Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-03-15
Chr freeman.
MONTPELIER Vt,
WEDNESDAY, MARCH l.. 1876
4 Series of BIuniprs,

The nine days wonder ut Belknap'S fall
mas come and gone by. and in its place
comes Il curiosity 10 see the skill OF Wash
ington politicians in the art Of how not to
10 it. While men who make Il living by
work 20 about their daily business and
i shoncstv in public Place shorl be found
out and punished. The American of aver
:,Le intelligence is aware that Il great
many democrats will steal and have stolen
tad that i great many republicans have
-to'en AMI will steal He wants whichever
PARTY is in power to put into responsible
l,o>itIons the smallest number Of thieves
= >si5lr; to carefully watch its appoin:ccs
..a 10 punish them for their misdccdS.
Knowing how it is in private affairs,
l,w men are deceived by supposed homes
,.t strange that now ans! thel there should
i, dishonesty among men who have III
{ lcir hands pubiic trusts. When careless
nrrs comes to be the riIlr in appointments
IT still worse. an apparent design to APP
Joint men who will make private gain in
-;rsd Of public dirty the spring of action
and = party, rs such. approves the prac-
lIrr, it is time 20 east about for q better
purity. Thousands of republican, have for
two or three wears been liyurin" on the
mathematical problem of whether Credit
Mobilicri>m, Boss Shepherd, Macdonald
Pnmerov. Belknap, and things kindred
We're the rule or the exception. Some
have come to one conclusion and some &c
the other. but all await with anxiety the
next step Of their party, longing to see il
put forward rs lis candidates men Of exc
cutive ability who are honest and whose
instincts secure them associates OF like
character.
1t is the knowledge Of the existence OF
this class of voters and IL mistaken concep-
ton of what will influence them, that ails
the democratic management in Washing
ton. And in the daze that came over the
president and his friends ut the Belknal
Business, and the trembling over-eagcrness
Of his democratic opponents there has fall
en- to the ground for the time being what
very bad err ana on the other a. IL Won
drrful political nugget.
The hurried acceptance Of Gen. Belk-
maps resignation was q foolish thing. il
no worse. The announcement that the
Attorncy-Grncral would seek to convict
everybody connected with the affair, was
certainly impol;tic, rs it is not the usual
custom OF shrewd officers to make threats
before they have their hands on the ncr-
sons thcy are after. This announcements
was followed by the flight of Marsh to
Canada, and the democrats at once raised
the cry that the secret Of it all was an in
tention to discourage witness,>"
So far, the opposition had quite Il good
case bat H. soon Is their own mtnag,-
nent was revealed they lost it. In the
first place Clymcr, Blackburn and Robbins.
(Who by the way was once ccnsurcd bv the
North Carolina Senate for taking :. TWEEN
" dollar bride llimsclf), conducted the in
vt,ti@:,tion in it, first stages without the
know ledge Of Bass and Danforl, their re-
publican associates. And finally Clvmor
himself was responsible for letting Marsh
90, and even seemed to take particular
pains to let him slip through his fingers.
The result is that amid elimination and
rccrimination us to where the fault lies.
the executive department i, broua!t t. Il
stand still in its criminal prosecution and
the House in its impeachment of the guilty
Secretary. The democrats by treating the
thing rs bonanza mine of party capital
have frittcrel away for the pes at Ill
chance of having punishment tread swift
on the heels of discovery, whc, is all the
general public care for; aud in doing it
they have lost such political advantage as
there might have been.
If Clymer. Blackburn AMI Robbins had
treated the subject As business they would
have made political capital Of it by
treating it rs politics they hrve made
nothing but Il iumblcd mess Of the whole
concern.