Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-05-11

When a Republican journal
starts out to accuse the Democratic
party of derelictions as to honesty
It does highly absurd thing. In
the first place, the sum total of
Democratic populations since the
government was established would
be disdained by an average Repub-
lican Quartermaster or Comnlissa.
~. Every act of robbery perpe-
trated by Tweed and his gang was
authorized by enactments of the
Republican Legislature Of New
York. His colossal scheme of
spoliation was put through by the
same men who deny to New York
City to-day her fair share in the
representation in the Legislature
for no other reason than because
that would make that body Demo-
cratic instead of Republican. Then
Republicans were paid by Tweed
for their base prostitution of public
trusts, and the most dispiriting
feature Of Tweed's ascendancy in
the New York Legislature was
that he attained his power by cor
rupting the Republican majority.
The difference between the Demo.
cratic and Republican parties in
the matter Of public trusts is the
difference between q Roman mat
ron who committed an occasional
lapse Of virtue and a Messalina
The long procession of Republican
spectators and betrayers of public
trusts would almost reach across
the continent if they were PLACED
within speaking distance. In thu
the disheartening array would b.
found the rogues who led Senate
Dawes, OF Massachusetts,, then al
now a Republican of the straites
scot, at that time Chairman of the
House Committee on Ways anG
Means, to exclaim, In his place il
the House, that more money haC
been stolen in the first two years
of Mr.. Lincoln's administration
than had been employed to run the
whole four years of Mr.. Buchanan's
administration. Since then we
have had the Leet Custom House
frauds, the Whiskey Ring
& frauds, the Credit MObilier
Indian Bureau, Robson, Belk'
nap, and q thousand other frauds
whose number aud complexity ap'
pall the inquirer. They have been
all, in their inception and execu.
ton, Republican. They have sim
I ply been stupendous. They have
embraced Republican Secretaries
iiof War, Navy and Interior, Presi-
Dental Private Secretaries, and @
whole raft of other administration
officials. A Republican Vice Pres
ident of the United States, Schuy.
Ter Colfax, has been caught with
Credit Mobilier brides in hi. hands
and perjury on his lips, and has
been compelled to "step down and
out" The whole panorama of viii
laipy, from selling post traderships
on a commission to downright
stealing of special accu mutations
in the treasury, has been so bald
!. and startling that it seems like the
vision OF nightmare. The era of
corruption at Washington has orig
mated special code of morality OF
its own, which was happily COM
pretended in the sentence of VIM.
II. Kemble, of the Republican
Pennsylvania ring. when he sent a
confederate to Washington on a
piundering mission, with the in
Junction to his correspondent, q
high Republican official, that his
messenger was Zone of them" and
fully understood the gospel of tad
dition, division and silence" The
venial transgressions of Dem ocrats,
in the light of such a record as that,
might very readily be condoned by
the American people. The Demo-
cratic party has always conspicu-
ously lacked the cunning and dis
honesty of its adversaries.