The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1880-08-21
THE CORRUPTION CRY.
OFFICIAL FACTS AND FIGURES.

Very soon after the Democrats obtain
ed possession of the House of Represen-
tatives, they began a series of investiga-
tions into the expenditures of the Govern
ment They had for SO many years rails
ed Il prodigious clamor over the eXtrava-
gance and corruption of the Republican
administration of the Government that it
is quite possible that some of them act
ually believed their own assertions. Then
too, many of those who joined in the cry
of corruption We're old Democrats,
who had their criminal share in the mis-
deeds of previous Democratic Admins
:rations, when the disbursements of the
Government were insignificant compared
with those of later years under Republi-
can rule. They could not believe that
any party, with the opportunities enjoy
ed by the Republicans, could fail to reap
rich harvests of plumber. They remem-
Der how their party used to steal, when
in power, and they could not understand
that other people might be more honest
under the same circumstances. Up to
the end of the year 1879, the Democrats
in Congress had set on foot thirty three
separate Congressional Investigations
each one Of which was charged with the
duty of bringing to justice some officer
or employee of the Government who had
been concerned in cheating the Govern
ment. These thirty-three investigating
committees expended nearly 100000.
| &C 81, l. |,
records. But not one single Republican
officer has been convicted of stealing even
one dollar from the Government. About
a year ago Senator Window, from his
place in the Senate, publicly challenged
the Senators on the Democratic side of
the chamber to name &c a single Republi-
can officer whom the thirty-three investi-
eating committees had proved to have
stolen one dollar from this government"
This challenge has never been answered.
1t remains open, without any juggle of
words, and it ought to be answered now
if the Democrats have not lost every
particle of faith in the truth of their own
assertions.
| The truth is. that no intelligent Demo
GRAFT courts a comparison between the
official delinquencies under Democratic
rule and those fairly chargeable to Re-
publican Administrations. Loose talking
and reckless Democratic orators gable
profusely about Republican thefts and
Frauds" the carnivals of corruption"
which has obtained under Republican
supremacy in the government of the Re-
public, and the Gigantic frauds y which
were committed during the war by Re
publican officials, contractors, and favor
ties. 1t is undeniable that in the expen-
| diture of vast sums during the rebellion,
there was waste, evenfraud. But, com
| pared with the losses incurred by the
Government in piping times of peace,
when the disbursements of the Govern
ment were light, these losses were insig-
| nifcant. For example, the last Demo-
cratic Secretary of the Interior Jacob
Thompson, is to this day defaulter to
the amount of 1911 200, never accounted
under Republican Administration was
ever accused of any such theft as this9
Isaac V. Fowler, a Democratic Postmas-
ter of the City of New York, was de-
faulter in the sum of $40, 947, and Sam
uel Swartwout, from whose crimes we
derive a word of infamy, and who was q
Democratic Collector of the Port of New
York. ran away owing tie Government
another Democratic office holder, never
accounted for 1912, 122 of the public
funds which he misused while Collector
of the Port of San Francisco. Leaving
out all amounts less than $4,000, the de-
falcations and thefts suffered by the Gov
ernment from 1880 to 1861, when the
Democrats went out of power, footed up
sc, 1874, 302; and the list of defaulting
custodians of public funds during these
Democratic days show a total loss of
3,21S, G19 making grand total of more
than $40, 000, 900 to be charged to the ac-
count of Democratic official corruption,
theft, and Incompetence in thirty years.
And this is the party that rants and raves
about the dishonesty of Republicans i'll
| office!
The only true test of the honesty OF
any Administration is comparison of It's
losses by theft or willful mismanagement
with its expenditures. a merchant who
employs one hundred clerks, statesmen,
and cashiers, and transacts a business of
| five millions year, must needs make al
lowance for greater losses by pilferinG
| and theft than he who employs only
twenty men and transacts q business of q
million a year. But when the Democrats
were in power. expanding only compare
lively small sums OF money, and employ
| ing few thousand oilclals, they stole
more money than was stolen under he
publican rule, when the expenditures oil
| the Government were enormously increaS-
ed. This must have been true in every
nature of things, when a Democratic
| Collector could get away with more than
a million dollars, Postmaster with sltp,-
941. and q Cabinet officer with nearly one
million. There gigantic thetts were COM
| mltted during the very last days OF Dem
ocratic rule. Some Of the men who are
now hurrahing for that admirable stalk
horse, :" the superb, We're engaged IL
the leadership OF the Democratlc party
then, asthey are now ana, WIN llancocN
for figure head, they would expect TO
repeat the thefts which dlsgraced the
Administrator OF bucnanan: bue u IS
unnecessary TO multlpiy specihc Instances