The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1876-02-19


The Bottom Fact I'm Whisky.
This whiskey business is a deplorable
scandal, however we view it. The fact that
the Presidents private secretary and trusted
friend should be in prisoners dock before
a jury on the charge OF fraud is very sad.
The spectacle of President examined and
cross-examined to save his favorite and friend
jars on the sensibilities of every self-respect-
ing American. These clouds upon the SUI
preme Office, these stains upon our throne,
are not pleasant Even if Babcockwalk out
of his dock an acquitted man the whole
business is q calamity.
We do not now enter into the question of
the guilt or innocence of this gentleman.
But the bottom fact in the whole business
is this: that the withdrawal of civil service
reform from the revenue collections is a
blunder-a blunder that has borne fruit in
q thousand crimes
We learn all through this trial that when
ever a whiskey thief desired to cheat the
government he went to the President and
asked that officers be removed or assigned so
as to 'help the party" The Ring in st.
Louis was political ring. It's leading mem
Der outside Of the officials was the editor of
the principal republican organ west of the
Mississippi. Here was the influence of a
popular citizen, an influential editor and a
prominent politician on the side of the
thieves Money stolen from the Treasury
was applied to "help the party" The Presi-
dent in his testimony says that two or three
Senators interested themselves to aid the
thieves
If General Babcock is as innocent as his
friends insist the ''bottom fact" remains
that under our government it is possible for
vulgar, illiterate thief like Mcdonald and
light-headed, rattle-pated scamp like Joyce
to visit the White House, and, aided by Sem
ators and editors, control the revenue service
in the interest Of the party. This is deplor-
able, wretched to the last degree, reflection
upon our institutions. We saw it under
johnson, where the Whiskey Ring fourished
to an extent never seen under Grant, and
even used money as is now believed, to de-
feat impeachment We saw it under Lin
coin, where vagabond, loafng politicians
were made judges and generals; where the
lives of brave and true men were intrusted
to generals who did not know q ramrod
from haversack all for ''the good of the
party" We saw it under Buchanan, where,
as was shown in the Covode investigation,
navy yards were run for ''the good of the
party" 1t was party all the time as it is
now. This is the bottom fact in the whiskey
business. So long as Senators and members
make themselves Office brokers, as most of
them are 80 long as the Senate insists, as it
does now, that it will not confirm any nom
inee to Office who does not please the Sen
ator from the State thus represented, so long
we shall have these scandals. One Ring
will follow another, to the shame of the ma
ton and the degradation of the public SER
vice.
The bottom fact in whiskey is that we
have no civil service. The country has
fallen into the hands of professional politi-
clans. The old republican army is now COM
handed by the ''bummers" who followed in
its wake when the Summers were in the lead.
The Presidents secretary in the dock, and
the President trying to swear him clear, are
only evidences of the wretched condition
into which the whole administration has
fa1Iap