Litchfield enquirer., 1880-12-30
A new Epistle to the Corinthians.

at Corinth most singing epistle in which b
sets forth their backslidings in language OF IN
Iexampled severity. In like manner Mr.
George w. Peet, returning to the Democra,
I: fold after long absence, runs for Congress
In the Fourth District of Connecticut, and ha
40 experience which leads to an epistle to th
electors of that District which. has stronl
points of resemblance to that addressed by st
Paul to o somewhat similar constituency. Mr.
Peet begins with brief reference to the nom
ination OF Mr.. Bruggerhof in '78, and to th'
nomination and declinalion of Barnum, thi
/ year. He then proceeds as follows Qtalics
| ours)
| A few days later the delegates met under
the old organization, and scith no priority On
aaticipGtioH on my part, unanimously notni
mated me. Knowing that the Democratic Par
1 ", if left to an honest exercise of the fran
lchlse, had "a majority in the district, accept
I'd the nomination. and, according to the old
| Democratic precedents, used all honorable eff
| forts to secure ma election. so0s defeated By
fraud and bribery. About $4,000 was ex
pended by my opponents 10 the district to buy
Democratic votes, $50, 600 of which was put
out by government officials, and the remain
ing $50, 900 by the man most interested in the
contest. Ofcourse IcOuld not stem such cur
rent. The ''plutocratic element, as it has
heen ingeniously called, was irresistible.
From $50 to $50 head was paid for voters.
who were soldin market overt. with shame
Iessness that expresses better than words can
do the hopelessness of our social and political
situation. The seaworthiness of ship is best
ascertained by testing the timbers which con-
stitutes It's framework. We have in this dis
| trict large number of foreign voters. Most
of these have come here from mother coun-
| try, as our colonial ancestors did to seek an
asylum from British domination. They have
found here in place of the novels, oppression
| and starvation that they fed IRON, comforta
Die houses, and schools for which they pay
nothing, easy wages and what they say, is
better than all, freedom to worship GOO. "
This inheritance their fathers never fought for,
and do not blame them half 30 much as do
the degenerate sons of revolutionary fathers,
who have sold their birthright for mess of
pottage, and what is it that these wretched
creatures are selling2 Only their wives and
children, their honor, their manhood, their ~
ture 10 this world and the next. Who are
buying these commodities? The aristocratic
SONS of revolutionary sires the lords OF the
loom, the spinning wheel, the brass mill, the
lock shops the tan vat and the blast fur
mace
Knowing as we do of the elaborate prepare
tons made for the nomination of Mr.. Peet
by friends in this vicinity, nothing short.of
the word of new Apostle to the Gentiles
would make us believe that it came to him
with "no privity or anticipation on his part. "
Of one fact, certainly, Mr.. Peet cannot be
hot bo ho O
wealthy, because it was promised that he
would be liberal with that wealth for the pur-
chase of voters, and because his friends made
the Democracy of the District believe that he
was just the man to recapture their lost ''Salis-
bury Plan" out of the hands of Mr.. Miles.
There is point, however, where our faith
in apostolic, semi-apostolic, or quasi apostolic
statements breaks down. Mr.. Peet reaches
this point when, after paragraph of irrele.
want abuse of General Grant, he says,
: For myself have no favors to ask l have
paid no money to buy my fellow citizens and
owe them nothing.
II the foregoing statement is true Mr.. Poets
nomination was fraud on the convention
tation, to use the mildest possible word, that
he would pay money, and very large amount
Of money, for precisely that purpose. Another
fact of general notoriety in the vicinity where
it occurred fortifes our lack of faith Corn
wall people aver that Mr.. Virgil F. Mcneil,
late of that town, and referred to 10 this paper
as connected with Mr.. Peet terms the ''market
oveft"-more accurately public auction held
in that place on the Cd of November last, re-
ceived from Mr.. Peet a. least $500, and prob
ably more, for use on that day. Mr. Mcneil,
acting presumably for Mr.. Peet, bid quite sum
for the vote Of one Reraback, but was outbid
by Curtis, the Republican manager Now
Mr. Peet Il very well aware that the bid made
BY his agent at that auction is binding ON him.
He very we'll knew that $500 is more than is
needed in Cornwall for legitimate election day
expenses. 1t may have been too small sum
for effective bribing hut it was too large an
amount for any honest work. We speak of
this instance because 1t has became very
public matter and because Mr.. Poet will hardly
deny having furnishedehe money. Is not the
Cornwall contest typical of the general con.
test? Was not Mr.. Peet, 10 short, nearly
everywhere bidder; nearly everywhere out,
biden? 7.-. -
This remarkable letter closes as follows:
The battle in which have engaged was
undertaken in behalf Of the laboring classes
with whom l have always sympathized.
can say without Boosting, that have always
tried to Lift up the honest working man to his
proper level. Ii he chooses to fall on his
| knees before rival whose merit and capacity
are to be measured by the length of his purse,
l am content. IT he prefers to foster the in.
terest Of the hordes OF Chinamen now rushing
70 our shores to supplant the emigrauts frou
| Europe he must take the consequence. Sc
long as Democrats will set themselves up for
sale to the highest bidder like cattle in the
shambles, SO long this country will be in q
| state of vassalage.
No Democratic administration will ever be
| secured until there is change in the mora
condition of the voters. This change is moi
likely 10 be effected. have often though,
| how prophetic were the lines of Thomas
Moore, the great Irish poet, in which he fore.
casts the downfall of this republic:
.'crude at the surface. rotten at the core,
|
| No, individual can contend single handed
against the Treasury Of the United States
which is open to the leaders of u political ar
! istoracy, and closed to the fifty millions who
pay the taxes by which that Treasury is sup
ported.
five interpret the last paragraph of Mr.
Poets epistle correctly, it contains, like
lady's postscript, all there is of Importance il
the letter. 1t is an apology to. the Democracy
for not having put more money into the can
vass. He indicates that be could have beat
en- Miles single handed, but that be could
not beat the United States Treasury, Now
all this rambling talk OF $50, 900 brought
into this District from outside, and OF Repub
licans drawing upon the Treasury for cam
paign funds, is absurd. The former is improb
able; the latter, impossible. Mr. Peet car
write letter that will contain valuable infor