Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1878-05-10
An Old Story.

THERE is nothing new in the Florida
story, and the only reason for repeating
it now is that three or four rascals who
have been disappointed in their politi.
cal expectations are willing to swear to
it. In February, 1877, the same nara
tive was told in the House of Repre-
sentatives by Florida member named
Purman, a Republican whose seat was
about to be snatched from under him
by Democratic contestant. Mr.. Pur-
man apparently expected the Repub-
lican party to take care of him, and,
when IL declined to do so, he denounced
the Administration as a monster of in
gratitude; he referred to himself as n
holy victim singed in the fires of
martyrdom" Gn point of fact, he had
been almost continuously in some COM
Portable Government place for fifteen
years.; and, just as he was about to be
dismissed to private life, he threw this
scandal into Congress, as a servant girl
avenges her discharge by smashing the
crockery. Mr. Purman's statement at
tracted no attention in 1877, and we see
no reason why the same statements
should be considered important now
Nutl lllCJ dlt lCpGdICu ny HluCll lCoa
reputable persons. Mr.. Tilden was zoo
shrewd a politician not to perceive that
the natural course of events had been
making agents for him ever since the
Inauguration of Mr.. Hayes. After that
closely-contested election great many
persons of doubtful character beset the
White House and the departments with
clamorous demands for " recognition
and reward" on the ground of myth
ical services. If Mr.. Tilden had been
the winner, the same or similar set
of men would have presented just such
claim to him. Mr.. Hayes gave some
of them places which they were incap-
able of filing; and, when at last it be-
came necessary to cut them adrift, they
were twenty times more angry than if
he had never tried to befriend them.
1t is always so. Put rogue or a
fool into an office which he does not
deserve, and he thinks he has an inal-
ienable right to it. So these hungry
wretches-the special-service clerk who
went on n spree with the Government
money, and could not get Consulship;
the beggar who would not be anything
less than an Auditor of the Treasury,
and could not be even revenue-de-
tective for more than three weeks; the
statesman from the Everglades whom
the Senate did not consider fit to be a
Judge-all these, and a swarm of 9TH
ers whom the Administration has not
"recognized'' at all, have been for a
year working themselves into hotter
and hotter Indignation at the "ruin of
the Republican party in the South" as
illustrated in their frayed cuffs and
broken boots, and the infamy of a Pres
dent who "betrays his friends by
leaving them to the pangs of thirst, the
degradation of work, and the danger OF
criminal indictments. They have been
offering themselves for sale right and
left, colloguing with Gen. Butler, tempt
ing William +. Chandler, walking eau
tiously around Roscoe Conkling, threat
ening the President, and casting sig
nifcant glances toward Gramercy
Park, where our sly friend has been all
the while looking at them with pecul-
lar expression in his left eye and q
slight extra contraction at the corners
of his mouth. Mr.. Tilden is patient
and careful. He waited till there was
pressure to sell, and we presume that
he has now got the whole lot very cheap
N. T. Tribune.