Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-07-02


BOom-The SnobbIsh Son of His
Great Father-The Small Boy Get
ting In His work-TreasurY Clerks
UnhapPy-KeIfer In the Lead for
the SpeakershIp The summer
Capital.
WASHINGTON. June 30-The removal or Mr..
French. Auditor of the Pacific Railroads. has
been fully determined upon. He goes a-glim-
mering. His removal and his appointment
afford field of study, and an example that
bears most iDcisively upon the public question
which is rapidly becoming one of the first in
Importance. That question is the interests of
the people as opposed, dehed and treated with
contempt by rich corporations. The appoint
ment of an auditor for the Pacific Railroads
was provided for in the celebrated Thurman
bill. That bill was framed to force the vast
corporations, known under the one head OF
Pacific Railroad, to make good the obligations
to the government entailed in the original acts
Incorporating them, and granting them i'm
mense areas of public lands. The roads were
conducted on government money by the issue
Of bonds for the payment of the interest and
principal The people became obligated If the
roads failed. But the roads did not
fail. They made immense sums of money,
they declared dividends and big ones regularly,
but they took no steps looking to sinking funds
out Of their earnings in which to redeem their
bonds as prescribed by law. The above is a
short outline Of one of the blacklist pages in
the history OF legislation under the Republi-
can party. Its details are pretty fairly known.
The bribery, corruption and wholesale plunder-
ing accompanying it and following after are
matters of history. The Thurman bill was
framed to compel the roads to provide sink
ing fund for the redemption OF the bonds; An
officer to see that the law was executed was
necessary. One of the men who aided
Mr.. Thurman in the preparation OF
his bill was Theophilus French, then chief of
the division of accounts of the Treasury De-
partment He knew the chicanery OF the
directors Of the roads. He was earnestly en-
thusiastic for law to make them fulfill their
obligations. He was thoroughly honest. His
services were SO appreciated by Senator Thur
man aud the Democrats, who secured the
passage of the Thurman BILL that French was
named in that document as the man 10 oe
appointed auditor to see that its provisions
were fully carried out. Such thing is very
unusual in legislation. French entered upon
his duties. His integrity no man doubted or
could doubt He made it very warm for the
roads, especially after the decision of the
Supreme Court upholding the constitution
ality of the Thurman law. He made them
come to time with the money to provide for
the liquidation of the debt which Professionally
devolVed upon the government. He was i'm
partial yet stern in holding those vast corpo
ratlOQS I'D TO the law. he maze several BFlpS
out West to investigate matters. in order that
his actions might be upon foundation that
could not be shaken. He travelled as private
citizen, and did his work quietly. In a few
months however he made another inspection
visit. This time he went with his family in
special cars provided by the railroad compa-
MES. He was feasted and given many points
that enabled him to make money in railroad
speculation. He was poor man when he got
the place little over two years ago; now he
is rich man. The Pacific Railroad Companies
went on defying the law. French began to be
talked about. Either to do something to head
off this talk or to make speculation in Pacific
Railroad stock for himself and the men who
had bought HINT looks as If there was a
combination of both these ifs-he last fall
induced the Attorney General to institute suit
against the Pacific Railroad Company for not
fulfilling its obis ations to the government. The
stock of the road went down. A few weeks
ago, after haSty trip west. he wrote a letter
to the President of the road that the concern
was all right, and the government having no
case the suit would be discontinued. The
stock went right up Instead Of reporting to
the Secretary of the Interior or the President,
his supsriors French said nothing at all to
them, by word or writing, but simply reported
to his purchaser This was too much II led
to his affairs being looked into. AS conse-
quence, off goes his head. The moral of this
tale supports the theory Of Talleyrand,
that every man has his price, and that the rich
corporations are able to put up the price
There is no doubt but that F. ench
was honest and conscientious when
| of those over whom he was put to watch was
too much for him. 1t is hard to see, with such an
illustration as this, how under any law or laws
the people Will cease to be plundered by the
powerful corporations which, If they cannot
defeat the passage of a law in the public In
terest, can buy up those appointed to execute
it.
