The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1876-04-07
Mr.. Page and the HersId-Lst tho
Called Jado Vince.

Ouc o. tho comlcal ueVolopHeh,b - sAAS
era Of investigation is the appearance on the
scene Of grand inquisiior from California
named Page. He takes . conspicuous and
extreme position in regard to the thcfts
practiscd by functionarics intrusted with
the administration of Indian affairs Mr..
Page is a member Of committee whose
duty it is to investigate and expose such
thievery. and officially, therefore, he IS
under obligation to assist such exposure;
but. like great many other men in these
days, his official obligations sit very lightly
on his conscience when weighed in the bal
ance against reasons more PERSONAL His
official obligation to expose thievery is evil
IDENTIFY feather compared to his personal
inclination to embarrass, oppose and sup
press all inquiry in that direction. Intima-
ton has already been given very plainly that
in his efforts to divert and cripple the inquiry
into Indian frauds Mr.. Page was inspired by
no less a fact than that lie was interested
pecuniarily in some of those transactions.
If he were interested criminally, if the ex-
posture would result in his trial for on offence
that might send him to prison, no could not
be more extravagant in his efforts TO make it
ineffective.
In the course of their search for persons
who had been in the Indian country and
observed the fraudulent practices there
carried on tho Indian Committee very
naturally came to HERALD correspondent,
from whom they doubtless obtained great
deal of information, and who has, we hope,
materially assisted their inquiry on the
subject before them. But Page has princi-
pally examined this correspondent on sub
ject that we did not know the committee
was authorized to investigate. This subject
is the HERALD. Page wants to know what
salaries we pay, what our politics are,
what arrangements we make with our CORE
spondents, where they get their informa-
ton, and why in the world they have
not greater respect for Page. Is Page in
terested in any California newspaper that
he wishes to assist by knowledge thus
cheaply acquired? Or has he fancy to take
to honest industry and become CORE
spondent himself? If we should at any time
want to send q correspondent to Mares
Island we might deal with Psge. But the
position in which he would be brilliant sue
cess no longer exists in any newspaper
office, if, indeed, it ever had any existence in
civilized cities. There is q tradition that
every newspaper establishment once kept a
bully, and if this was ever fact anywhere it
must have been in the Southwest. It has
been commonly supposed that the duty Of
such functionary was to browbeat the
whole community, to snort through the
country the sound Of his own importance,
never to stand on any nice points of pro.
priety, but to bray down all opposing voices.
Does Mr.. Page innocently believe that
functionaries of that traditional sort really
exist in newspaper Offices, and does his
conscious sense for his fitness for such o
post suggest his anxiety in regard to the
salaries we pay? In case he should think Of
becoming correspondent, our requirements
are Some talent, the capacity to write good
English, industry and honesty and our one
instruction is, "Tell the truth" If Mr.. Page
should endeavor to fill such position we
are afraid the pay would hardly remunerate
him for the strain on his constitution.
These tactics of the enemies of investiga-
ton are Transparent. In the course of these
has done important service to the country.
Once before we intimated that member of
the committee knew more of official thievery
than he cared to tell, and his attempt to
browbeat one of our correspondents un-
earthed the Pendleton roguery. Now q
member Of another committee seems to find
inquiry coming uncomfortably near him,
and he endeavors by first class display of
Congressional blackguardism to intimidate
the correspondent and to extort from him the
names of the persons to whom he was in
debted for information. If men on COM
mittees believe that by acts of this sort they
will Brighten correspondents and SO pre-
vent the publication of unpalatable truths
they do not know what sort of persons they
have to deal with. 1t is not for moment to
be believed that the House will sustain Mr..
Page in the position he has assumed as an
authority to discipline our correspondent.
His committee is authorized by the Houce to
perform certain services in the public inter-
est, and the House will sustain it in any steps
necessary to that end and might punish any
refusals to answer that bore on the proper
inquiry. But when Mr.. Page perverts the
public inquiry to his private uses the House
will scarcely cover with its authority his
scandalous departure from the line of his
duty.
Dog Bench shows.