Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-04-16

N the columns of the Press in 1874:
The present Congressional contest is likely
to pass into history the most rotten and dis
graceful one eUhich stirred the Shiny depths
IF political corruption. No such unblushing
and systematic effort was ever made to de-
bauch the primaries, and purchase uotes and
delegates Nth open bribery as has been witnessed
in various parts of this district during the past
few weeks. It has become SO loathsome and
sickenlng a scandal that all honest men turn
n,cay from it in disgust. If not an entirely
new feature to our politics, it has heretofore
been yelled in prudent secrecy. But now the
staunapet Of corruption Bill KingI strides in
naked horror over the district, and opens her
shameful market at eyerg caucus and convention.
and bugs men 6g the herd like cattle and sheep
As the pal and confident of Senator Bill
Window, with that PERSONS Congressional
vote always at command as the foundation
for trading capital, Bill King conceived the
plundering ring which stole the Northern Pa
cific into bankruptcy and allowed two of his
of $780, 900 rather than run the risk of e1-
posure. We might fill columns of space
with details of his disreputable career, but
let this suffice for once. And this is the
loader of the quadrangular gang of scoun-
drels, who set themselves up as censors and
critics of honest people.
As first assistant to the chieftain thus de-
scrioed we note Joseph A. Wheelock, a man
who is the personifcation Of beggar OF
horseback. Coming to this country as an
alien and an enemy of our institutions, he
never even became citizen until year
after he was appointed postmaster of St..
Paul, and committed perjury in order to
qualify in that Office. He began his Mime
sofa career as bar tender for Franklin Steele
at Fort Smelling, subsequently spent some
years in rowing and dissolute life
among the Indians, and finally, against
the express orders of Gov. Ramsey
(ex-officio superintendent of Indian affairs)
stole party of Indians across the st. Croix
at Saltwater, and started on tour through
the East as Snowman. Even in that early
day the scoundrelly characteristics of the
peripatetic Snowman were developed by his
abandoning the savages in Massachusetts,
and the Interior Department was obliged to
send an agent and pay the expenses of trans
porting the Indians to their Minnesota reser-
walton. Sneaking back to the State pauper,
he was employed at pittance as writer on
the Press, and taking advantage of Gov.
MarshalPs absence in the army he black
mailed that gentleman out of one-fourth in
terest in the paper, for which he never paid a
dollar. From that time on his career has
been continuation of Matchmaking and
peculation. AS postmaster of St. Paul he
drew an annual salary Of four thousand dol
lars for five years, without in all that time
combined doing oneweek's work. Not only
this but he put in his business partner as
deputy postmaster at the extravaganza salary
was performed by Pat. O'Brien, who was
transferred from the position of clerk in the
Press Office to the postof6ce, where for 6
mere trife he did the labor while the partners
in iniquity robbed the government Of
$1,000 per annum. More than that Al
the government allowed $12 1000 for the ex
penses of the st. Paul Office, these rascals
by compelling the clerks to sign vouchers
for pay in blank, were enabled to max,
them certify to larger sums than they re
ceived, thus putting the difference in tn
pockets of these public thieves. Conse
quentiy the government paid $4,000 pc
annum for less than $4,000 of service. Hi
partnership in the scheme where Bill Win
dom and Bill King were blackmailed out o
$4,000 is notorious, as we'll as his secre
divides with contractors for public surveys
his billiting of his relations upon the public
crib, and in every way earning the endearin
title of public robber. And this is anothe
of the quadrangular gang of scoundrels VIII
set themselves up as censors and critics 9
honest people.
Mr.. Bill Kings first assistant in the bus
ness department is an unknown adventure
named Frederick Driscoll. Whence or VIII
| he came no one knows. His first appearance
worthy of note was as an agent of gang {
Indian thieves, who hired an old printin
Office of Major Newson some seventee
years ago and set him up in newspaper
advocate the interests of the plunderer
The thieves who robbed the Indians unit
they turned and perpetrated the terribl
massacre of 1862 were the men who estat
lished Mr.. Driscoll in business. He We
wont to call on the superintendent of India
affairs for Minnesota Gan Office since abolish
ed) for his Saturday night pay-rolls, an
on these stolen funds we trace his rise to Il
proud eminence of a partnership with Bi
| hoe a i
his career. 1t has been one long successio
of greedy dishonest rapacity, a determin,
ton to steal himself rich and destroy,
possible, all who stand in his way.
He inaugurated most shameless system
of bribery of county officers throughout th
State, whereby he paid them for giving hir
huge orders for books and blanks, order
aggregating thousands of dollars. So lare
that many frontier counties have to-da
books sufficient to last them fifteen or twer
ty years. This is no exaggeration whatever
A more Infamous system of public robber
was never devised. Not content wit
furnishing frontier counties, wit
few hundred population, with blank boo
supply for twenty years, be added to th
sWlndle. OF course the counties had n
money to pay for the work and by b
"whack up" with the county officials /
, secured the issue of county orders. 4
, there we're, comparatively, no tax payers, Il
orders were deprecated and he would acce]
' them at fifty cents on the dolla
that is, for $4,000 bill of VOL