Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1875-09-10
From the Ohio State Journal
The Democratic Legislature white
washed.


Cinci nDAii EHqHtreT said:
Ii has placed premium on bribery,
instead of fixing upon il the seal o con
demnaiIon. The Legislature disbands
exhaling odious ordors. The individual
members have brought disgrace upon
their constituents and upon the Statr.
Ne trust all the members of the Ohio
Legislature will reach home in safely, and
that few of them will ever find th cir way
back TO Columbus.
The Zanesciue Signal said:
The pesent Legislature is strongly Demo-
cratic in both its branches
1t has become strench In the nos
trlls
Everybody is dIsgusted with it.
Even the Democracy are sick OF it. and
are CRYING out for it to adjourn aud go
home. .'f. III
III sore on the body polite.
The Akron Tinsss said:
Go home gentlemen, your constituents
want to see you, and the longer you ppt
it of the less pleasure you will have in
the interview.
The Toledo Democrat said:
The discussion in the House of Repre-
sentatiyes, on the Wood county bribery
huisness, was simply disgusting and dis
gracful Il certainly equaled the worst
exhibition of depraVity ever given in the
Legislature OF South Carolina. sod
The Lima Democrat said: a.~. s
All the people should rejoice that it is
dead, and let none feel so poor as 10 do
it reverence.
So odious was this General Assembly
that the Democratic leaders resolved that
they could not defend the men whom
they bad placed there. Therefore, in their
State platform, they had no word OF COM
mendalion or sympathy Tor their Demo
cratic co-labOrers in that body. But the
people have been thinking this matter
over. They know that the officers to be
elected are all Stare and county officers
They know that their own interests de-
mand that they should sustain the party
th at gives them the best officers. There
fore they have been examining into the
proceedings of the last Democratic Legis
iature and the more they investigate the
frmer they are in the conclusion that
the maled1etions of the Democratic press
were just
The result is inevitable. They have
concluded 10 have nothing more TO do
with Democratic General Assemblies.
The Democratic leaders see ;he hand
done. The silence in which they hoped
that all the misdeeds of the Democratic
Leg islature would be forgotten, has been
br0k en-. At last they have resolved to
make a defense. The chosen defender is
the Democratic State Executive Com
mittee - All day on Monday the Demo
cratic printing presses were busy in run
ming of an eight-page document intend
ed 10 make forever glorious the General
Assembly of which the GAINESVILLE Signal
Democratic), only few months ago,
said, 1t has become a strench in the pub
lie nostrils." ..f -ri5-5I
1t is a weak paper, as defense OF such
a oody must of necessity be, yet, as the
Democratic committee are confident that
it will be"a coed enough Morgan" until
after the election, We give it some atten-
ton. -f-
This little document has startling head
lines. The conclusion of these headlines
is that this poor, despised Legislature has
saved TO the taxpayers of the State 81,
939, 1851. This is a good thing, if true,
and the Democratic papers, which last
spring were franticaly calling upon their
representatives to come home, ought TO
hide their diminished heads.
Twenty-four thousand dollars was saw
ed according to this little document, be-
cause the session was shorter by twenty
four days than its predeces sor Our
frie nds, however, forget 10 tell their read
ers that for twelve years the average
session of Republican Legislatures had
been only LOG 7-12 days, while the aver
age length of Democratic sessions has
been 1854 DAYS; and they forget futher to
say that the last General Assembly ran
way for fear that few days more of
work on the part of Investigate ng CO m
mittees would fully expose their corrup-
tons
The little headlines of this rem ar kable
defense also say thatthe Republicans in
1872 and 1873 appropriated 1906, ,S23. II,
and that the Democrats in 1874 and 1875
appropriated s., ,3SI ,341 .56, (and thus saw
ed $523, ,981.5D. We must conclude that
the Office holders on the Democratic com
mittee, through fear-of the loss of their
bread and butter, have become frantic.
We know that John G. Thompson and
MS lleutenants would not consciously tell
lie. How else, then, can we account For
TINS statement An examination OF ses
sion laws for the last four years, shows
that the Republicans appropriated SO,
OS6,670,68, and that the Democrats appro-
priated $10,994, 4,000.97, an excess over
Republican appropriations of 1907 $3.50. 70.
Thus it will be seen that according 10
Democratic logic their legislation cost
the State nearly a million dollars more |
than the legislation of their predecessors
and their pretense of having saved more
than half million is falsity-a little
discrepancy of million and half of dol
lars. iH
Our friends in their headlines futher
say that the State levies of 1874 and 1875
are less by the sum OF 81 ,1O6, 10000 than
were the levies of 1872 and 1873. After
making this statement they forgot fut er
TO explain that of the State debt due in
January next, nearly $3.50, 900 will have
TO be dlshonored tnd go to protest be
cause the Democratic Legislature failed
10 provide money with which to meet II.
1t would, prehRps, have been well for
them to have stated that when they went
into power the Republicans had left
nearly million dollars in the Treasury
for them to draw upon.
1he last grand achievement which
-Iully accomplishes the vindication of the
late Legislature is the county fee and
salary law. Our, friends squandered
good deal OF printers's ink over this law
pnI' t'nI' A1er all, failed to state that that |
OIL was introduced by a Republican!
Jesse N Oren, and was his work. An the
schemes devised and introduced by Demo.
Gratis IN this direction, were failures.
In fact, tins document is more remark
pie for what it does not say than for
what it does say II is not explained why
the Democracy legislaied in the interest
OF gam blers by lessening the penalties for
this crime and relie vi ngS persons who
knowingly leased their premises for such
purposes, from all responsibility. 1t is
not explained why the Democracy, on
page l56 Of the last volume of. laws, ex-
emRted certain city bonds from taxation.
II Is not explained why the, Demoeracy,
under threat of a withdrawal Of votes.
eowAFdly bent it's knees to a religious
scot and made its demand part of our
sLatqte books. It is not explained why |
lae democracy at the call ofa few spec-
ulators and psrtisans attempted TO des-
tfey one of the legislative bodies of the
Guy or Toledo. Nothing Is said in pail |
4ailon or explanation Of the miserable
" ood county business, whereby. in fhe |
closing days OF the Democratic Lepisa. |
ture, shame and disgrace were br ourht 1
upon the people Of 0hiosd sYnN : -
- fltUa IA arOkbo~ 4