National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1876-03-11
TIE TAR-REEL STATES HAN.

We feel for Robbins. We have an ava
lanche Of letters from North Carolinians
all over the country telling us about the
abilities, the beauty, the honor, the Chris
tian virtues and, alas, the ignominious fall
of SIX Robbins. They come in upon us
from all directions by every mail, by special
messenger and by telegraph, until we are
utterly discouraged from any attempt at
their full publication. Indeed, we are not
without pity. The record of SIX Robbins
in the North Carolina Senate, which we
printed the other day, was bad enough,
and could not fail to convince every candid
mind that SIX Robbins was just the sort
of man to unearth bribery and corruption
in others, because he knew just how it was
himself Upon the principle of the old
saw, "Set thief TO catch q thief, SIX
Robbins was the best selection Speaker
Kerr could have made for q member of the
smelling committee" to unearth bribery
and corruption. Experience is said to be
q good teacher, but very effective one.
Judged by this rule, SIX Robbins should
be very effective in his part as detective
of bribe- taking. Whether Mr.. Speaker
Kerr knew of the varied experiences of
SIX Robbins in this line; or whether he
was simply guided in his selection of the
right man for the position in which he has
gained such an enviable notoriety by his
knowledge of phrenology and physiognomy,
and read the character of the man at sight
as plsinly as did our pen artist in his splen-
did and successful effort of yesterday, We
do not know. We strongly suspect, how
ever, that Mr.. Kerr knew very little of the
antecedents of the Tar heel statesman.
and trusted almost entirely to his own
talents as phrenologist and physiognomist,
aided somewhat, perhaps, by the aptitude
OF nomenclature, in his choice Of this mem
Der of the committee. Rob. Robber!
Robbin(g)s! He naturally concluded
that if there was any stealing going on any
where a man with such a name and such
pbiz would discover it.
But our correspondence does not by any
means limit itself to the record of this dis
tinguished turpentine politician upon the
bribery issue. We have a tolerably full
biography Of the individual from his ser
vice In the Confederate army to the present
time. 1t is daily increasing, and although
it now comprises, in addition to the SIX
fee, as State Senator, his exploits in the
field during the war, both civil and mill
tary; his record on the temperance ques-
ton, both before and after election; his
connection with one Littlefeld, the quon-
dam North Carolina railway king, and his
numerous little crooked speculations on
private account, all of which combine to
raise our estimate of the importance OF
SIX Robbins to predetermined height
an altitude which can never be attained by
Clymer without artificial aid-it will
doubtless receive many additions. Bat we
do not print an encyclopedia of modern
politics, and we cannot be expected in
daily news journal to furnish more than an
epitome of the great rush of news of per-
sonal character which has been precipitated
upon us as sequel of the developments
produced by the great North Carolinian
and his coadjutors upon the Committee on
War Expenditures. But we have carefully
flied away the original documents for
future reference, and to be drawn upon
when the great "Tar-heel" statesman be-
comes candidate for the Vice Presidency.
We regret our inability to do him full JUS
tice at the present moment, but he must
take the will for the deed, and accept what
little we have been able to accomplish in
the line of biographical notices of him
do more fully in the future, when our space
is more liberal.