New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-11-26
ONE MORE INVESTIGA TION NEEDED.

ONE MORE INVESTIGA ALTON NEEDED.
Congress seldom lacks the multitude OF cOun
sellers in which it is said-though Congress
has furnished no proof of it for several years
there is wisdom. The present Congress and
its immediate predecessor came into existence
with great clouds OF advisers hanging over
them and calling upon them to do all sorts Of
things. The lOudest cry was for investlga-
tons. The Democratic mind-keenly alert to
tie fact that had the Democratic party been
fifteen years in power it would have furnished
the opposition scandals without end to reward
the quest of the investiGat0r-was saturated
with the notion that they had only to put
committees on the track and overhaul the
records of their opponents to develop IN
iouty in abundance and accumulate enough
political capital to bank upon for long time
to come. They were SO sure that party
fifteen years in power could not resist the
temptation to extravaganza, peculation and
fraud, that they went about the bust
ness of Overhauling with great hur-
ral. plunging into the Departments with detec-
tives and experts ransacking the archives,
summ0ning witnesses right and left, and act
ing generally as though they had only to
get out search warrants to enable them to
find thieves by battaiions. Let us overhaul
:" the bookkeeping OF this Government" was
one of the cries and Senator Davis, OF West
Virginia was so firmly convinced that the
Treasury Department was nest of thieves
that he had himself appointed chairman OF
an investigating committee to find them out,
confident that he would have no difficulty.
and that he would make himself immortal by
his discoveries.
Then there was Glover the great Investl-
gator of the last Congress- who shifted fraud
in every breeze that blew from the Depart
ments, and was so confident i'll his be-
lief in the universal rascality of Repub-
lican administration that he procured
from bis party in Congress a sort of rowing
commission, with power to arrest any RepUb
lean found at large, put him on the rack of
cross examination, search his pockets and
confscate the contents. He found nothing
in all his search to the hurt of a single
Republican but he made such horrible
havoc with the regulations of his party
associates, and was so amusing withal
with his queer antics, that the public has a
very kindly remembrance of him and a regret
that his career was so brief. Then there was
of the circumstances attending the Presidential
election of 1876, answered. 1t will be remem-
bered, by Mr.. Potter, upon whose resolution
the committee of which he was chairman was
appointed to rip UP the Republican conspiracy
and bring into the Democratic camp the
scalps of the leading Republicans in Congress
and in the Cabinet That was a most inter
esting search. They did not secure the scalps
they went for, but they came back limping
themselves, and bringing the mangled remains
of several conspicuous Democrats who had
figured largely in the canvass. and ciphered
still more largely on the returns. Another
notable investigation was the one directed to
The exposure of John |. DavenpOrt's tyr
amy In this city. Senator Wallace was at |
the head of it. The Committee found out |
good deal more than it wanted to, and went |
away with much more alacr;ty than 1t came.
These are some of the investigations al |
ready had in response to the demand |
of the party. The results, it must be con-
fessed, have not been encouraging; and it is |
not strange that the clamor for investigations |
has somewhat subsidized. The party press is |
not so loud in its demand for thorough over
hauling of the records as in times past. It's |
efforts are now principally directed to reform
ing the Civil Service in some way so as TO |
benefit the Democratic party. But since
they will hardly be able to accomplish |
this we take leave to suggest to the |
party leaders in Congress that they cannot 90 |
out of power more gracefully than by contin-
uing up to the last moment the line of policy |
upon which they begun with such earnestness
at first and have so strenuously continued.
Let them heep up their reputation as nvesd-
gators. And for fear they may not have
thought of any thing TO exercise their talent on,
we recommend to them an inquiry into the
of the Morey letter and thorough
Dyerbaulng of the conspiracy through which
il was circulated. 1t is now known that the
eitcr was a forgery and that it was attempted
20 bolster it up with perjury. The Demo-
ratio National Committee complain that they
we're imposed upon in the transaction. And
IS no Democrat would impose upon his own
)arty's committee, it follows Of course. that
he imposition must have been practised by
Republicans This, then, is fair field for
investigation and one that offers rare OPP
,ortunity to expose Republican misdeeds at
he same time that it shows the simplicity and