The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1876-04-18
A Record of Crime.

When Heister Clymer appeared at tn
bar of tho House Of Representatives, and
with tears in his eyes, preferred charge
of bribery against w. w. Belknap, Sec
retary of War, he asserted that Belknap'
crime had no parallel in the history of ou
government. AS figure of speech, thi
assertion was very touching; as state
ment Of fact it was silly falsehood. The
history Of the last Democratic admins
tration furnishes a dozen crimes, commit
ted by high officers, vastly greater thar
the petty theft committed by Belknap
Belknap's oaense was disgraceful not only
to him and to the parties Immediately
connected with him but to the administra
lion and to the whole people. The gov
ernment, however, lost no money by it
and Belknap got SO small an amount tina
his fall lacked even the merit which rob
bers and corruptionists applaud wher
enormous sums are stolen. No sane man
much less an honest man, will undertake
to excuse or defend robbery, be the
amount great or small The universe
verdict is against the thief, no matter
what his position in private or public life
Yet such is the natural man that it il
impossible to wholly preven. stealing
and the party has not yet been organized
some of the leaders of which arc beyond
the reach of temptation. The Republi
can party is made up of vast multitude
Of men, some bad and some good, some
hightoned and incorruptible, others dis
honest and eager to take advantage oil
party victory and power to rob the peo
pie. This great party has been in pos
session of the government Of the United
States for fifteen years. During its lease
Of power it has collected and expended
more money than was collected and paid
out during all the previous history of our
country. The total receipts Of the gov.
ernment from March 4, 1889, to March
4, 1861, was $2,262, ,66O, ,460.6S, and the
total receipts from March d, 1861, to
June 30, S75,were Sl2,709,645 ,05991
In palmer words the total receipts or the
government for the first 73 years of its
existence under the constitution were less
than Is per cent. of the total amount col
lected up to the close of the last fiscal
year Since the republicans came into
power the Fedora offices have been more
than doubled in number, the opportuni-
ties for fraud and corruption have been
increased hundred fold, and the moral
tone of the people, as well as of the off.
GERS of the government put to the severest
test Of long and demoralizing war, And
all history teaches that regard for law,
for life, for property, is lowered by war
and its evil influences. Controlling such
vast sums of money, and controlling with.
out fear Of interruption through so many
years all the machinery of the govern.
meut, it would be stranger than fiction
were any branch Of the public service to
escape the hand Of dishonest men. Rob.
berry and peculation have been rife in
the land, and public officers have not all
withstood the temptations before them.
Yet the last fifteen years have not consti.
tuted the age Of public vice and official
scandal. Other periods Of our history
have been more fruitful Of crime in high
places and have shown lower regard
for honesty among public men. We need
not recall the last two years of Buchan.
ans administration, with its Floyds, it's
Thompsons and its jeff Davis. a periods
more marked for crime, embezzlement of
public funds, betrayal of public trusts
and corruption than all the past years Of
Republican rule combined. We can 20
long ways back Of that aud find 10 the
golden days Of Democratic rule a single
Democratic administration under which
more public money was stolen than had
been embezzled in all the previous forty
odd years We have here a record of
the total amount of defslcations in gov.
ernment offices during the ffty-one years
OF tho government