New-York tribune., 1876-04-20
THE ESPECIAL LAgOR or TIE PRESENT
UNIAISTR1TION

Two years ago the Union Republican Con-
crcssional Committee published an address to
the people Of the United States reviewing the
history of Democratic msrue before the war
and the achevcm mt, Of the Republican party
during the great struggle and since the peace.
# was ike most other campaign addresses,-a
mixture Of fact and fiction, sober truth and
arrant nonsense. The contrast between the
two parties was of course exaggerated, but
substantially it was not unfair. There was
one paragraph however which the Adminstra-
ton leaders of the present day, II they chance
upon a stray copy of the document, Will read
with n curious expression OF cOuntenance. IL
is the following
When the opposition denounce Republicans rs thieves
II u not 80 easy try TIE truth of tine assertion 30
Sides two circumstances Iyc slight color to tIat aeSa-
non First Republicans posse sion u the Govern
meni. and have tho beet chance 10 pccuaie second
he's been ne espoetdi iGbOr orh present Admnsrdo" ~
d,ieot and ,,nish uec,aat'on During the Struggle
aud excitement which attended the rebellion some bad
men found their way into public empoymenis Mr. lAn-
coins Administrator wa too much occupied Win graVer
matter. to keep II ct watch o every individual oG ndor
The Administration which ccedel was quite - unpre-
pared foe that duty Congress then much absorbed
In the great work Of reconstruction. and the President
was happily hii,d 10 orticisc Official misconduct
that work. mus no oiien'd ~ nor Ire Administration
dnd not me times. must b. heid responsible
Woll, does the party wish to he Judged
in 1876 by the professions OF 1s74i Prcs-
dent johnson "was not happily fitted to
"criticisc official misconduct" Is President
Grantf Bad men somehow got into the party
in the turmoil and confusion Of war and re-
constructions Have they been turned out
r.. A
IA their Administration hid no excuse for
ncglectng the work Of reform. Has 1t been
attended toi Bclknap's bribery was known
four years ago, and 1t was not stopped until
Democratic investi eating committee took 1t mp.
Shepherds transactions were notorious, ana the
President rewarded him for them by nomi-
nation first as Governor and then a Commls-
soner of the Dis rict of Columbia. The frauds
in the Indian Bureau have been national
scandal for years, but Delano was protected
under fire until Prof. Marsh and THE TRIBUNE
forced Kim to resgn,-and then the President
gave him recommendation. The Safe
burglary was II crime which disgraced repre-
sentltives of the Federal authority in Wash
ington, and the farcical trial of the alleged
conspirators aggr waited the original wrong; but
the President intcrfercd to save one of the
accused, and kept all of them in his favor
Just as he nterfcrrd altcrward in the whisky
cases to save Babcock. at has been the
" especial labor of the present Administration
"to detect and punish pcculation,' forsoOth
The whole Government has been reebing with
rascalty all through Gen. Grants term, and
the sole labor OF his friends has been to cover
it up-and get share of the plunder.
This il such IA well-known fact that we look
at the signatures to the Address with some
curiosity, to see who can have made them
selves responsible for the statement that the
detection and punishment Of wrong-doers is
the principal occupation of Gen. Grants
Administration, and that if the work is not
attended to the Administration, not the times,
will be responsible; and we find among the
other patrons of purity. Mr.. Simon Cameron.
formerly Secretary OF War and general dealer;
Mr.. George +. Spencer Of Alabama; Mr.
Powell Clayton and Mr. William u. Stewart,
late of the Emma Mining Company. Upon
the whole, we are not surprised that the
Republican Convention at Harrisburg the
other day ventured to express preference
! for "mcn with brains enough to know dis
honesty when they see it," BIT then-be-
wildering reflection! - Simon Cameron per-
vaded the Convention too