WEDDING OUT
The process of wedding out the departments
is not to be confined alone to those implicated
and convicted of stealings and frauds. An
honest ffort,apparently an honest one,is to be
made to get out the inefficient employees. Their
name is legion. They are in every department
They draw their salaries and do no work. Po-
litical influence. or other influences more dis
reputable, got them their places and has kept
them in. The Post Office Department and the
Pension Bureau are the leading places where
the inefficient and worthless browse. Investi-
cation carefully made has shown this. The
result will be the discharge in the early future
of two hundred of the brigade of inefficient
pap suckers from the Pension Oflce, and sixty
of the same breed from the Post Office Depart
ment They will have to be replaced by
others. If efficient people are put in
their stead there will have been a
gigantic reform As the lights begin to be
turned on, the rottenness, corruption, waste
and thievery in every branch of the govern
ment service is being shown forth.
ABOUT SECRETARY LINCOLN.
Somebody some time ago started a report
that Secretary of War Lincoln would very like
ly be taken up by the Republicans as a Presi-
Dental candidate next time. This supposition
has been commented on widely and the result
is an impression pretty prevalent that Lincoln
stands some sort OF chance in Presidential
way. 1t is one of the biggest Jokes
that ever got to be national. Lincoln
stands no more chance of being taken up
by any wing of the Republican party than the
biggest Bourbon" of Georgia. He is simply |
the son of his late lamented father. That's all !
he is. His brain is very mediocre, his snobbe- |
ry of the brightest and most effulgent brand, |
and his clio hes OF the latest style and fashion
able cut There stands an exact portrait of the |
man. One thing. however needs to be added. |
He trims his whskers after the English style, |
and would suffer untold agonies If he found |
out that one hair was out of place. He is no |
politician no statesman, no business man He |
is snob, and the son of his great father Such /
is not the caliore that a party even so much as |
dreams of as leader. Let the alleged Lin |
coin boom subside. If it does not the little |
Secretary of War will be turned out of Wash |
ington. He will become too insufferable for |
anybody'S forbearance. He will be wanting to |
put Garfield out and himself in right away
THE PATRIOTIC SMALL BOY.
We are practically in the midst of the
glorious" already. There are some days
yet before we will be called upon to
celebrate the deeds of our ancestors,
but that makes no difference to the small how
of Washington. You may have noticed that
the small boy as rule gets more fun out Of
the 4th of July and Christmas, than all the
rest of the human race put together. 1t is
way he has. The generic small boy" applies
particularly to the United States. In no other
country on the globe has he the unbounded
facilities and privileges that are accorded him
by our system of free government. What the |
small boy of this nation is to the small boy Of The
effete dynasties the small boy of Washington
Is to the rest Of his class in this country In
other words he takes the cake from the whole
world That is one of the reasons we are prac-
tlcally in the midst of July 4th. with that date
verify q week ahead of us In the calendar The
other reason is the weather. We are passing
through a solstice of heated days that would
do credit to the old time place Of perdition had
It not been eliminated from the category by
the revised edition. The weather is bad
enough. We dissolve. But the small boy
makes it worse. There is a law here against
the firing of crackers, sky-rockets and
such other inventions of the evil
one even the national birthday
Does the Washington small boy regard it ia
the least? If you were at all acquainted with
answer mol" just as you would spell nation
with great big N, not to any alarming extent |
The small boy started out yesterday He has !
been at it ever since. Despite law. police and I
his parents our hero has begun his work of
frecrackers and torpedoes by day and sky
rockets and devils wheels by night. He viii
keep it up until midnight of the 4th unless he
loses finger or an eye. Even in such an
he would 90 at it with
bis left hand and one eyel He
has more fun to the square inch In celebrating |
the day week before it comes and in whoop- |
ing 1t up when it does come than all the small
BOYS Of the rest Of Christendom with two | /
Washington is the paradise for small boys. If
hey want to have fun just let them enigrate
lither. (
THEY DON'T WANT ANY LEAVE
Usually by this time Of the year there are
MANY vacant daSke in tho raaca1rr napaWf- | ,