The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1875-09-10
Mr. Challant and the Sinking Fund-het the
Pcople have Exclamation

People have Explanation!
In reply to question put by the CotUM-
BGAN why he did not vote or protest against
the repeal of the wholesome net of Assembly
of 1870 requiring the State Treasurer to make
monthly report to the Auditor General of
the condition of the Sinking Fund, giving
detailed statement and where deposited, &c,
Senator Chaliant says in his paper of last
week:
The COLUMBIAN is disturbed over our not
voting on an act supplementary to an act re-
latng "to the State Treasurer and the Com
missoners of the Sinking Fund" We find
on referring to the Legislative Record that
the bill passed finally in the Senate without
dissenting vote Of any Democrat, while
several voted for the bill
The Senator is egotistical when he says
the COLUMBIAN was disturbed" about his
vote we merely asked for his explanation
why he sat in his seat and failed to vote
when the repeating bill passed. To this civ
il and highly proper question, in which al!
his constituents are deeply interested, he fails
to give an answer, but attempts to excuse
himself under the plea that others behaved
as badly as he Nobody ever doubted that,
nor does any body doubt that Treasurer
Mackey and the Radical State Ring annual
ly manipulated some Democratic Senators.
But that is not now a point of discussion
here. We ask the Senator, who now seeks
a reelection, why he sat quietly in his seat
when the iniquitous bill passed? 1t was de-
signed and has the effect of preventing the
Auditor General from making monthly Off
cial inquiry into the safety of the places where
the Sinking Fund is deposited, and absolute
ly prevents him from legally demanding 4
complete statement, that every citizen tax
payer might see it if he chose, where the
State Sinking Fund is deposited and in what
amount at each place. Mr. Chaliant did not
oppose this infamous repeating bill that un-
der the circumstances and at the time invol-
we'd the very existence of the Radical State
Ring and the destruction of its power to cor
rupt and carry State elections. He neither
| opposed by speech, or vote, or proposition
to amend, and by this failure gave direct aid
and comfort to the most daring and corrupt
ring of plunderers, political debauchees, bal
lot box suffers and ballot defrauding ring of
robbers and cheats that ever existed in this
or any other commonwealth Why did he,
by silence, thus aid this infamous ring?
That is the question to be answered, not by
saying that Dick and Harry did the same
thing, but why Tom did it? Nor does it
answer the question in point by quoting a
few lines from one section that are not OBJ
jectionable. 1t is unusual for any bill to he
so wholly bad that it has not some unobjec-
tionablc lines in it, but every bill must be
Judged by its most important and effective
provisions. In this case the most important
feature was that it repealed the law which
gave the people monthly information Of the
whereabouts and safety of an annual aver
age of two millions of dollars of their money
and provided a means to prevent undue
speculation therein by officials and of break
ing up their power to cheat at elections. In
short the repeating bill was designed to pre-
vent the Democratic Auditor General from
taking the provender from the corrupt Trea-
sury Ring, and thus destroying its powers
Mr.. Chalfant failed even to vote against the
repeal, though he sat in his seat at the time
Why? That is what is to be answered.