The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1883-02-10
THE LESSON or THE GREAT TE' =
NESSEE DEFALCkIION.


The recent defalcation of the Treas
urer of the State of Tennessee has
brought upon the old Commonwealth
a regular fusillade of caustic sarcasm
and fiery denunciation. A moi of
editors and multitude of other peo-
pie in all parts Of the country have
undertaken 10 point the moral of it.
Not even the questionable points in
the behavior of the last importation
in the way of an actress has Teen so
fruitful of continent. The comments
are more various than the notes of
frog pond on II hot night in July.
One virtuOus New York editor looks
upon it as the natural outcome If
Southern depravily in general, SCENT
ingly in blissful torgetfulness that
there was ever any thing wrong about
that most misgoverned of cities, with
its Tweed rings, its custom-house
cOrruptions, and its organized Wall
street villainies. A Philadelphia pa.
per is particularly severe on poor
tennessee, forgetful that the rings of
that city have Il worldwide reputa-
ton for skillful and shameless rapaci-
ty. Boston was in the midst Of its
spasm of virtuous wrath at Tennes-
see at the very time Ben. Butler, her
Governor. Ivy the grace of New En-, =
land politics, WAS penning the me =
sage in which Il system of nepotlsm,
waste, and robbery in the slate gov
ernment of Massachusetts is held up
TO the gaze of an astonished country.
The newspaper defenders of the Star
Route frauds have lacked language in
which to express their grief and an.
ger at Tennessee. None of these
seemed to remember the old adage,
warning dwelIers in ss>houses not
to throw stone. There was in their
midst no majestic yet benignant
Presence to say, Let the innocent
cast the first stone. And, true to hu-
man nature on its weak side, some of
the newspapers most notorious as the
organs and instruments Of rings and
lobbyists have been loudest in their
den dnciations, and have whetted their
irony to its keenest edge in dealing
with Tennessee's shame and disaster.
Homilies on honor from such censors
fall needless on the ears of honest
men. These free.spoken opticians
must get beam out of their own eyes
before they will be accepted as COM
petent advisers in this case.
The Tenne see newspaper press and
people have also been swift to point
the moral of this unhappy event.
The party press, with almost one
voice, have taken partisan views of
the matter. 1t was Democratic po>
ltical heresy, or it was Republican
carelessness and rascaliLy. 1t was
the outcome of High Tax" extrav>
agance, or it was the result of Low
lax" looseness Of ideas of political
ethics The blame is laid on each of
the great political parties, and is
shifted from one faction Of the same
orgaization to another. "4nu did
it! sAys one. "Y0u lieI it was you, ="
is the reply--the air is full of this
sort of elimination and recrimination,
The real lesson Of this matter is
lost sight Of in the Ranel Of selfright>
eous censOrs from abroad aud the
wrangle Of hot partisans at home.
What is that lesson?
The lesson is this; That the ma.
MIA for speculation is undermining the
foundations of business honesty in
these United States, What was done
by the Treasurer OF Tennessee on II
large scale is done ~ hundreds of
thousands of men on smaller scale
de risked the money bar heluugpt Ia
the State, They ri k the money that
belongs to their or ditors. If Treas
urer had succeeded n his speculations,
he would have bee n great man; he
could have owned is own newspaper,
aspired to higher political honors, and
had his picture in the illustrated
/ weekies, But he failed, and is in
jill, ruined man waiting for trial.
In his case the : ate is the sufferer
from his folly and sin. A successful
private speoulntor beeomes the o. jecl
OF aduIatioL aud ,nvy, and his crook.
ell methods are co doned 10y a public
opinion that ilp,iz money and Clio.
lies suoress, no ~ tier how achieved.
| If Ia Fills s,tn. ndv suffers il may