Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-02-06
OUR FUTURE.

them There is no other absolute test
for policies, principles or courses of ac-
ton. Thefruit tree will produce fruit
good for man and the nightshade will as
inevitably produce poison for him who
Is rash enough to use it. Politics are
sometimes like the century plant-it may
require many years before they put forth
their peculiar blossoms, but 1t needs oaly
the plant plus time and you will certainly
have the blossoms.
The Republican party was organized a
quarter of century ago for great hui
name purpose, VIZ: opposition to human
slavery; but in its very inception it con-
tanned within itself the seeds of decay
and death, for there came into it large
element headed by Thurlow Weed of
New York and Simon Cameron of Penn
sylvania Thurlow Weed told the Chi
cago convention that nominated Mr..
Lincoln in 1860 that if they would per-
NIT him and his friends to dictate
the candidate they would put
into the campaign one million dol
lars that had been collected in the New
York legislature as spoil wrung from the
street railway charters of New York city.
And Simon Cameron came to Chicago
with following that had never even de-
clared against slavery; and that knew no
gods but spoil and plumber. These seeds
have been growing for twenty years and
they have assuredly reached magnificent
proportions; they overshadow the whole
land and their foul exhalations are cor
ru pting the entire body polite. No man
who was upon the stage of action twenty
years ago can doubt that great change
has taken place in thatstime in the NOR
ais of politics and the tone of thought of
our whole people. Volumes would not
hold the list Of the dlShonorabe failures,
embellishments, defalcations, abscond-
ings, robberies by merchants and pub
lie officials, committed during
the last ten years; while the
extraordinary increase in divorce suits
looks to the ultimate destruction of the
institution of marriage and the reduction
of society to anarchy. We might quote
Macauley's lines as to similar change in
ancient Rome:
"Then none was for party;
Then all were for the state;
Then the great man helped the poor,
And the poor man loved the great.
Now Roman is to Roman
More hateful than foe;
And the Tribune's beard the high,
And the Fathers grind the low"
We are led to these reflections by the
following, which has already appeared in
our news columns:
Albert Brown, of Scotland, D. T., who was re-
ported By the comm ercial agency of r. 6. Dun
worth $4,000, tried to swindle Freeman Sons, ha-
cine Wis, boiler makers, out OF Sl6O0, by forging
paper with the signatures of alleged wealthy farmers
who are myths. Freeman & Sons shipped him
carload of Tanning mills and were rendered this pa
per. The commercial agency reporter at Scotland,
D. t, seems in league With them, as well ss otner
noted men, and reported the paper fayorabiy. By
accident suspicion was aroused, and an agent OF
Freeman & Sons seut out to investigate. He
reports, SO Mr. Freeman states in an interview that
there influential men. foreman OF the grand
jury secretary OF the governor, justice Of the peace
constables commercial agency reporters and others,
banded together to swindle eastern manu- ,
facturers. Reputation papers were Issued
by Gov. Rusk and placed in the hands
of ex-Sheri1 Fielding, who, in company with
Ffeeman's agent left here Tuesday and will arrive In
Yankton tonight. 1t is estimated that the total
swindles of these Dakota carpet-baggers amount to
over S25o,050. Every effort ID being made to Keep
1t quiet. Brown it is believed, will squeal on the
others. The most prominent Dakota ohclas are
reported implicated in the great steal. Rrown and
his gang learned that requiston papers were issued
and officers after them. and skipped. The swndies
include manufacturers of Oshkosh, Appleton, Racine
and western cities.
Here we find whole co immunity honey
combed with rottenness; governors, Sec
retaries, Justices of the peace, constables,
foremen of grand juries, commercial
agency reporters all linked together in
one gigantic swindle, Where are you to
find foundation for human society when
the very framework of government gives
way in this fashion? And where is it to
end? Is the community to consist in the
future of but two classes, those sharp
enough to steal and those not intellectual
enough for that pursuit, and who there
fore reluctantly labor waiting their op-
portunity? And what future is before
our country if this work of universal de-
moralization goes on? Where is
the saving grace, the salt of
the earth, that is to redeem
it? Was the London Times right when
it declared Guiteau, that brazen, shallow,
reckless, desperate scoundrel, typical
Americana Does he represent what hu-
mainly is coming to in this vast continen-
tai theater of development under the lead
of political party which makes corrup-
ton honor and honest poverty disgrace,
and which elevates to the presidency a
man who was turned out of office for
permitting a huge system of official rob-
berries in the New York custom house?
And when we come to look into it closely
Guiteau simply carried out the logic of
the age-he was too lazy to work; he
wanted an Office; he was too obscure to
command it and too poor to corrupt his
way into it: he saw bold knaves rising to
success all around him by the most vii
famous courses; he saw Senate where
three -fourths of the members had bought
their seats, and House filled with wire
pullers and place-peddlars, and he deter
mined that he would get an Office if he