The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1876-09-23
BIG STEALING.


tense than that put forth by Morton IN MS
Indianapolis speech, that Grants aomih'sua'
: ton was more honest than that OF jackson or
Van Buren,, because, according to treasury
statement. doctored for the purpose, the de-
3 falca,iops In the collection OF the public rev
enue showed a smaller percentage of the
!, total collections during Grants than during
,Jackson's, or any other administration pre-
ceding Grants. If any fair array Of figures
! shows such fact, it only proves that during
Jackson's and the other adm Illustrations dc
fauters were detected and punished, while
} lduring Grants administration 1t is notorious
, revenue thieves have been Systematically
screened by the government to save the radl
cal party from disgrace.
While thus the percentage Of actually de.
tected revenue stealing may possibly be
truthfuIly shown to have been less during
Grants than any preceding administration,
It can be shown with equal truthfulness that
the percentage of actual stealing during his
administration has been positively colossal
in comparison, not only with that OF any pre-
lceding administration, but with that of any
government in the world in modern times
We need not 10 demonstrate this, cite the
ordinary custom house rObberies, which un-
der Grant have been enormous, or the steal
ing in the judicial, state, Indian and other
departments, the exposures OF which during
last winter SO greatly shocked and scandaliz-
ed the country; but we need refresh the mem
DRY of our readers only in reference to two
other open, proved, confessed steals, which
IN magnitude are no less without parallel In.
than they are the amazement Of, the civil
lied world
Need we remind our readers Of the Pacific
railroad steal? In comparison with it, the
that time had ranked as the champion fraud
of history, sinks into positive insignifcance.
Its magnitude really staggers belief. I'M
round figures, the government issued to the
Pacific Railroad Companies $65,00O,0 900 of 81
per cent bonds These amounted TO nearly
$4,000 per mile of the entire road, more
than it actually cost to build it. But the
Credit Mobiller band of thieves who built
the road not only gobbled up every dollar of
these bonds, but raised some $50 600, 600 by
selling stock of the company and built the
road by borrowing $G5 100000 by a first mort.
gage on the road. Thus the steal in the first
instance was full 100000 600, to which are
to be yearly added the net earnings and the
proceeds of the sales of many millions of
acres OF land and every six months the
thieves make new demand for nearly $4,-
600 for interest on their stolen bonds,
which is h0nored at the national treasury.
Even attorney general Williams admitted
that the u. S, would lose $780, 900 by this
Pacific railroad steal, and this did not include
half for he made no reference to the value of
the road itself, or the enormous land grants.
And this stupendous steal was the result of no
miscalculation, no thoughtless imprudence;
but was the deliberate, intelligent work Of a
republican congress, of which IN this bust
ness W. A. Wheeler was the leader IN the
house and Morton in the senate. the robbery
in all its stages meeting the cordial approval
of President Grant.
But even the two or three hundred millions
to which tae Pacific railroad steal foots up
sink into insigniticance by the side of the
stealing of the whisky rings. Pub. Docs"
are not so plenty now as they were in the
days Of the ranking privilege, and few PEG.
pie are now so lucky as TO get copies Of the
various department reports periodically issued
at Washington. Dull reading enough In
general, there is occasionally one, however,
that is las interesting as a novel" and such
is that of Internal Revenue Commissioner
Pratt of last December especially to one Gu.
rious to scrutinize the ways that are dark
and tricks that are vain of the whisky ring
Slr. Pratt gives us the following interesting
table as to the proceeds of the whisky tax
for the years named, ending June S0th respec.
lively, with the rate of tax per gallon each