The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1877-12-05

Ingersoll being . pardoned State Prison con-
vict has no particular motive for keeping his
mouth shut, and he was voluble. Woodward
was released from the City Prison after several
months soiourn therein, on the payment Of
hundred thousand dollars and the fees Of the
Counsel for the city; but being now o candi-
date for vestryman in the Episcopal Church in
Norwslk, Conn.,, his place Of residence, he did
not manifest an inclination to be commuuica-
tive. He did, however, take occasion TO ssy
that he didn't believs there was ever such q
thing as honesty In politician, aud he com
plimented his investigators BY expressing the
belief that there was not one Of them who
wouldn't have done the same thing lie had done
If he had the chance. 1t is O little curious. BY
the by, that the idea never seems 10 have oc-
CURED to the miads OF any considerable num-
Der OF people that the releases granted to these
two mAlefactors and to others, are open to OBJ
jection on the ground that they constitute the
offense OF compounding felony. OF course abe
legal right to do it exists, but that does not re-
leve the transaction of its impropriety from
the standpoint of morality If the prosecuting
officers of the State set the example of compro-
missing with thieves, what is TO prevent the sys-
tenn from being adopted in private circles?
10 that case successful bank robbers and
all depredators on q large scale could pursue
their profession with comparative immunity.
They would only need to be cautious In prose-
cutting their work and prudent In conducting
negotiations with the parties they had robbed,
to retain their freedom and fill their purses
In this case the rascals were already in custo-
dy and in spite Ct the disadvantage of having
to buy their way out Of Jail they accom- plishsd
their objects. There may be some excuse for
this sort of thing. bat l never heard one. I
eoufess can view it in no other light than Al
eainful indication Of the obtuseness which has
obtained in respect to the enormity Of the guilt
of violating public trusts and preying upon in.
nocent and credulous taxpayers.
Poor Keyser floundered about liks n a,b IN .
tank, when he was put to the question. His
memory forsook him, aud his answers were
confused, incohereut aud uniutslligible. The
principal thing he testified was that he mad.
an assignment to Jackson 8. Schultz for thu
benefit of the city, and that Schultz collected
considerable money for his account from Ring
mea and loaned it to Keyser on the security Of
seed land now w'rthIess) mortgages There
was strange tumble OF truth and fiction in
this story. Briefly stated the facts ara tbss..
Keyser went to Schultz after the erpo,i and
admitted that he had raised bills-that bs
couldn't collect his money nor get work to do
tor the corporation in any other way. But he
maintained that ne himself had not profited by
their oversharges-thst the overplus had reus
to other parties-that the city was in reality
still In his debt-but that Mr.. Green naturally
would not pay him as matters stood. Thsrs.
tore he resorted to the plan of an assignusnt In
order to get an accounting with the city. Ths
Comptroller looked far enough into the mattsr
to ascertain that Keyser was not a debtor N
the treasury and there he stopped. Nobody
ever knew Mr.. Green to be in hurry to fnd
out what the city owed to one of its creditor.-
Consequently Keyser never could get n .sttIs-
ment. and probably never will as things h.v.
turned. knew Of his having made repeated
efforts to get hearing at the Comptrollsr's
Office during Mr.. Green's term, but he alvsys
failed Meantime his property has bean
shrinking, his business dwipdllng and he s,ss
great many fathoms under water hnsnci.llx.
He says he never received anything mora than
fair equivalent for the work he did and tb.ys
is no proof to the contrary. Still be made thu
bills larger than they ought to have been, and
that was in itself grave misdesd, for which
the only excuse he has to offer is that it was the
fashion Of those days-a very poor apology for
wrong doing The bsst word that can be writ
ten in his behalf Is that he came forward n
soon as the explosion was over aad offered his
books for examination and volunteered to tell
all he knew about the iniquities of the "Ring."
There iss very wide differences between the
measure of his culpability and that Of the gang
who deliberately divided the spoils between
them; but there are mono of them whose nsmss
can be mentioned in respectable circles here
abouts without provoking an expression Of
mingled impatience and disgust.
YAuMoYrru