New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-02-13
"StrFD THC mn NAN,


"a watch to get rid of You
"SITED the OLD NAN'
When we come to think 1t all over, this
Congress has had Il most unusual experience.
II has enjoyed what the average fisherman
would call very remarkable "strcak OF
"luck.1 And an uncommonly bad " streak"
too. No Congress within the memory OF man
ever laid ont 50 larg" II programme at the
outset, or started in with such impetu0sity
and ard0r to carry it ont. They divided them
selves up into committees and sub-commlt-
tees. and surrounded themselves with detec-
tiyes and experts and stenOgraphers, ana
clothed themselves with power TO rummage all
the dcpartments for rogucs and wherever they
suspected any one i'll the public service OF any
sort of rascality, to seize him by the collar
and jerk him ont; in fact. they went az II
ms though they really believed their own stump
spccches-that rogucs were so thick IN
the public service that they had only
to sit on the edge of department
and drop hook and line over among the
desks to whisk them ont as fast IA they
could bait their hooks. 1t is a very remarka-
BILE circumstance that every time they have
out either one of their own leaders or on ex-
pert or detective. There was than emil
nrnt victim OF his own instructed zeal
Glover; surely no investigation ever started
out so confidently as he ; he caught nobody
but his own friends, and the best service he
did was To keep the country on broad grim
at the panic he created among his political as
socatcs. And the experience OF the other
Investigators was pretty much the same. They
either discovered nothing, or what they did not
want to find.
There was great hope, though, that the
Cipher Committee would be more successful.
The party leaders never dreamed when they
sent out Mr.. Potter and lis 1SsOcidtes-and
played the sharp trick of putting Mr..
Butler on the Committee a. a Republic
can-to bring in Secretary Sherman and
Governor Moves ana the Republican
visiting statesmen that they would
presently come back with PcltOn and Smith
Weed and Marble and that crowd of man
aging Democrats squirmins IN their bag, and
the report that they came near catching Il
much bigger fish, but he slipped OF the
hook Just at the top Of the water.
But that was just about what hap
ppppd The same luck attended the
Cipher Committee that followed Glover. 4 Is
very singular and very sad. But they will
have TO make the best Of it. 1t Is
really very hard on the Cipher Commit
tee, after making such powerful demonstration
against Secretary Sherman aud the AdmrlS-
tration at the outset, to be obliged to come
back and report that they did discover Il con-
spiracy TO purchase the Presidency, bat that
il was gotten up by Mr.. Tlldcn's friends and
confdants. They can have the satisfaction,
however of adding that Mr.. Tlldcn made
solemn oath before God ard his country that
he didn't know anything about it till it was
all over
We don't scc but that this Committee will
have to make pretty much the same report as
WA, gwen 10y physician who on coming from
fine house of a patient who. had just been con-
fined. was asked by a neighbor how the folks
were getting along. "WclI." said he, "the
"child was stillborn. and the mothers dead,
but I'm in hopes the Old man will
"pull through" II seems To be the opinion
of the Democratic pres, that the Cipher Com
mittce have saved the Old man. And as
that i, about all the consolation there Is left,
they might as well report to tlat effect and
ret ire