Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1884-02-01
TWO OF THE GREAT ADMINS
TRATTTE POLICIES OF THE
REpVBLIGAN PARTI.

TkA IlF n fOLIClbio CH IHL
REPUBLICAN PARTY.
1t Is the fashion of the Republican jour-
uaIs whenever the corruption of, or OPP
preston by. their party is pointed out, to
use the plea of confession and avoidance
and point to some of the administrative
policies of the party which ought to
command the support OF the intelligent
people of the country. just as our cotem-
porary, the Valley Vir9inian. did the 9th
er day in defending the Republican party
from the charge of sectionalism. Now two
of the peculiarly distinctive policies
of the Republican party. peculiar because
both, instead of being used for the
people have been used for the party, are
the Department of Justice and the De
partment of Internal Revenue. Though
distinct departments it seems hard to
touch one without jarring the other, so
intimate are they in the Republican ma
chine for depressing the people, and it is
not surprising that Special Commissioner
Brewster Cameron in summing up the
report of his Investigation of the Depart
ment of Justice should have come to the
conclusion that 'abuses are so prevalent
and odious that it is not to be wondered
at that deputy marshals and deputy col
lectors are shot down as enemies OF the
people, The Special Com missioner is
Republican, nephew of the present
A lf,f 70 TTpitod
and has just received another mark of the
confidence of the Administration in the
appointment of Receiver of Public moneys
at Tucson, SO we presume his report will
be received with more confidence than
would any number of protests coming
from the men who have experienced the
wrongs of which Mr.. Cameron writes, and
to which last Saturday he commenced to
testify on oath before Congressional
Committee. He says that Deputy Collec-
tors of Internal Revenue in the States
where illicit stills exist are in many in
stances also Deputy Marshals and where
they are not Deputy Marshals they are Of
ten in collision with them in making cases.
They draw witness fees and mileage when
they do not act directly as deputy mar
shals. Another party to the schemes for
making fees is the U. S. commissioner.
who has the power of eXacting such lib
eral fees as to make every case before him
pay from $40 to $12. By the means and
devices resorted to by these officials every
arrest for infraction of the internal reve-
nue. laws costs tie government sums rang
ing from twenty-five to fifty dollars before
it gets to the court. In North Carolina,
South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee
the cases heard by the com missioners, but
which never come to trial in court, are
said to be in the proportion of ten to one
at least. and in some districts they are as
forty to one. In one district it was
shown that company Of forty distillers
and dealers in Illicit whisky were per-
suaded to appear before a United States
commissioner, plead guilty and give
bonds to appear at court. They failed
to appear: the bonds, which were worth
less. were declared forfeited. and bench
warrants were issued: these were served
and the parties brought again be-
fore the same commissioner, were again
bonded to appear at court, and again fail
ed. This was repeated three times; each
time the COM missloner, marshal and wit
nesses received their fees, amounting in
the aggregate to several thousand dollars.
The criminals were parties to the frauds,
sharing in the fees. They were finally
brought into court, plead guilty, were re-
commended to mercy. and sentence was
suspended. Not one was ever punished.
After detailing these petty frauds of the
deputy marshals. the Special Commits
sioner describes the mode Of plumber
adopted by the q. s. commissioners, espe-
cially ia Georgia aud Alabama. The COM
missioner Is paid S. day when employed.
So the object is to make the cases go as
far as possible. They could all be disposed
of in an hour or two, but the commits
sioner says to A, 81 will hear your case
TO- morrow; to B. ''yours is set for the
day after; to e., land you will be tx
amined next day. and SO on. Out of the
dozen cases the commissioner makes a
good thing. The farmers must travel back
to their homes or remain in town at some
expense in either case a hardship. AS
the object Of all this is to get fees they
are eventually dismissed with the stigma
Of their names on the criminal record and
go home to curse the Government. This
is what Special Agent Cameron reports is
$50 prevalent and so odious that it is not
to be wondered at that deputy marshals
and deputy collectors are shot down
as enemies of the people"
OF course some must be convicted. Some
body in the Southern States must be exhib-
tied handcuffed in the cars going through
the capital Of the Nation on their way to
expiate their crime against the Nation in
the Albany penitentiary, and SO there are
enough convictions to keep up show of
reason for the immense expense incurred
or rather charged by the deputies The
robbery must be gigantic. for Commits
sioner Cameron cites one case of mar
shal who was in Office several years and
collected over 100000 worth of fees but
only returned to the government $50 900
Now, political party which has toler-
ated this sort of administration of the law
of the government under its control, and
which has greatly profited by it, for it is
notorious that both the Department of
Justice and De partment of Internal Re-
venue in the Southern States constitute
the engineers of the Republican party in
that section, cannot answer Mr.. Brewster
Cameron, who is Republican, with the old
stock replies to all charges against it to
wit: that under Republican rule the crops
have been plentiful, under Republican rule