The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1879-11-06


their debts to the Government, after the
Supreme Court had been captured into
a decision that the interest on the bonds
issued to aid their construction was not
payable until the maturity OF the loan''
The great corporations were powerful
enough in the Forty-fourth Congress to
throw his frst bill over; but he persist
ed, making some unimportant conces'
sions 10 secure support and to meet the
objections Of Republican Senators who
were acting as agents and attorneys for
the roads on the floor. Hereupon Jay
Gould, Huntington and other represen'
tatives of the Union Pacific, the Central
Pacific, and their eastern connections,
backed by a most formidable lobby OF
both sexes, and an uliimated fund to draw
upon established themselves at Wash
ington early in the session, when the
Thurman bill was to revived. They
made no conCealment Of purpose to
defeat the measure, cost what it might,
and they openly boasted of having votes
enough pledged to make the threat good.
Confidential friends of Senators suppos'
ed to be beyond the reach of corruption
were bought up like sheep at the sham.
bles privacy was invaded by pimps and
spies temptation spread it's seductive
nets in every direction, and the corridors
and galleries swarmed with attractive
women, chosen in the great cities, and
carried to the Capital to win votes. Tens
of thousands of dollars were lavished on
entertainments, and presents were put
where they would do the most good,
even in social circles not suspected Of
being open to indirect bribery. AS the
crisis approached, lists with the names
of Senators in the three Categories OF
certain, opposed, and doubtful. were
shown, verified by different agencies,
each acting secretly and unknown to the
others. The day of the vote presented
a spectacle the like of which had not
been seen IN Congress since the day
when the House was called upon to pass
Judgment on the Credit Mobilier plum
derers, and Mr.. Blaine sat in the chair
administering the rules to mop OF rail-
road kings and emissaries collected to
save the jobbers from expulsion.
Mr.. Gould and his associates and his
creatures filled the best places to COM
mand the Senators below them. They
knew at that hour the position of every
member, and they felt sure of a majority.
They had not reCkoned, however, on the
effect produced by the publicity of their
operations all over the country, by the
presence of the lobby, and by the repu-
ted expenditure of large sums of money
to carry their point. When the roll-call
ended they were beaten, and the record
told that some of their own friends had
helped to pass the bill. Consciousness
of guilt, fear of exposure and dread of
independent press, converted majority
pledged for the corporation into ma
iority against them. Mr.. Huntington,
Mr.. Could and the rest of them, were
dumbfounded at the vote and utterly de.
moraIzed by the blow. 1t was the first
great victory over corporate power since
the outbreak of the civil war, and it may
be said to mark an event in our legisla-
tive history.
While Mr.. Thurman remains in the
Senate no serious attempt will be made
to disturb this legislation. But he will
hardly have retired to private life before
some pretext will be invented to take
the life out of it, and to relieve these
great corporations of their responsibility
to the Treasury. They built the roads
with money and land subsidies they
organized ring of ofConstruction of which
the Credit Mobilier was the outside GOV.
er they have created powerful mon
opoly in the hands of few men, and
have not paid dollar of principal or in
terest due to the Government, though
the two roads according to their own
reports have had a net revenue of fifteen
millions year.
With the narrow majority in the Sen
ate after March 8, 1881, and the strong
probability of Republican House of
Representatives after the census of next
year, it will be easy for corrupt Republi.
cnas and rotten Democrats to make
combination by which the acts relating to
the Pacific roads will be modified to suit
the monopolists. Ring schemes involv-
ing millions of money can be carried
through, as they were in the days of
Grant, whom the Republican leaders
propose to nominate for third term,
and to re. elect him as a means of restor.
ing the era of public robbery, In these
respects the defeat of Mr.. Thurman is a
public loss, for he could hold his party
against all jobs, and the other side would
hardly venture to press them with the
certainty of his powerful opposition
New York Sun.