The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-02-16

only makes the case the worse against Pit
ney; msthere person the entire coun-
try 50 blinded BY prejndfce. aos incapable
of pure reason, who fer an iassaas-doubts
that Pitney did it? OF course not.
Take all other similar instances Sher-.
mans house needed repairs, who but Pit
eyTcoula concocf scheme TO have that
house repaired and paid for out Of the con-
tingeat fund.- Certainly not Sherman
why it, wsasE his house and he.wouid be ;hen-.
eftted-by the transaction and not Pitney,
Such a hypothesis would be absurd; by all
means it was Pitney.
Sherman desired to build some houses
and rent them; Sherman is great financier.
Here once more the wicked-h hearted Pitney
comes to the front, no brain but his could
have conceived, no hand but his could have
carried out the atrocious plan OF having
those houses largely built out of the con-
tingent fund. To have them built and
given TO Sherman and he take the rents and
receive the profits; the hand of the arch
villain is here again seen; the conclusion is
inevitable
The above argument is unanswerabie,
its force cannot but be potent to all and
yet there are probably in this world men
so depraved, SO lost to sense and reason,
so like unto Pitney himself, that they will
reason with themselves and say, ''Where
was his motive for doing all this? What
inducement had he to commit all these
heinous crimess" They will claim that as
Sherman, not Pitney, was the person bene-
| fitted, so Sherman, not Pitney,
was the man to blame; and
| be absurd and illogical enough
| to insist that inasmuch as Sherman was
the superior officer and as Sherman rea ped
the profit, land as they are SO self-willed
as to be unable to understand how man
can have work constantly done for him
that costs him nothing and not know IT'D
that it is Sherman who ought to
be punished. OF course all this is very
wrong and it is an absurd conclusion to
arrive at but then some people are always
wrong headed and will insist on the most
ridiculous things; it is more than half
| likely that this same class Of people if
they saw one man shoot another, would
hang to the assertion that the man they
saw had killed him with the pistol, when
| every right-minded individual would know
for certain that man in the next county
had done it with a club; but some persons
are SO perverse.
There is one safeguard that Honest
John Sherman has however against the
actions and ideas of these obtuse persons,
a safeguard on which he can rely and
which must be source of great satisfac-
ton not only to him but to al right-minded
citizens. That safeguard is the republican
party and at all hazards it can be depended
upon to raise up and do its duty; it will
never falter it will not fail him. The re-
publican party will not for an instant hes
itate if it sees a prominent member of the
party accused of misdemeanors and at once
it rushes to the rescue. In such a conflict
it knows no dilemma, feels no fear; it is
tiers of this sort, but like a veteran of
many fights it takes the field. 1t has one
broad principle On which 1t rests, prin-
ciplc to which it never was and never will
be traitor; that principle is mo republican
must ever be punished for his crimes so long
as the republican party remains in power" |
and to it the party win cling while life re-
mains. 1t has been haven of refuge to
party criminals many times before, and
once more it will spread its protective
arms wide over the form of the accused
Sherman, AMI say: "Rest happy; you are
safe" Thus will honesty triumph. and
the party will once more execute reform
within itself; and those foolish men who
are so unconsiderate of the glorious rights |
of a republican off1ce-holder as to demand
that because one is thief that he shall be |
punished, will receive the rebuke they SO
well merit, the condemnation they SO
deserve. Thus and thus only /
can our republican institutions be preserv
ed.