Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1878-10-23
SILyIR BILL.

ing coin that Is not full up to the gold
standard. He said be believed that
orphans and widows arc cheated by it,
and that is why he voted against it be.
ing made . legal tender coin. 1t is as
tonishing how conscientious be grew
when he talked about the silver bill,
but be forgot that tie dollar that was
legalized is the dollar of the daddies,
that was measured in 1887, and is the
jackson Democrat dollar and be for
got that If he had charged the Jack
son Democrats with cheating the or
phans and widows with their coin they
would have read him out of the party,
as preaching a financial heresy. He
talked about the trade dollar, but for
got to tell that it is not . legalized
money, and that 1t passes because of its
intrinsic value.
According to what Magee, SWINE
ford and Judge O'Neil say, Mr., Steng-
er's conscience is quite tender on the
money question. From the conscien.
tious consideration of tie silver quss.
tion he passed to the
RECORD OF Mr.. FISHER,
and demanded that be resign his seat
in the Senate and follow 10 the foot.
steps of Mr.. Dill. 1t was not good
advice, but Stenger Was conscientious.
He denounced Fisher for being q Dom
aid Cameron man, and be delivered
bimself against Simon Crmeron in .
way that displayed his earnsstness. He
did not say that the old Senator has
horns, but he denounced him as . cor
rupt man, but he forgot that Magee
says that $500 and 81 900 in money,
and 81 500 appointment at Washing
ton makes $4,000 in . district Con
gressional Conference, and that does
not sound like CONSCIENTIOUS widow and
orphans silver money, and sounds as
badly as his tales against Cameron.
He talked to Fisher with great vigor
because he voted for the Philsdelphia
RECORDER BILL,
but he forgot that when the Demo-
Gratis held the office of Recorder, Mr..
Stepger's friends said nothing about it,
excepting in praise. As an answer to
him on the Recorder bill, we publish
the following article from the Phiia-
dolphin North american on the ques-
ton:
The Office of Recorder of Philadel-
phia has always been subject to ap-
pointment by the Governor Of the Com
monwesith. As one of the curious re-
suits of this if is especially worthy of
remembrance that during the entire
life time of the Whig Party this staunch
Wing City never had Wing Recorder
The old City always elected Wing
Mayors and Councilmen, but always had
a Democrat Recorder. In those days
nobody thought this an outrage. 1t
was fate, and 1t was submitted to and
accepted as a mysterious dIspensation.
In the same way the County Courts
never had single Whig Judge on the
Bench until the Judges were made
elective. The whole Bench being thus
permanently Democratic, the entire
Judicial patronage went to Democrats,
aud, as a natural consequence, the Bar
of the City became strongly Democratic.
For period of forty consecutive
years the Office of Recorder of Phila-
delphla was filled by Democratic in
cumbents. They had no salary, no sp-
preparation for Office expenses, no pro-
vision for clerks or other dependents.
Yet they managed to make the Office
SO valuable that the control of it be-
came an object in local politics. The
Recorder had both civil and GRIMM
al jurisdiction, and as his office was al
ways in Chestnut Street, or in the COM
nercial centre, the business of the
Court was large and lucrative. He was
not the subject to any supervision
whatever. He did as be chose, and be
was not accountable to any one for his
receipts and expenditures. But dur
ing the whole forty years of the Demo-
cratic possession of the Office no one
thought of complaining of this. The
RECORDER had special police of his
own, no. SUBJECT to any one else, and
rot paid any salary. Yet they all
to make living. One of .he
most notorious of those officers was the
famous Ned McGowan, yho, after get
ting into hopeless troubles here about
the election frauds in Moyamt nsing,
which were organized By him, went to
California, and became one Of the
greatest raseals on the Pacific Coast.
There were many dark and devious
ways in which Democratic Recorder
could serve his party. All the GRIMM
al elements of the party could be held
in leash by an officer who could only
be removed by legislative impeach-
ment; and thus, while the Wings held
the old city firmly, the Democrats
most Of the time managed to control
the county. In the changes of time
the Republican city Of Philadelphia
has had one Republican Recorder for a
ten years term, now has another. The
tenure of the office is not changed in
the least. 1t is precisely the same
that it was during the whole forty years
of Democratic sway. The only differ
ence is that q Republican Governor
has appointed Republican Recorder.
The changes IN the character of the
office convert what was a mere private
police shop into an important depart
ment of the civil service. The Record
er was slways a magistrate, and SO be
remains; but now bis duties are for the
first tIne. really useful and valuable
Now, what are those duties Al. le-
gal methods of preventing and punish.
ing the sale Of liquor without license
had failed. The temperance societies
furnished witnesses, but juries refused
to convict. The Democratic District
Attorney finally left the offence unpun-
ished, and when Recorder Quay COM