The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-02-02

ruption did not become under Radical
auspices a sort of Radical common law
q custom practiced so far back that the
memory of a good many runneth not to
the contrary. And while we do not state
this to offer it as any excuse for the Of
fences committed by the Treasurer, yet
we do state it to show with what bad
grace the talk of honest government
comes from the Radical party, and also to
show that the offence which Democrat.
ic Senate regarded as worthy of removal
from Office was light and venial thing
compared to Radical misdeeds.
In regard to the second point of our
contemporary, that the articles of i'm
peschment would not have been sent to
the Senate unless the solid Radical vote
had been so cast, not much need be said.
1t is true that majority of the Demo
Gratis voted against sending them on, and
their reasons for so doing were conscien-
tious.
The evidence before the House, it must
be borne in mind, was by no means so
strong as that produced before the Court
OF Impeachment. Yet the investigating
committee had spent several months; ex-
hausted much time, and produced q
volume of testimony, and it was reas ona-
BILE to infer that it had done the best
it could do. Under these circumstances,
many members, though they condemned
the practices charged against these offic-
ials, yet believing that no case had been
made, and therefore that they
would not be justified in putting the
people to the expense of the trial voted
agains. forwarding the articles. But
were the Radicals who voted for for
warding, impeliei by any such regard
for the welfare of their constituents?
Were they so very anxious for purity
and reform? Hardly. The past don't
Justify any such belief. Indeed, judging
by the past, it is quite likely that had
they been in power, and the charges
against Republican officials been twice as
grievous as in these cases, they would
have at once squelched the whole pro-
ceedings. The aRiauS Of the Radicals
in voting as they did, is too apparent for
them to make any capital out OF 1t.
1t was not from any motive in the
world other than to try and get up
party capital for the next campaign.
TAere was no virtue, no cTedl'
due for their action, and while it was
yery Kind in them to desire that the
Democratic party should be purified, and
indeed to be exceeding e6ielous in effect
ing its purifcation, we cannot, and the
voters cannot, bat believe that theyt had
some very selfish end in view. 1t was
not that they loved the State more, but
they hated the Democratic party more,
and hoped to effect its downfall
The action of a Senate in which twenty
members out of twenty-four were Demo-
Gratis, has completely taken the wind out
of their sails, and destroyed their fondest
hopes. Mores the pity for them, but
the State needs to be congratulated. For
lust imagine what would have happened
had they been successful and fooled the
people into restoring them to power
Who knows but that the old days of DIS
reimbursement and tyranny would have
been promptly reinstated, when il DEM
ocrat dared talk to a Radical Legislature
about impeaching a Radical
official. he would have been sum-
marlly elected at the end of boot
Let US be thankful that we are spared
this calamity, and that the chances for
.or its being visited upon us are to-day as
far of as ever. The Radicals will have
a rough time deriving comfort or aid to
help them in their time of need from this
impeachment business. They might as
well abandon it as bad job.