Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1876-03-24
EFFECC OF ThE ExPOsURES.

TIE New York JIib7a7le of the I1th
instant, speaking Of the New Hainp-
shire election and the current expos
ures of enormous official frauds and
corruption in Washington, says:
In every part of the country there
has been q great revival of confidence
on the part of those who desire better
things for the Republican party.
Elsewhere, as well as in New HamP- ]
shire, the Republican party has been
etror ger and more hopeful since. the
exposure, because its honest voters
felt Sure that at least the rascals
would C ,ase to direct it. If the party
is wise or honest, it will not disap-
point these hopes.
The Macon Telegraph and Nessefa-
ger tiIus comments on this singular
proposition:
"Now the Z1'i6nne may be right as
10 the cts of the case; but, if SO, 1t
must be regarded as a most extraordl-
nary eff. ct of the development of gross
lna.versatjon in the official representa-
ii?-s OF .,lly party. n great re0iUdh
u coufdetce' IL the Republican party
; Il dir C. result of the detection, by
D.-mocTa's, of an almost universal
ia;,.t # fraud aud corruption in the
! epub lean National Administration.
ord. str..i geIy. But we say again it
c:a3 l.: rue reading, as to its practl-
= l! res 1t. The Tribune claims to
Il III al dependent position as to
,,,.IttcG p rites, and ought to display
:i,,:1...,' Il judgmentin the premises.
And # i be right here, the Radi-
eds al, c. rtainly under great obllga-
tio:ss. To tie Democracy for exposing
der If nd3, and should bless the day
y hen a good Providence placed the
House ia Democratic hands and thus
.naoie the unearthing of this sink of i'll
ii possible went. But for the Demo-
q attic i'd i wave in the fall of 1874, not
one of these crimes would have come
to light, and the great Radical
prty would have consequently sunk
- ruin Under suspicion of common
honesty Would this result have been
more unfortunate to the Democracy or
to the Republic? This is hard to an
swer. The Democrats we see have
ruined themselves by showing that the
Radicals have grossly abused the con-
tidence of the country; while the coun-
try itself is expected to renew the
lease OF Radical power, as the natural
suggestion of the fact that this power
has been basely welded to private and
unlawful gain instead Of for the pubic
welfare. The discovery of these corrup-
tions has therefore perpetuated them.
But the Tribune suggests that the
real ground of this revival of conf
dence is based on the hope that the
rasca}s OF the party have been de
tec'ed and will be thinned out SO as to
leave some chance for the honest Radi.
cats to come forward. There might be
moro show of reason in this sugges-
on, if the Radicals themselves had
dJne the thinning. But these crimes
had been going on for m any years
with not an offer of discovery and pur
cation fiom Radical sources; and it is
Lot to be disguised that even now,
while the Democrats are trying t.
break through the shell of this mon.
strous egg of public abuse. they are
assailed on all sides, but their own,
wath opposition, abuse, perversion and
misrepresentation. Not man outside
4
their own political circle says $50 or
and God speed YOU" but the mos
busy and insidious efforts are put
forth to heittle and discourage theil
course and to hold it up to the people
as little short of treason-a second re.
belliOn.
IF, under these circumstances, one
out OF five hundred crimes and culprite
are brought to light it will be marvil.
aud the assumption that the unexposed
are clean, IS quite ridiculous. If the
country takes the same view of the
practical result of these discoveries as
the Tribune does, then let it resign
itself to a political and moral rotten
ness which will end in anarchy and
d. uth. If confidence in the Repubii-
CAT party revives' on the strength OF
those exposures, then the party itself
i a moral toad stool, gaining poison
Gus thrift from decomposition and
rottenness."