The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1881-12-02
our PHILADELPHIA LETTER.

TEE TAX OFFICE THIEVRs-THAFKsGIV
DAY IN PHILADELPHIA-GUITEA AS A
ORININAL-PENsIoS ARREARs--CONSTANr
vIGILANCE-THE GUBERNAToRIAL IssUE
EDGAR COwAN FOX GOVERNOR.
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 2s, 1881.
Especial Correspondence Of the FREENAEl
DEAR MCPIKE-There were not forty
thieves in the Philadelphia Tax Ofice.-
There were but fifteen. But the fifteen
stole like forty" When the full story Of
the Philadelphia Tax Office thieving is made
public il will tell q tale of crime of bewilder-
ing magnitude. Yet the disclosures will be
received by a great many of our people as
piece of every day news which is put aside
with patient shrug of the shoulders Less
than half century ago such an occurrence
would have awakened a blaze of Indignation
from one end of the country to the other !;
but in the last two decades the people have
been 80 surfelted with similar enOrmiJieS
that they have not only got used to it but ac-
quired a taste for it. The tolerance for
crime and criminals in this country is alarm
ing, and is proof of a rapid decay of public
virtue. The decay in public virtue has kept
more than even pace with the growth, pop
ulatiOn and wealth of the United States
The twelve wears of the Grant and HAYES
administrations will.live in the history of the
United States as an era of speculation. The
cOrruptions of these two mems a0mnistra-
tions will be sad themes for the historian.
The Tax Office in Philadelphia has been a
SCDOOl OF thieves, anu ulSClOouIC IElulCdIe
that number of men with influential pOliti-
cal connections are likely to be called upon
to stand up before jury but that will pro-
badly be their only punishment, as they have
stolen enough money TO FIX jury" and
the Jury tiXer will have fine time for Dlylnp
his avoeatiOn. The sum total of the Tax
Office theft is not yet known, but that al
ready reached is a startling sum. For years
fifteen tax clerks bave engaged in systematic
thievery stealing at the rate of S4 600 pei
diem. An eX-Deputy Delinquent Tax Col
lector named Nandusen, who is a brOther-in
law of the eX-TaX Receiver Smith, acknowl
edges that it was "a cold day. wnen tht
clerks in the Tax Office did not get away
with 81 600, and gives an instance of one
clerk, Frank NJ. GreSner, who alone in one
day stole g, 500. As yet the people of Phil
aGelphia are left uniformed of the names o.
all the Tax Once thieves. 1t Is to the inter
est of ever taxpayer of Philadelphia Il
lend his personal assistance to the authorl
ties in going to the bottom of this TaScality
no matter where or whom it strikes. NJ
scoundreI engaged in this enormous system
attic steal should be suffered to escape S0if
vengeance The names of all the thieve
cannot be made known loo soon, and instead
OF holding places of preterment should b.
landed in the peuitentiary. But will they
| hope the FREEMAN is not worried abOu
the waste OF the ten tons OF documents, print
ed bv order of Congress, which a few day
ago were carried to the junk shop and solt
at tlCO cents pound, as some of its cOntem
pOrarieS are This, it Is true, Is 4 grea
waste, but it was much better TO dispose o
that kind of stuff in that way than to burde
the mails with it.