Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-06-05
Speculative Statesmen.

AILcT the close OF the war we n8Q an
era of Christian craftsmanship. The
Republican leaders went into the bust.
ness of sanctiication and emulated the
'umbleness Of Uriah Heep.
There was the Reverend Vice-Presi
dent, Henry Wilson, the moral shoe
maker. unetuous with holiness, whose
department in the presiding chair Of
the Senate gave the daily sessions the
semblance of prayer-meeting
There was Vice President Prof.
Schuyler Colfax, with an ever-present
beatific smile which seemed to lift its
possessor above all worldly desires and
follies, and impaired to his counte-
nance the appearance of a perpetual
paternoster.
There we're the devout Dawes, the
pious Boutwell,, the upright Kelley,
with Hoar, Sherman. Bingkam. Pome-
roy and others, all duly recorded on
the calendar of political saints.
Unfortunately, Credit Mob;lier got a
corner on Christian craftsmanship, and
political holiness, in the language OF
the street, was "wiped out.
We are now in an era of speculative
Craftsmanship. A President of the
United States steps out of the White
House into a stockholders Office. A
Secretary of the Treasury leaves the
Cabinet to try his luck at building a
new Stock Exchange in New York.
Judges resign from the bench to accept
richly paid sinecures in railroad cor
pcrations. A Commissioner of In
ternal Revenue throws up his position
for the purpose of prosecuting claims
against the Government and securing
heavy fees through his familiarity W tn
the weak points in the Government
armor.
The evidences of tie speculati, e
political era crop out in other way.
Shrewd operators interested in heavy
litigation buy a seat on the Supreme
Court Bench for q liberal sum for a
Judge they can use. Spectators in
mines, manufacturing companies, Ma
tional banks and railroads purchase
seats in the United States Senate. Con-
gressmen like Blaine and Edmunds vote
for land grants to railroads and then
speculate-in bonds and stocks Of the
benefited corporations. Judges on the
Bench and representatives ofthe people
in the halls of legislation render
decisions and pass laws in the interest
of enterprises in which they have q
pecuniary stake.
just now there is sort of Credh
Mobilier corner on speculative states
manship, as there was some years ago
on Christian craftsmanship. In one
days paper we read of the bankruptcy
of the car manufacturing company OF
the speculative Chairman of the Repub-
lican National Committee, United States
Senator Sabin, for several million dol
lars; of the complete failure of the
Stockholders firm of the great COM
mander of our armies. ex-President
Grant, for ten million dollars; of the
small smash-up of the stock-brokerage
business of John F. Smyth. the ex-
Chairman of the Republican State Com
nlittee, and of the caving-in of syndi-
cate to speculate in coal lands and cor
ner lots, composed of Garfeld's late
confidential agent. Thomas L. Nichols,
Ex-Governor Charley Foster, of Ohio,
the Republican ex-Speaker Keifer. Sem
ator Plumb. of Kansas, and Woodpulp
Warner Miller, United States Senator
from the great State of New York!
Alas! it looks as if the era of specu-
lative craftsmanship were destined 10
be no more substantial than the era of
Christian craftsmanship. and as if the
Republican politicians who in the pres
emit day trade in stocks, coal lands,
corner lots and car manufacturing COM
panies were doomed to as hopeless
bankruptcy as overlook the Republican
politicians who traded in religion and
morality few years ago. - N Y.
World.