The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1876-09-07

uespalrlng OF the result OF the various
Investigations pending, a conspiracy
was formed to ruin the character Of a
truly honest man, and thereby divert
the public attention. The New York
Custom House furnished the scoundrel
who was ready to commit perjury Units
interest. But truth was mighty. Hon
esty prevailed. And so completely
was this foul conspiracy exposed that
the whole House rose to its feet in a
body, republicans as well as democrats,
to denounce the perjury and to testify
10 the complete vindication of an hon>
est democratic speaker. Thus again
did the enemy fail in their attempts to
defeat Investigation by smirching the
character of prominent democrats.
They were compelled to admit their
W guilt, and the innocence of their
intended victims. The country dis
covered the difference between attack.
ing an honest man and ~uncovering a
corrupt ne.
PRINTING COMMITTEE.
The Printing Committee performed
its duty with great energy. 1t dis
covered incapacity, noncompliance
with law, extravaganza and corruption
in the Public Printer. In the manage
ment of the government printing office
it was shown that men were employed
for their supposed influence, without
regard to their qualifications that
books and records. were sold contrary
to law that no record was kept of
large sums of money due to the Office !;
that accounts We're falsitie1 balance 8
forced moneys unaccounted for; and
hat during the last seven years the gov
eminent had paidannually five hundred
thousand dollars more than was nee
essary or proper for the management
of the Office. MIR, Clapp was legislat.
ed out of Office. But a new position
being created by law he was promptly
renominated by President Grant and
as promptly confirmed by a republi.
can Senate. A striking instance Of
the power of the party to reform itself
from within, aud its hostility to cor
ruption !!
WHISKY COMMITTEE.
A special committee to investigate
whisky frauds at St. Louis, to which
committee l belonged, developed an
astonishing amount of corruption,
leading to the very highest officials
1t was proven that liz the State of Wis
consin every distiller and rectifer was
compelled to enter a combination to
which every government revenue off,
cial belonged. The combination man.
ufactured "crooked whisky" in enor'
nous quantities. The profits were di
vided between revenue agents, gaugers
bumpers, the distillers and rectiiers
and occasionally the republica State
Central Committee, when an important
election was pending. This comb.
nation was successfully carried on fol
many years. 1t would have been il
existence to-day, probably, but for the
energy and honesty of Bristow who
reaped his reward in an ignominiou:
dismissal from the Cabinet. But the
great work of this Committee was il
disclosing that the President of the
United States and his obsequious At
torney General combined together tt
thwart the efforts of the Secretary o
the Treasury to bring to punishment
the head and front Of the Missouri
ring, Orville E. Babcock, the Private
Secretary of the President himself
The testimony upon this subject ha'
not been completed. But enough has
been printed and laid befor'
the world to consign this ad
m%inistration to- perpetual infamy
1t discloses that the Presiden
personally interfered fro the yer.
first moment that Babcock was invol
we'd that he was in secret communica
ton with a grand juror who was re
vealing, contrary to his oath, the Sc
crets of the jury room that the son o
this perjurer was oon thereafter re,
warded with an important foreign ap
pointment: that an assistant Distric
Attorney was sent west for the expires
purpose of thwartlng the action of tn
the government attorneys at St. Louis
that spies were set by the Presiden
aud his friends upon the gov
eminent prosecutor; that tn
leading prosecutor who was familia
with the case, Senator Henderson, wa
dismissed just before the trial unde
pretense that he had attacked tn
President in previous prosecutions; an
above all, that the witnesses for tn
, government, the distillers and rect
fers, who had been compelled to cnte
the ring or be ruined, and who wer
} ready to tell the whole truth, no ma
ter whom it involved, we're ,intimidate
by a special letter written for that pul
pose by Attorney-Genera Pierrepon
upon the express order of the Pres
. dent, given no less than four times I