The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-01-06
ghE 4E1trncrat.
HOWARD AND WEST POINT.

HOWARD AND WEST POINT.
The enemies of West Point may re.
ioice over the assignment of Gen. 0. o.
Howard to that institution, called mill
tary department in order to provide a
command for an overstoCk of Generals.
With supply of Whittakers, such as he
will be likely to get after the Republican
majority in the next House manufactures
a number of colored members by unseat-
ing white representatives from the South
ern States, he can soon reconstruct West
Point on the plan of "Howsrd Universe
ty," near Washington.
Gen. Howard bought the land for that
sO-called university, modestly named
after himself, and had the buildings
erected, out of money illegally and cor
ruptly diverted from the Freedmen's
Bureau, of which he was then Commits
sioner. 1t was a swindle in every part,
as was abundantly proven before COM
mittee of the House in the Forty.frst
Congress, in spite OF the efforts offs white.
washing Republican majority to suppress
testimony, and to distort evidence &C.
tuslly given.
An organized ring of thieving philan'
thropists and politicians, whose whole
capital was pretended friendship for the
colored man, not only stole the black
soldiers bounty land and money through
the Freedmen's Bureau, but they robbed
aud ruined the Freedmans Bank, in
which the hard savings of thousands of
Confding black men, women and child
rem were deposited. These people were
cheated with Howard's professions and
promises. They had too much faith in
his cant about their race.
This band of thieves traded upon re-.
ligion, philanthropy, and humanity, and
assumed thespeCial guardianship of the
colored people. In the days of recon-
str1ction they may be said to have shap.
cd the political legislation relating to the
negro. Enormous appropriations in
money were made for the Freemen's
Bureau, for salaries of Assistant and Sub.
Assistant Commissioners, clerks, station.
cry and printing, quarters and fuel,
clothing for distribution, Commissary
stores, medical department, transporta,
ton, school superintendents, repa rs Of
school houses, and the like. The Re.
publicans voted twelve millions out of
the Treasury in 1866 and 1857 for these
objects.
In addition to this enormous sum all
the abandoned and Con6scated lands in
the Southern States, and the money and
property in any way derived from that
source, were turned over to the bureau.
An act of 1867 gave the Com missioner
custody of the retained bounty fund be-
longing to colored soldiers, and further
act of 1857 authorized the Commissioner
to receive and disburse all moneys due
TO colored soldiers belonging to Southern
States. The whole management of this
vast machine was put in the hands of
Howard with unlimited power to run it
ia his own way, and with tens of millions
under his absolute control.
The Republican managers only re-
qured that he should organize the me-
gro vote in the South in their interest,
and keep it ready to make Senators and
Representatives and they agreed to foot
the bills out of the public Treasury, with
out asking any questions, He did che
work according to contract, and he did
more than was expected of him. The
opportunity for plunder was too attrac.
tive to be neglected, and in the ignorance
easy nature and mistaken faith of the
freshly emancipatad freedmen, victims
for the Cupidity and rascality of their
ioud.mouthed friends we're found by
thousands.
Howard and his associates colluded
win Boss Shepherds Washington Ring.
and made common cause in cutting the
Fresdman's Bank. Hypocrisy and
knavery combined to defraud the trust
ing negro, who, lifted up to citizenship,
suffrage, and equality before the law,
naturally looked for counsel and for
protection to those who had ostensibly
elevated his condition, the better to
via his good will, and thus to plunder
him.
Howard is the very man for West
Point. When the professional philan-
thTOpists were experimenting there at
the outset, Fred Grant and the set to
which he belonged were far more ex.
treme than the Southern cadets against
the admission of the colored youth.
There are many more Fred Grants in
that institution, which is becoming Of
fensiVely aristocratic in its ways. Let
Howard deal with them, and we shall
see what Comesof it.-N Y. Sun.