The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1877-02-24
MORAL OBLIGATIONS.

The Intelligeneer of yesterday, in dis
cussing the possibility of the House Of
Representatives resorting 10 such lawful
measures as il may see proper to defeat
the verdict of the Packed Commission
says:
There is something supremely mean
about such an appeal TO Congress to vio-
late its plighted faith. "No faith tn be
kept with heretics" is said to have been
once received as sound doctrine, but in
the code of modern morality, saying
nothing whatever of religion, the viola
tion of plighted faith is held to be IN the
last degree disgrsceiul. Even gamblers
abide "the hazard of the die" No man
who enters into an arbitration and sf.
terwards refuses to abide the award of
tie arbitrators ha, any standing among
bis relghbors. The world always "spots"
a man of that kind, and fights shy of him
forever afterwards"
That is all very pretty talk and sp
pears very we'll as gllttering generality,
point, we find very different rule to be
applicable. Here we find Commission
created for a spec 6c purpose, and yet 1t
has not touched the matter referred to it..
II was created 10 inquire INTO alleged
fraud and bring the truth 70 light, On
the contrary, it has refused to investi.
gate and only announces that the wrong
must stand. 1t is natural enough to ex-
pect the HAYES partizans insisting that
the House must abide the decision, but it
is surprising ths: they should suppose
their arguments" should have weigh
in the understanding of intelligent
persons. We do not know what
course the House of Representatives
will pursue, but we do know that it is q
deceived party TO fraud, and upon a
sound principle of both law and ethics.
has right to withdraw from it after the
vllliany of the associates has been ex.
posed. Does the Intetitgeneer suppose
that if A makes an agreement with b
to settle an issue by arbitration, and in
the course of the settlement B persist
emily refuses to abide by the understand.
ing upon which the agreement
to arbitrate expressly rests, is
A. under any moral obligation to abide
by the agreement after B. has clearly
shown bis intention TO commit fraud?
The idea is too preposterous to be enter
tanned by any except those who, in a
psrtizsn frenzy, are intoxicated with the
expectation of success. We can see no
moral obligation about it, more thar We
could see the moral obligation OF
citizen standing on the high
wsy and letting thief pick his
pocket when by retreat or the presents-
tion of revolver he could save his
property. If there be moral obliga-
tion in the house-keeper helping the
burglar TO count the spoons and break
the trunks, SO rs to assist his escape with
the booty, then We can see the moral OBJ
legation of the House OF Representatives
assisting in consummsting the blackest
political crime of history. If there
be moral obligation resting
upon deposi.or to keep his mouth shut
and his hands in his pock cts while the
cashier doctors the ledger and gets away
with the cssh-then there Is 3 moral
obligation binding upon the American
people to tamely, unprotestingly, quiet
ly, politely submit TO the spoilsslon OF
the dearest politicsl rights ever enjoy
ed under an organized COVE rnment-ihe
privilege of seeing the will
of the msjerisy of the Peo-
pie rs expressed through the
ballot box earned out BY those agencies
they have appointed TO execute the pop
ulsr will.
There is no moral obligation which
compsls freeman 10 surrender
his freedom into the raPs-
cious hands OF political robbers.
LIE, US hear no more about "plighted
faith as long as such infamous proceed
ings, ss the Electoral Commission has en-
gagged in, are endorsed BY . party. They
count HAYES in and the people out; they
CONT party in and the Constitution
out; they count Wrong IN
and Right out and now
We appeal 70 the Iststi,senoer TO
know who are the ones the world will
spot and Eight shy Of ever Afterwards"
We say again that while We do Lot
know what Congress in its apparent i'm
beciliiy will do, We do know that this Is
/. free popular government founded upon
Q constitution, and il 10 easy 70 conjec-
ture what the people viii do.