
ity. Yesterday, for instance, the House al
lowed two or three Democrats whose repu-
tations are by no means beyond reproach to
practically order an inquiry into the Post
Office Department; to revive old ISLANDERS
and old calumnies which have been again
and again rcfuted in the public press, which
were investigated by committee of o
former House, and shown to be entirely
without foundation. We do not blame Mr..
Luttrell or Mr.. Stone. They were looking
to the fall elections. They were skillfully
endeavoring to make capital to help them
and their party in the contests which
will soon be upon US. Perhaps ct the
same time they were assisting some of their
disappointed contracting friends who were
deprived OF the opportunity to plumber the
Treasury. They were perfectly right from
their standpoint But where was the
leader, or the leaders, of the House when
Mr.. Beck cracked his whip and requested
the Clelk to record the political division of
the House upon the demand for the
previous question? Then and there
was the time to meet this issue and
take the responsibility of refusing the
investigation. So fer as the inquiry which
has just been ordered is concerned, it does
not affect the Postmaster General in the
least. The disappointed gang of mail con-
tractors who inspired tho investigation Of
the Forty-second Congress will be defeated
now as they were defeated then, and the
honest and faithful administration of the
Post Office will only be the more triumph
antly vindicated. But what we contend
against is the practice, which would seem
to have become chronic, to put every officer
of the Government as sort Of criminal
upon trial at the bidding of every Demo
crat who chooses to demand it. The time
has come to put an end to it.