Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1882-09-08
MONEY In ELECTIONS.
From Harper's Weekly

With the opening Of the political cam.
pnign in Maine there is the usual talk OF
the money that is to be poured into the
State, and the conviction is rapidly extend.
ing in the country that elections ar. be-
coming n,ere coutests OF money. II is get.
ting To be conclusive recommendation Of
candidate that he is rich nnd will spend
freely. The candidacy Of Mr. Tiden in
1876 will be always associated with the
fraud Of his famous "bar'l," aud the result
in Indiana in 1880 was plainly attributed
10 Dorsey's use OF money. The more
rapidly this conviction that elections are
decided by money increases, the more GER
tain iscivil war. A diSputed national elec.
ton may be settled once peacefully, as in
1867. But he is a bold optimist who as
wisely adjusted. The root of the ant-mo.
the perception that the power of aggrega.
ed Gu piial to buy the legislators who make
laws and the judges who interpret them is
an enormous danger, to be justly appre-
hendcd.
The Buffalo Express, in recent forcible
article, asserts that the nomination of rich
NiSh bSSdunC vi tHclT WILLINGNESS
ITO bleed" freely at the will Of political
nj anngers has become scandal and re-
proach to that city. 1t mentions the case
OF candidate who had patiently paid
what were called the Legitimate expenses
when lie was ''struck" for money to use in
the different wards at the polls, and the
amount to be extorted by this final squeeze
fl,a ma rlpnal at G1g Il, Il.
fair computation that nine.tenths Of this
sum, if ii was paid, went into the pockets
of the managers and of hose whose votes
they chose to buy. Now the legitimate ex-
penses OF nm election are never large. In
rural county, adjacent to the city Of New
York, with which we are familiar, the hon
est expenses are but u few hundred dollars
and whenever demand is made for great
sums, rs in Indiana in 1880, and often in
Maine, the purpose is corruption. Ii may
be called brass bands and barbecues and
banners and transparencies, which are all
er of these pretenses the corruption fund ia
raised. The Buffalo Express gives an in.
tteresting account OF the independent cam.
paign OF Mr.. Hickman in that city for the
Assembly last year. "The machine" deter
mined to defeat him because he would not
vote in the Assembly for the return OF
Messrs. CosKLING and PLATT. It nomi.
mated another candidate, but an immense
number OF the best Republicans in Buffalo
invited Mr.. Hickman 10 stund. He nc.
cepted. They carried on the canvass with
enthusiasm. They laid the case plainly
before the people, and at the election the
machine was smashed. the independen,
candidate was elected, and the entire ex.
pense OF the election, including everything
was 81 ,0S3.75, of which expenditure the in,
dependent committee published in the
newspapers an itemized account.
That is practical politics, honest poli.
tics, and American politics, of which the
| Dorsey school has no conception. TIL,
whole Dorsey school is false to the fundu
mental princip. OF republican government
Lord North and the English King buy
ing up Parliament to carry on war will
the colonies were not greater traitors I,
constitutional liberty than American poll
ticians OF whom Dorsey is II type, and who
undertake 10 carry on government by th,
corruption OF voters and the terroriz,tio,
of offce'liolders. Their argument is tha
we mustn't be too squeamish in politics
so Dick TurPin thought that we mlsln't b.
100 squeamisl upon the road. aud Mrs
Brownrigg and her son that they musln'
be too sqneanish with their apprentices
But politicians who are not too pqneamisl
to resort to deSpolism aud corruption hav
always found powerful body Of citizen
much loo squeHmish TO submit 10 them
II is favori,e fancy among peddlers il
politics that corruption IL essential to suc
cess. But Lecky truly says of Washing
tom, "He was in the highest sense Of III
words gentleman and man of honor
and he carried into public life the severes
standard of private morals" Washing
citizen.