The National tribune., 1881-08-20

SuCn cases.
He possessed certain leading correspondents of
leading papers with his views, and they became
the mere echo of the Commissioner, or, what was
worse, he wrote for them articles in his individ-
ual view, which they assumed as their own, and
which the public received as the honest utterance
of the newspaper which published them.
Thus by all MEANS fair or foul, open or indi-
rect, honorable or dishonorable, true or false, he
sought with the whole power of his office to fore
stall public sentiment to make himself sole arbi-
ter and dictator, and to mould legislation on great
public interests, as John A. Bentley pleased.
The things which he sought to have done were
found, on examination by instructed and expert
enced men, to be deadly to the whole body of
present and future pensioners, and The Ma
TIoNAL TRIBUNE when attacked by him, under
took to make the fight, to prove the folly and
wrong of his measures, and to overthrow his pro-
posed policy.
The odds were fearfully in favor of Bentley.
He had the position, the power, and the reputa-
ton THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE had all these to
make. 1t was the old story of the gigantic Go
lah and the STRIPPING David, and the resemblance
was the more complete, inasmuch as Bentley's
weak spot was just where the Philistines was
in his head.
He had enclosed himself, like his prototype, in
heavy armor, and the material was the same, for
both were clothed in brass; but the truth fairly
published, sOlidly sent home, struck him square
in his weak place and he fell Year after year
this contest at first grossly unequal, became bet
ter balanced, and at last victory turned to the
side of Justice and humanity, and the enormous
fabric of pretence and hypocrisy fell to rise no
more.
In all this long conflict, the TRIBUNE made no
personal attack upon Mr.. Bentley, nor ever ma
Hgned him in reference to official personal
integrity, nor do we now. But man may be
above stealing, and yet be very dangerous; and
both the projects of Mr.. Bentley, and his methods
in urging them, were lamentably and disastrously
bad and it requires vast charity not to believe
that he knew they would 50 result.
Yet although the TRIBUNE claims its full credit
for its conduct of this great contest it is fair to
say that Mr. Bentley defeated himself
If he had been great man he never would
have started on the career he did. If he had
been logical, consistent, thoughtful man he
and innumerable contradictions which crop out
al over this dispute. But being very small
man. light of brain and heavy of pretenson, not
a reasoner but an utterer of crude, inconsistent
prejudiced phrases, having no faith in his cause
and no reason for his faith, he appears never to
have hesitated to make any sort of statement
which his narrow mind and short-sighted vision
deemed would answer the present purpose and
meet the impending emergency. Being also
man Of no sympathy, and who cared nothing for
the deplorable results of his official action, he did
not hesitate to deny justice postpone decisions,
and reduce the number of allowances when he
wanted to impress Congress for the time being by
that line of action and when, for the special ext
gency of another time he desired to produce a
different impression, he opened the gates, passed
upon cases, and strangely enlarged his rate of
allowance without any change either in his force
Of clerks or of the system.
The records show that he manipulated his Office
in this way, and the circumstances prove that it
was to operate on Congress
But again, Mr. Bentley would talk and would
write nearly all the tme and after the committees
of the Senate and House began in good faith to
hear from both sides and Bentley dropped to the
common level of an ordinary witness, the criti-
cisms on his strange selfcontradictions and curl
Gus inconsistencies became very searching. He
lost his standing for capacity if not for veracity.
He was met by extracts from his own reports and
writings directly in the teeth of his later state
ments on the same matters. His bookkeeping
was shown to be fatally defective, his cacula-
tions proven by his own records to be fearfully
roneous his guesses about the future contradicted
by his own past experience. He lost weight as !
witness, credit as public officer, and proven
by his own documents to be a person upon whose
statements it not safe to rely. His pet |
measures vanished under scrutiny as base metals /
10 in the crucible, and no 80 vast pretensions
md hollow reputation were so completely
blasted, collapsed, and disposed of. When stripped
If the wonderful plumage with which he had so
i L.