New-York tribune., 1875-11-15
chester manufacturer in Rio Janeiro ana FER
nambuco than in Liverpool and London.
THE Two NG-BREAKERS.

imDrisOnment ia fOTclDle reminder VI biS
gratifying success that has attended Secretary
Bristows war upon this powerful Clique OF
thieves This success has been great just rs
the Ring was great. Indeed its results SO com
pletcly overshadow anything that has been ac-
complished in this State as to make Gov. Ill
denis efforts at reform, strenuous rs they nave
been. seem almost fruitless The amount of
money and property already wrested from the
defrauders of the revenue FAR exceeds any
thing that we seem likely to recover from the
canal thieves and the number OF indictments
secured against the Whisky Ring lar exceeds
the number pending against members OF the
Canal Ring, In all these successes there
is reason for hearty rejoicing. IHE 1RiB-
ryE was the first to give the country
full and trustworthy account of the plans OF
Secretary Bristow, and it has always been
nromnt in his praise. If his work for reform
should make him President, every good citi-
zcn would rejoice that our President was not
only not the associate, but was the SWORN
enemy of thieves.
In casting up the account, however, to the
credit of these two reformers the obstacles that
each has to encounter must be taken into con-
sderation. Secretary Bristow did not attack an
organization that has ruled both parties at will.
The Whisky Ring has no candidate for the
Presidency, and cannot put Legislatures into
the hands of either party by open support
or equally effective neutrality. The Whisky
Ring is influential, and runs through some
high places the public probably does not sls-
pect but its strength is usually exortcd chiefly
on the subordinate officers of the revenue,
with one or two higher officials to make the
circuit complete. Secretary Bristow has the
hearty cooperation and support of the President,
and of honest officials of all grades. Leading
United States Senators have not made 1t theiT
business TO travel over the country, mouthlng
tremendous sneers at his achievements,
"variegating and embrOidering" their dis
management with alternate charges that he Is
shielding the thieves of his own party, and
that all the thieves nc has exposed are his
political friends. Secretary Bristow, when he
had once made up his mind to break the
Whisky Ring, had an easy task before hlln'
inst as any Governor of New-YOrk ought to
have had when he made up his mind to break
the Canal Ring. Secretary Bristow has not
constantly encountered acts CT Congress
making the frauds legal, and Often handing
huge sums over to the thieves by name; acts
recurring auditing boards to pay whatever
SIMS tbe thief chooses to make out vouchers
for; acts sweeping away agreements already
made and voluntarily surrendering large
amounts of the money of the State, without
pretext and without equivalent Secretary
Bristow does not find every step of the way
Impeded by resolutions, awards, and conces-
sions of boards whose members were n0ml-
mated and elected by the thieves and often
shared their profits. Secretary Bristow finds
iudges willing to interpret the law with
out too great eagerness to manuiac-
ture doubt and then give the crlml-
nails the benefit of it. Secretary Brlstow
does not discover that two great Rings have
elected majority of the judges in the highest
appellate court, and that they have never been
known to give a decision against their political
creators. Secretary BrstOw has had a respect
ful and decent treatment from the press of the
party opposed to him. He has not been charged
with lying, double-dealing, cOlusion with the
thieves. clemency toward certain thieves OF
his own political persuasion, and vindictive
pursuit of the thieves of the other party. lie
has not been charged with attempting this re-
form simply to clear his way to the White
help him. and persecuting those who would not.
His political opponents have not spent their
timeraking around in thieves backyards for such
stray bones of calumny as they could discover.
They have not charged Mr.. Bristow with false
hood on the testimony of thieves whom he had
exposed. and of their friends, and of financial
officers whom he had caught blackmailing
Government creditors. He has not been pelted
with mud every day of canvass i'll whicn he
was not candidate. The honest and high
minded men who are drawn to him not only
by natural aflliation but by official connec-
tions have not been subjected to daily
deuges of dirty water and spattered with
lies too contemplate to rcflte, simply
because they are his friends and associates.
His political opponents, so far as we know,
have not adopted the plan of suppressing all
accounts of his exposures and substituting
abuse of the man who Is frying to bring the
criminals to justice for denunciatiOn of the
criminals themselves. Last, but by no means
least, there has been 10 open combination be-
tween the thieves and the Democrats to try to
punish Mr.. Bristow for his presumption in
setting up as a refOrmer.
These are some of the obstacles which Sec
rctary Brstow has not found in his way; We
put it very mildly i'll saying that Gov. Iilden
has not had equal luck Both We conceive to
be honest men, sincerely trying to do their
whole duty in the places in which they have
been put. Together they furnish a sad COM
mentary on our politics in the fact that the
desire to suppress fraud should be so rare as
to make any public man endowed with it a
prominent candidate for the Presidency Each
is pushing his reform without regard to party.
Each is entitled to the frank and sincere sup
mont Of all rnnn citizens