Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-02-24
Grimes of the Republican Party.

crimes or the republican PArty.
In the March number of the Century
Magazine there is an interesting article
on 1.-The Next Presidency" by Hon.
Wayne McVeagh, who was Attorney GEN
eral while Garfield was President. He
is a resident of Philadelphia, and, having
been an active politician, it is reasonable
to suppose he knows good deal about
Pennsylvania politics. Speaking of Penn
sylvania Republicans he says: '.They
have allowed their State and municipal
treasures to be the plaything Of machine
politicians, and to be prostituted time out
Of mind to their personal advantage. They
have allowed their metropolis to be the
prey Of men who, in themselves or in their
chosen subordinates, have exhausted
almost the entire calendar of crime.
while they masqUeraded in the name
Of the Republican party and protested
that their crimes were necessary to its
preservation. They have stuffed ballot
boxes. They have forged election returns.
They have stolen the taxes. They have
stolen the water rates. They have stolen
the receipts for gas. They have stolen
the moneys appropriated to the repair of
the highways. They have even descended
to steal the moneys appropriated to the
relief OF the insane poor. And they have
done all this in the name of the party
whose first great historical achievement
was the election Of Abraham Lincoln,
name which has become a synonym,
wherever the English language is spoken,
l.. - (. - 1
All this was done by the Republicans Of
Pennsylvania, and yet no Republican Sem
ator or Representative from his place in
Congress denounced these political crimes
and these raids on the ballot box. These
virtuOus statesmen were too busy looking
after alleged tissue ballots, and in listen
ing to stories of alleged intimidation and
outrage in the South, to give attention to
what was taking place in their own States
and Congressional Districts. Even Mr..
McYeagh, who now condemns the crimes of
his party so eloquently, accepted the
fruits of the victories won by such crimes
without protest.
No man knew better than he did the
fraudulent character of Hayes title to the
Presidency. In fact, be knew all about
the Louisiana infamy, because he went to
New Orleans as one of the Hayes COM
missiOners to help get the Packard gov
ernme mt out of the way. He knew all
about the unfair and unlawful means
adopted by the Republicans to carry the
election of 1880. This knowledge, however,
did not prevent him from accepting a
place in the Garfield Cabinet. The testi-
mony of so prominent Republican lead
er as Mr.. McVeagh relative to the crimes
of the Republican party ought to silence
the attacks of that party on the South I'M
til il has cured its own abuses. The diff
ference between the Northern Republicans
and Southern Democrats is this: The
Southern Democrats made long and
persistent fight TO get control of their
local governments. In localities
they may have adopted means
to accomplish their purposes which were
not strictly legitimate, but which were
necessary to overcome the unlawful and
unfair means employed by their OppO-
nents. Their object was good. They
sought to save their homes and States
from the ruin with which the rule Of
ignorant negroes and rascally Adventures
threatened them. What was the object Of
the Republican party in committing the
crimes which Mr.. MacVeagh mentions? 1t
can be stated in a single word-plunder.