The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-06-30
9ltscella
Rev. 7. DEWITT TALMAGE.
BRIBERY THE DEGRADATION OF
OUR POLITICS.
Public PutrefaetIOn Whose stencil Reaches to
HeaVen-The Monster Sin, Plausible, Potent
and PestlferOuS,
BRIBERY; OR, TIE DEGRADATION OF AMER
InAM pnI InINn

BRIBERY; OR, TIE DEGRADATION OF AMER
ICAN PoLlTICs.
Text-Job 1884. "Fire shall consume
the tabernaCles Of bribery"
The grandest OF earthly sciences is the
science Of politics. National order, Ma
Honal preservation, Nstionsl defense
National morality, all swept by that cir
Gle. In that science ClaTkson, and Cob
den, and Brougham, and 0'COnnell and
Sir Roland Hill won their garlands on
the other side of the sea, while on thif
side we had our Washington, our Adams
Benjamin F. Butler, Attorney General
of New York; Theodore FrelinghuysenI
Senator from New Jersey; John Mclean
Judge of the Supreme Court from Ohio
the great expounder of Massachusetts
and the great Commoner OF Kentucky,
while the scroll of great and honorable
statesmen now living is 80 long, the at
tempt to speak their names would be a
beWilderment. Going from our own city
into state and national politics are some
of our best felloW.c .citizens, But politics,
from being the science Of government,
has again and again been bedraggled
into system of truCulenCy and turpi-
tude. One monster sin, plausibly po'
tent and pestiferous, comes forth to it's
dreadful work in all ages. Itstwo hands
are rotten with leprosy. It's right hand
it carries hidden in its deep pocKet; the
left hand is ClenChed; with it's itCherous
knuCkles it taps at the dor of Court.
rooms, Legislatures, and Congresses and
Parliaments. The door opens, and then
The monster enters and moves up the
aisle of the Council Chamber more softly
than slippered page, and takes the right
hand from the deep pocket where it was
hidden, and offers it in sslutstion to
Judge or Legislature. If the hand be
taken, and the palm Of the intruder
touch the palm OF the official, the leprOsy
passes in the shape Of round blotch,
round as a gold eagle, and the virus
spreads from palm to palm, and the doom
is fixed and the victim perishes. Let
bribery stand up and be judged today by
the American people. The Bible ar.
raigns it. Samuel says Of his two sons,
who were Judges: "They took bribe
and perverted judgment" David says
of some of his pursuers; "Their right
hand is full of bribes." Amos says:
'They took a bribe and they turned
aside the poor in the gate" willie Eli
phas in the text foretells the crushing
bolts Of Gods indignation, declaring
''Fire shall consume the tabernacles OF
bribery"
Think it no trihing temptation, Un.
der it some of the mightiest have fallen,
Francis Bacon, Lord Chancellor of Eng.
land, the founder of modern philosophy,
author of novum OrgGnup, and whole
library Of books, precocously respond.
ing when small child to Queen Eliza.
beth's question, "How old are your" NJ
am two years younger than Your Males.
ty's happy reign;" Of whose oratory Ben
JOnson said: "The fear of every man
that heard him was that he should make
IN end;" with an income which you wo'd
Iuppose put him beyond reach of tempt.
a year-and Twickenr am |
Court as a present, and prinCely estates
IN Hertiordshire and Gorhamhury, vet,
lnder spell of temptation, falling fat |
nto ruin, and on his confession of bribes
or which he gave no reason, save that
Ill his predecessors took them, was fined
b200, 900 and imprisoned in London Tow.
Or. So also Lord Chancellor Maccles.
ield went down; 30 Lord Chancellor
Weltbury perished. The blackest chap.
,er in English, Irish, French and Amer.
can politics is the chapter Of bribery.
Many of you remember the awful TRACE.
ly of the Credit Mobilier. Under the
of bribery Benedict Arnold
old the fort in the Highlands for $3l.
rs, For this sin Gorgey betrayed Hun.
AIRY, and Ahithopel forsook David and
Judas betrayed Christ. When l see the
and the strong men that
lave gone down under this contamiua.
ion, l think of the red dragon in Revel.
Ition, having seven heads and ten horns
nd seven crowns upon the heads, draw
ng the third part of the stars of heaven
tter him. 1t seems to me the right time
o preach against bribery has come.
Much of religious advice is ineffective
because it is inopportune, as a child |
Inow Of at 8 years of age, who received
rom her Sunday'sChool teacher, as a re-
yard for learning many verses in Scrip.
ure, book entitled advice to q Young
1arried Couple" or a soldier in the
rmy who had lost both legs by amputa.
ion, had tract given him on the sin of
anCipg. But faithful words at the right
ime, how Important
The Legislature of New York is busy
ow inv stigsting bribery. That body
nd the whole country, North, South,
East and West, wakes Up in holy horror
the charge that $1,000 have been of.
bred to influence Legislative vote. As
hough this was something new; as tho
n the United States hundred, Of thou
ands Of dollars were not being paid in
'ribesl As though in one state 1916, 900
ad not been paid a Legislature and the
tate Government by a railroad company
D get through a charter and secure do.
alton of public lands. As though three
)urths Of the Legislatures in the q. s.
lad not, through bribery, gone into
utretaction whose stencil reaches heav.
n. Oh, yes; hunt down that $4,000 at
Llbany by all meansI Keep the commit
DO Of investigation busyl Put all the II
illnesses on the gridiron and broil them II
II you get the whole truth After hunt
ng that squirrel that has been steal
lg hickory nuts, perhaps the honesty OF
le land may 60 to work and hunt down
be bears and tigers and panthers and Ii
ons and bGhemoths Of political coryup- Il
on with which the land is being, de- II
oured,. Oh, yes, gentlemen ,of, New |
,orkl Legislature, do AZ according TO your /
you have been doinGl Search |
ut wrong by day, and at night, go to- the