Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1876-03-08
THE GRAPHIc's APOLOGY FOR A
THIRF.

ktcAeA "a ANtAAah ~
Graphic Of March Sd, to find a leading
editorial on the second page in extenua-
ten of Belknap's fall. Ass remarkable
specimen of mendscity and toadyism to
the Washington dynasty it will bear repe.
tition. In all our reading we have not
come across such q far. fetched, lame and
impotent excuse for the minister who for
years has been accepting brides. While
very few will rejoice at the personal fall
OF such a man, or think Of turning it to
political account at present, a still
smaller number will affect to find sickly,
sentimental excuses for the late naughty
Secretary Of War. Here is an extract
from the Graphic's miserable plea in his
behalf:
His fall is a painful surprise to all who
knew him, and is another proof Of the
weakness Of human nature and the
danger Of placing untried men into
temptations which only the strongest
minds car bear. His otfense is not pc.
litical, but human. He has done in a
high Office CT the government WHIT
trusted clerks, book-keepers, railway
officials, treasurers Of private corpora
tons and even State officials have done
before. The conspicuity Of his position
makes his offense seem the more glowing
and d~isgraceful. 1t is not q party affair.
The President, pierced to the heart by
the pleading penitence Of his former
friend aud trusted Secretary, accepts his
resignation and let's him fall by his own
weight. PROFESSIONALLY the House is
right in wishing to stamp official dis
honesty with ineffaceable disgrace, but
it is a question whether this crime calls
for the EXTREMIST penalty, and whether
it is not a letting down and c%heapenipg
Of a punishment which should be re-
served for the greatest and gravest OF
officers. 1t does not pay to take q
t~wenty-foHr FOUNDER to shoot a dog
General Belknsp's confession and re.
moval under the circumstarc es are q
tribe punishment. he can never wash
the stain from his name or escape from
his disgrace. His crime is one that the
courts are competent to deal with, and
to them it may be safely left. Let
there be no extenuation Of the acts, but
the penalty should be .proportioned to
the offense. He has fallen a victim to
8 state of things for which be is not
responsible, and which should be taken
into account Washington has become
a center OF fashion, and is one OF the
c~ostliest cities in the Union to live in.
To move in good society there and keep
up appearances as a prominent govern
ment officer requires q fortune, or a sal
airy that is its equivalent. The days
when John Quincy Adams lived in good
style, supporting a large family and saw
ing money on $4,000 a year, and James
Buchanan boarded luxuriously for $40 a
week, have passed into unrtturning his.
tory. Luxury is the life OF the place
and extravaganza is the universal h.bit,
which only the strongest nature can re.
sist. The salaries Of our Secretaries are
penuriously small Secretary Fish is
said to spend $4,000 a year more than
his official stipend. The pay Of mem
bers Of Congress is pItiable, but the Sec
retaries, with greater opportunities for
speculation and more expenses, have
less. Good men, with strong domes-
tic attachments and a taste for soci
ETY., are easily and powerfully tempted
to- take advantage of their position
TO make what the government does
not pay. General Belknap did not
steal to hoard, but to support a home in
the style required by Washington fash
ions, and his love for his wife blinded his
eyes to the sin Of taking brides. HIS
fall should lead Congress to reconsider
the miserable policy of paying the Sec
retaries only half the necessary cost of
supporting a creditable home 10 the cap
ital. But it is also another symptom Of
the disorder Of our time. Everywhere
there is dishonesty Men are on the
make. The air is full Of the spirit OF
peculstion, and men who cannot gain
directly try to compass their ends BY
plying the trade Of intormer, aud entrap-
ping their friends only TO expose aud
ruin them. The community seems to be
suffering from an epidemic Of uuyrinei-
pied speculation, and morality, which is
the bottom Of legitimate business, seems
to have dropped out Of the thoughts Of
business men.
The inference is that Belknap is one
Of the business men Of the country.
According to such logic as the above
every thief in the country should be pat.
ted on the back and turned loose on SO.
ciety. Not responsible, indeed Well,
who could be, then2 Good men, With
strong attachments for society" indeed
Boss Tweed was one oil that sort and the
taxpayers paid for the qualification Of
his tastes. His fall should not deter
others from stealing, but should sdnu.
late Congress to give such men $50, 900
OF $780, e0 3 year to hire them not 10
stsal. The toiling millions could well
afford to keep up Washington society
at that rate just for the glory Of the
thing and to have il to say hat o feS
men about the capital with fashionable
wives were above stealing. Itwould b.
something to boast Of to the royal Tor
eigners who will be coming over thil
year to attend the Centennial. Yet Thu
is the twaddle of the Graphic in ii
Mardi.Gra issue, which was scattered
broadcast over the South. The sam
paper has time and again held the Dem
ocrstic party responsible for the acts OIL
character Of a single individual, but nov
6nds that no party is responsible for Bel
knsp. He is q nice fellow, who had t.
steal from the officers and soldiers Of the
Union in order to be respectable at the
national capital. The soldier who bled
for his couRtry and receives thirteen
..L f., he .n.s...