Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1884-05-02
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent
A second edition of the

sented to an admirIng public next
week in the trial of William Pitt Kellogg
for receiving money in his capacity of
United States Senator from Louisiana.
fit were not so deucedly expensive,
it would be amusing to see how the
Attorney General has gone to work
to collect his evidence in this case,
which as in all such cases is principally
drawn from some thievish accessory,
whose credibility is as easily impreach.
ed as his evidence can be purchased
with promises of immunity. In this
case was Walsh who wrote to the Pres
ldent about important" papers in his
possession that would convict Kellogg.
Walsh and his papers were in that safe
haven (Canada) where Government
criminals mostly do congregatc, and
thither the President dispatched Mr..
Brewster Cameron, and ore of its $Ioo
per day attorneys, Mr.. Ker, to receive
the importent papers. Upon their ar
rival at Montreal and conferring with
Mr.. Walsh, the latter suddenly discov-
cred that the papers were not so i'm
portant in working conviction as he
thought they might be, and SO, under
a. suggestion of additional immunity,
he has concluded to come in person
and give his testimony, which, in the
light of that given in the star route
cases where ii was picked to flinders
and scattered to the winds, Is not likely
to add heavily the to Governments
chances for convicting anybody. In
this connection it may not be mop
poitune to say that the Attorney Gen.
eral may have in view the possibility
that simple trial OF Kellogg though it
result in aquittal, may deter other SEN
ators and other Members of Congress
from accepting money In an official
capacity, but the innum cradle trials
an the many Congressional investiga-
tons that we have had, should have
convinced Mr.. Brewster of his fallacy.
To show how credulous a beng the
Attorney General is. it is only necessary
to call attention to his official letter of
apology for not convicting the star
route thieves, in which he solemnly
declares he saved to the country the
two millions of dollars annually that the
thieves would have continued to steal
had he not brought them to trial! Now
everybody knows that before Mr.. Gar
field became President, and therefore
before Mr.. Brewster was ever thought
of in connection with the Attorney
Generalsnlp, the star route thieves fell
out among themselves and gave each
other away to the authorities with
superlative alacrity. 1t was then that
the stealing was stopped, but no body
supposes, after the events that has
since transpired, that there was any, Sc
rious intention on the part of the au-
thorities to punish the thieves.
While am not banking much upon
the faithfulness or integrity of public
officials in general in the matter of
fencing in and trespassing upon the
PUBLIC LANDS,
l think thas the recent editorial upon
that subject in the New York Times,
SO far as it reflects upon the Secretary
of the Interior, does thai gentleman a
gross injustice. For years these squat
tiers upon the public domain have de-
fed the Government, which under a
practically obsolete law, they knew
to be powerless to molest them. Mr..
Teller, however, more than year ago
called the Department of Justice tc &C
count for its neglect in enforcing
such law as would be available to an
individual whose property might be tres
passed IN like manner, but that depart
ment had Its hands so full in making
facilities for to star route thieves to
slip through its fingers, that it had no
time to attend to these big land pirates.
The fact of this business is that no
amount of effort to restrain the fencing
in of the public domain will avail as
Iong as Senators, and Representatives
and men in and out of high public sta
ton, who have plenty of money, are in
terested in occupying these millions of
acres for their own purposes. A good,
healthy Congressional enactment that
would mean something, ard Depart
ment of Justice that would also mean
something IN its attemps to enforce
such law, are the only things likely to
satisfy the public sentiment that is now
demanding that these fenced-ln lands
shall be thrown open to the actual set
tier. The people are determined to
see whether the present Congress will
have backbone enough to respond to
their demand.
The citizens of Washington have long
enjoyed the credit OF being
PUBLIC-SPRITBD
community. and they are so long as
Congress foots the bills for every last
enterprise that is undertaken here. If,
however, the people want something
that Congress has no right to provide,
such as a skating rink, or an armory,
or base ball park, they get up grab
bag or something of the sort, and by
hook or crook they have managed to
get all of these things. To these will
be added all opera-house which is to
be bull: by a military company, but
never a word has been mentioned
about the establishment of pubic
library, or any other public enterprise
that would conduce to the mental i'm
provement of its more than 200 900
And voi, nav CO faly MA.