The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1875-10-05

Let Mr.. BRowSsoN. instead OF assailing
the independent press for infdelity, join
them In intoxicating those great truths OF
obedience to law which are at the basis of
all religions, and lacking which no creed
is OF any avail for the good Of men.
PioIette or Mackey-A Great Difference.
The nomination Of PIoLErrE TO be State
Treasurer of Pennsylvania Is received
with small favor by the Ring, now in pos
session. But Mr. MAcKEY, the present
Treasurer, advances the most remarkable
objection to him we have yet seen. He in
sists IN his newspaper-the foul Pittsbur gh
COmmcrcidl--that PIoLETTE is not ut TO be
Treasurer because he does not know how
to take a bride. About thirty years ago,
PIoLETTE, being "a member of the Lcgisla-
ture, was offered a sum OF money for his
vote, and made, according 10 this modern
expert, such wretched bungle OF the
affair that MACKEY, upon reading the ac-
count, was highly scandaliZed, and berates
him soundly for his want Of skill" Let
us see precisely how these gentlemen diff
fer in their treatment ~ a rendered bride,
and we may then be able TO understand
the true reason Of Mr.. MACKEY's disgust.
In the winter Of 1916 petition for the
repeal of n certain bank charter was pre-
scented 10 the lower house OF the Penns VI
vania Legislature, and referred To n COM
mttee OF which Mr. PIoLErrE was "a menu
Der. Three of the seven committeeman were
in favor of, and four, counting PIoLErTE,
were against the bank. The bank agent
endeavored TO persuade PIoLErTE that 1t
was his duty to vote against repeal; but
failing In that, made various attempts to
secure his support by offers OF money to his
friends, and even TO his aged father, all Of
whom Indignantly refused the proposals.
At length he went directly 70 PIoLErrE,
with an offer of 400 cash, aud 500 condi-
tional.
Mr.. PIoLETTE took into his confidence
three or four Of the puress and best men of
the day-among them Judge LAPoRTE and
the late JESSE MILLER-and determined to
teach the bribe-giver a lesson. When he
called again he told him to put the money
In "a drawer, from which II was Immediately
taken by the landlord of the house, count
ed done up in package, and sealed.
With this package in his hand. PfoLErTE
walked into the House the next morning,
and after denouncing in fitting terms the
attempted crime and the rotten bank in
whose interest it was undertaken, he laid
the money on the Speakers desk, from
which it was in due time removed by reso-
luton to the Court Of Quarter Sessions.
The exposure was followed not only by q
Legislative investigation, by which these
facts were established, but by criminal
trial. and the conviction of the bank agent,
who, unlike the bribe-givers or the bribe-
takers OF to-day, served his allotted term
in prison, and was never nominated for
Governor or State Treasurer.
But Mr. PIoLErTE's old-fashioned repug-
rance to bribery, and his summary
method OF meeting IL in his own case, have
excited Mr.. MACKEY's profound contempt.
He doubtless regards Mr.. PIoLErrEs con-
duct as an exhibition Of brutal integrity
Of which no properly educated gentleman
could possibly be guilty. If he was too
| squeamish TO put the money in his own
pocket, he might at least have RETAINED
from putting 1t on the Speakers table, and
| thus spelling other peoples chances. Ii Is
not Mr.. MAcKEYs way. He can take q
bride with a grace which defes criticism,
aud which no expert from Philadelphia to
Pittsburgh would venture TO denounce Us
not being perfectly skilful.
When RICHMOND L. JONES offered $4,000
in the second mortgage bonds of the
South Pennsylvania Iron and Railroad
| Company to induce MAcKRY to put
tho money of the State where JONES
could borrow 1t, he didn't call in a
parcel OF honest witnesses, with idiotic
scruples about taking money for a public
act, but chucked the bonds in his pocket
aud gave the requisite order. A little fur
ther on he had his own name erased from
the books Of the company and c. l.. MA
GEES fraudulently written over IL as the
recipient of the bonds and still further on
he swore with great deal OF complacency
that the bonds really belonged TO the Ale
gheny National Bank, and were purchased
from MAGEE for n bona fide consideration
This part Of the business, involving a neat
and perilous feat of perjury, was very
skilfully" managed, and excited con
siderable admiration at the time.
If JONES and the Treasurer of the com.
pany had been equally def, Mr.. MACKEY
might ave got away with the money, and
left us to guess as 10 what might be his pc
culiar way of treating bride As contrastec
with that of Mr.. PIoLETTE. As II is, how
ever, the people can take their choice. Il
MAcKEY had been IN PIoLETTE's place tn,
bank agent would have saved his charter
and gone ahead with his swindling ma
chine. II PIoLETTE had been in MACKEY
place, JONES would have been collared ant
handed over to the Court of Quarter SEES
sions, where he might have been rendered
useful as an example. viii the people o
Pennsylvania choose the Wanted skill
OF MAcKEY OF the sturdy integrity o
PIoLETrE?
What Mr.. Beecher's Guilt Implies
A correspondent writes us mn extraor
binary plea III behalf of Mr.. BEECHER
He "bolieves him guilty Of the crime o