New-York tribune., 1875-10-20
SEyATORL4L SPECIAL PLEADING.


Mr.. Roscoe Conkling is always partisan.
Whatever acrid thing can be said against the
other side he is sure to say ay;-whatever faults
of his own side he cannot conceal he Is sure
to defend. lie began his elaborate written
address, the other evening, at Albany, with
sneer at Gov. Tilden for having long ancestry
of farmers, and entered upon his peroration
with a sneer at Mr.. Bigelow for being what he
chooses to call eccentric. Between these two
covers of his political gospel we find infinite
bile, but only three essential points,
1. He claims that the stealing on the canals
has been done or sanctioned invariably Dy
Democrats. The claim is not true. Plenty OF
contractors and plenty of the men who ap-
proyed the contracts were Republicans. The
last State Administration, which gave the
whole matter the go-by, was Republlcan III
every branch But suppose the Democrats hdd
done it all. Is that any reason why we should
not rejoice at Gov Tildcn's exposing IL or
hasten to help him9 The simple fact about
the canal corruption is that both parties have
been as deep in it as they could get; that the
conventions of both parties have been more
or less controlled by the Ring, and that the
State administrations of both have, until last
Winter, sedulously avoided any serious inter
ference with the matter. If the Republicans
and not the Democrats are to have the credit
for the canal reform now in progress, why did not
their Governor begin it9 Why did not
their Legislature effect it 7 Why was 1t left
for Gov. Tilden with a hostile Legislature, to
expose what his party was concerned III ana
the other party was free from
q Pie Senator regards the Democratic claim
to the reduction of taxes as fraudulent. The
Republicans, he says, reduced the taxes, not
the Democrats. 1t is a pity the people did not
find il out when they came to pay their taxes
year by year under the continuous Republican
administrations. The tax imposed jD 1874 was
I'll mills on the dollar. The tax i'll 1879 Is
mills. The reduction is effected mainly by
reducing the Canal expenditures. Under
the stimulus of Gov. Tilden's message
the appropriation for ordinary repairs was
reduced $500, 900 below that of the year pre-
vious. The appropriations for extraordinary
repairs were reduced from nearly $2.OOO,OOO
to $365, 700 aud the Governor finished 1t by
vctoing that remnant He also vetoed about
100000 of other appropriations, wholly CIV
ing up the time for weeks after the adjourn
ment of the Legislature to the study OF the
appropriation bills, and for some time leaving
no day without its veto. In the face of this
Senator Conkling tells Ills that it was the pre-
vious Republican administration which reduced
the taxes. We think the Senator knows bet
ter. We are sure the people do.
3. The Senator assures liz that while the Dem
ocIats in this state have a toicraDly safe sort
of hard money platform, they can't be
trusted on it, and that the Republicans can be.
Now, the truth is that neither party can be
trusted on the subject of hard money. Each
has been trying to "hedge," and neither has
any consistent national position or general ac-
cord The most influential associates OF Sena-
tor Conllling last Winter in the Senate were
Republican iniiationiss. The most powerful
leaders on the Administration side to-day
were infationists last Winter. They were
in the majority in the Senate. They have
had preponderance Of power in the party.
Even in Ohio, they passed tricky plat
form on which they meant to face both
ways 1t was only the incredible folly of the
Democrats and the vigorous action OF the
Liberals which brought. them into line.
The Republicans have had absolute
power in the National Legislature since 1860.
In that time they have reversed Secretary
McCulloch's policy, expanded the currency,
brought on panic, and left us further from
return to specie payments than we were at the
close of the war. The Democrats are just as
bad in some States worse. There Is an
honest half to each party. If there were fewer
reckless partisans like Senator Conkling we
should have better chance to get those
halves together