New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-01-03

Is it another SantO Domingo jobf And had
the recent visit of Minister Foster to Wash
ingtOn ANYTHING to do with It'll
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LIGHTNING.
Is it not grandl Day after day, lightning
strikes again." sometimes from the Treasury
building at Washington, and sometimes nom
the Capitol at Albany. In each party there Is
a vigorous demand for reform, with dctermncd
men to give it effect, and from each IN turn
come the thunderbOlts Of exposure, disgrace,
and ruin, to strike public plunderers. Not
" from one lone cloud" not from some isolated
Tilden or Bristow, hated by thieves and al
most as much by politicians of his own party
come these lightning strokes There Is what
Col Joyce was pleased to call &" an epidemic oil
"reform.n Brisow exposes the Whisky Ring;
Tilden lays bare the frauds of the Canal Ring;
Jewell breaks No the Ring Of fraudulent con-
tractors; the conviction of Joyce and Me
Donald, aud the Indictment Of Babcock, are
answered by the removal of Thayer, and that
again by the exposure of the Witowski and
Sugg Fort frauds, the indictment OF Butler
and Negley. and the removal of Broadhead /;
and these by the refusal of Chamberlain to
commission the corrupt iudges in South Caro-
lima. the war upon the Ring in Brooklyn, and
the exposure of the Whisky Ring in Chicago.
All along the line the fight against corrnp-
ton goes on bavcly. A Democratic House,
with wcll-organi7cd committees TO scrutlnizc
expenditures in the different departments.
promises soon to make other exposures. On
the whole il is exceedingly foul weather for
knaveS.
The best Of it is that nobody regrets this
state of things. excepting OF course the
lnavcs themselves. There is no longer
prevalent feeling among politicians that 1t y
not safe to make war upon fraud. There - no
longer sickly public sentiment of sympathy
for those who arc caught plundering and get
punished for it. Every shrend leader OF either
party realizes that its only chance of success
i. in pushing with visor every effort FOR re-
form. and sustaining 70 ths utmost thoa' who
are hunting down conupionists. There wlSa
time when Butler aud spencer might have
driven Jewell from the CGhhct to-day they
rave at him with imt,otcnt rage. There was
time when Cox forced from the Cabinet Tor
merely showing "a desire to TO what bil'tO"
has done but now all the plots and SANDERS
rf the Whisky King fall harmless at the icct
Of the Secretary There was time when the
Canal Ring was strong enough 10 crush any
Governor OF Ncw-lork " made war upon
Il. but it failed to defeat Gov. Ti!dcn in No
yembcr, and will never Lave again "a much
power as it had then There was a time when,
if Republican Governor in Southern state
took issue with the scOundrcls the carpet
baggcrs and the ignorant mob who follow
them. lac was instantly deprived OF all lniiu-
encc by the cry that no had "sold ont to the
"rebels,r and he met no support from Rcpub-
licans at the North or IN Congress but Cham
bcrlain is to-day one of the most popular Re
publican Governors. Public opinion is i'm
proving. The mists of party prejudice are
lifting, and men SEQ more clearly, ~ the Cen
tennial year dawus upon us that no party de-
serves support or confidence except as it
serves the public good
The new year opens with bright prospects,
fot reform and foul weather for thieves Let
us hope that it may witness the triumph 0i
genuine and thorough reform in the PIcsidcD
tial election by the nomination of men who rep
resent the best elements Of both parties. With
two such candidates, each identified with war
against corruption, the people will have fair
chance to give their votes u that party whose
principles and ter denotes they prefer, sure that
either, If intrustcd with executive power, will
use it to expose fraud, hunt down thieves, and
protect the public interest. At this moment
the Republican party has rather the advantage
in the race Bristow is doing work not sur
passed by any other in ,thoroughncss, nor
equaed in national importance while jewell,
Pierrepout, Chamberlain, and others are making
good use of their opportunities. Among Demo-
Gratis Tildon stands almost alone as yet But
the session of Congress may show us other
Democratic leaders who have power not
merely to advocate but to accomplish reforms
May there be many of them Sincerely we
hope that their good work III Congress, and
that of Gov. Tilden at Albany, may enable the
Democrats to name a candidate thoroughly
identified with reform in its best and broadest
sense; that Republican triumphs in reform
may enable that party to name ~ candidate
equally worthy and that tho Centennial year
may give us q National contest, III which the
country will be safe, whichever ticket is
elected and a President who represents all
that is best In the country.
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