The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1883-01-04
A Natural OutgrOwth.

The Star-route frauds as we'll as the
corrupt methods of the Department of
Justice, developed in the case, are the
natural outgrowth and sequence of the
supremacy ami long continuance in
power of the present Republican party.
Like the Salary-grab law, the voting of
of back pay to members of Congress
for past services already paid for, and
raising the salary OF the President to
fifty thousand dollars year without
any reduction of his perquisites of Of
flee, which already exceeded seventy
five thousand dollars o year; like the
Credit Mobilier frauds and briberies,
and their incidental perjuries; like the
River and Harbor bill swindle, and the
raising of money by taxing the salaries of
public officers for the purpose of cor
rupting and controlling the elections
like these and many other kind, ed
practices, the Star-route swindles were
among the natural results of the general
Generalization, introduced into our
political affairs by political party
coming into power in utter disregard cf
the Constitution, and the compromises
and sacred pledges of the public faith
upon which it was founded.
Can the corrupt methods above al
luded to be made virtues by covering
their perpetrators with Fictitious honors
and laudat;on? Monuments erected at
immense expense may be made to gilt
ter with high-blown inscriptions to cover
over moral delinquencies, Tut the rot
ten ulcers of political depravity can
not be hidden and concealed by monu
ments or mountains of laurel wreaths.
The public records will rem lin, the in
fanny there shown cannot be expunged,
and history will tell the truth to future
generations, and brush away the cob
webs of false and fulsome laudations.
And monuments, though raised to the
clouds to conceal and cover up moral
deform ty in a public man, will only
serve to make the facts of public his
tory more notorious, and to procllim
the degenerdcy, folly, and kindred de-
pravity of those who attempt thus to
mislead public opinion and conceal the
monstrous errors and offenses of vicious
politicians by covering them with I'M
merited honors and monumental per-
versions of public history.
That there are many good men. and
elevated statesmen in the Republican
party, who scorn and eschew the cor
reason to know. 1t was the action of
such men rising above party, and acting
with the Democracy, which gave the
signal and sweeping rebuke to the Re-
publican party at the recent elections
Let the good men of all parties unite, and
put an end to such high-handed abuses
of power as those above alluded to.
The system of espionage and at
tempts to bribe the jury by su' ordi-
mates, developed in the Star-route cases
are not surprising. The Introduction
of the Secret-Service Division in the
Treasury Department in course of time
extended the use o. detectives and their
methods into all the departments, and
especially that of the Department of
Justice--so that the practice of '.seting
a thief to catch q tiiefh became gen
eral and made detectives of ali subordi-
mates. This has resulted in making the
Department of Justice perfectly lousy
with vermin in the form of detectives
and thieves. So that if Attorney Cen
eral Brewster is really in earnest, and
actually wishes to reform his Depart
ment, in order to be thorough about t.
he should make clean sweep, al d
fully cleanse the Augean stable. diner
lean Register.