The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1877-08-30
Reputation in Kansas.

On the plea that misery loves COM
pany, the repudiating counties of this
State will doubtless be glad to hear
| that the infection of reputation is
rapidly spreading, and that, as if to
show that dishonesty knows no party
limits, the Republican counties of
Kansas are as deep in the mud as the
Democratic counties of Missouri are
in the mire. The old disgraceful his
tory is repeating itself everywhere.
Counties and townships that rashly
and stupidity voted away their credit
are now voting away their honor;
officers sworn to execute the law are
refusing to levy the tax to meet the
Just debts of the counties, and the
honest creditors are first swindled
and then insulted by those who have
got their money. and now propose to
Jump their obligations. What rem
ders the situation all the more un-
pleasant is that, while one-half of the
counties are trying TO cheat their cred
itors out OF money advanced on rail-
road bonds, other counties are trying
hard to get chance To cheat some
body, by advertising their Willingness
10 vote subscription to any railroad
sharper who will go in with them.
The movement toward reputation
is advancing SO rapidly that 1t dis
credits the whole State, the fair infer
euce being that the counties W hich
refuse to swindle their creditors in
the interest of reform and good gov
eminent, only do so because the debt
is not large enough to tempt them. 1t
seems to be recognized as a principle
that when a county debt is small the
county can afford to be honest, but
that after the debt reaches q certain
fraction of the assessment, then pub
lie morality demands that the credit
ors should be swinded. This is es-
tablishing a new basis OF morals, and
a remarkably easy one as long as it
lasts; but it would be very uncom-
Portable if the highly bonded counties
should turn around and say that If it
was right to defraud honest creditors
of million dollars it could not be
wrong to repudiate trifling debt of
a hundred thousand or SO. One of the
Inconvenience of dishonesty is that
when once it is made the rule of life
its unpleasant consequences crop up
Ou cFcIy eluc " sPoi ito Piohbhpic
working.
If we had any thought that words of
honest advice would be listened to by
those who are running the repudia-
ton movement in Kansas, we would
advise them to go slow in the path of
dishonesty. Kansas is State favored |
in many ways by nature, and it has !
commanded respect on all sides by |
the rapid growth of its prosperity and
the high character of its people. The
long and bitter conflict by which it
was rescued from the blight of slavery
had the effect of identifying the State
with the cause of freedom and of en-
and it would be a sad
blow to the best interests of the coun-
try if, under any pretext whatever,its
people should descend to that dishon-
esty which disgraces Georgia and Vir-
ginia. The public faith OF people is
} possession more highly to be priced
than all their material wealth, and
once lost, it can never be replaced.
Even from the pecuniary point of view
t would be better tor Kansas to con-
,inue paving the promised interest on
he local debts than to advertise to
he world that the faith OF her people
s merely the bait of swindler, and
hat her prosperity has been misused
,nly to defraud those who trusted
md aided her with their means
ILobe- Democrat.