Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1884-06-06
Rises Ia Explain.

lhitlir Wv h-"iCs, anu III CifCuuu-
stances now compel alluslon to him
~ thc author Of the alleged fraud,
lc las only Himself to blame for
making She necessity at this time.
Tho r,lortor for the Co"ri'r
found. from the journals kindly
supplied linn by Mr.. BaGley, that
" the hill originated in the House,
the amount Of the arprorn atom
reading S4S 600 Per annum. The
blil was printed and passed hy the
House. The ILL went to the Coun-
cal aud was amended according TO
the recommendation Of committee !
with Mr.. Houchton as charm an.
The bill n amended went back to |
the House, with the amount of the !
Appropriation reading S32 800 per
annum. The House refused to con-
cur IN the Coincil amendments, and
u committee Of conference was ap-
pointed to settle the matter. The |
committee met and finally compro-
missed on $50 900 per annum.
SO far So good. Now comes Mr..
Bagley's connection with the matter.
He SAYS that he went into the En-
rolling C.crk $ room, - ascertain
the condition Of some bills in which
he was personally interested. and
while there volunteered" 10 enroll
some bills. The clerk very compla-
Gently allowed him to do some of
tie work she was sworn to do and
Tor which she received pay. The
Vii as signed by the Governor Che
daft prepared by Mr.. Bagley) was
~. 500 per annum in excess of the
appropriation made by the Legisla.
ture.
A. this stage in the narration Mr..
Bagley pauses to inquire: " Now
where is tho fraud and forgery, and
who committed i.Y' Palpably the
fraud is in appropriating money not
authorized by law; the forgery in
interlining tho original bill and MAX
ing the enrolled bill conform to tie
change; and, rs to who is guilty,
probably MIR. Baglcy himself knows
better than his neighbors. He ac-
knowledges that ca blunder was
committed somewhere" but shows
no disposition to discover who stum-
bled; ho admits that he did the cler-
zeal work in which the blunder"
appears; he cannot deny that he was
out Of place at the Enrolling Clerk
table, or that he had any right to
perform duties which another per-
son was under oatn to perform cor
rectly. The motive alone is wanting
to complete the chain OF evidence
that fraud was intended by some
body.
When we read Of the means en-
ployed few years ago in Missouri
10 extract greenbacks from whisky
stills in aid CT the Grand Old Party;
when We contemplate the frauds
perpetrated by the star route thieves
and the soap-mine developed by
them TO scrub-up and rejuvenate the
q. .. p, who will be at loss to
discover what might have been the
handspring Of action in this case
We know precisely how electioneer-
ing funds wero obtained from sur.
vcying contracts, when Selucius
Garfeldo made them objects of bar.
ter, and now that this avenue is
closed, by an honest man holding
tho Office Of Surveyor General,
would il DO at all surprising that
INSCRIPTIONS men should endeavor
TO develop new leads by which the
corruption fund could be supplied
without touching TINT sensitive or
gan, the Office holders pocket? It
may DO that collusicn was necessary
to carry out the scheme, but are the
Baglcys 80 few that the plan should
be allowed to fail for the want of
faithful coadjutors2 The boss sys.
tom allowed in our Legislature, sew
eral sessions past, needs reformation.
II opens the door to fraud, and the
temptation always exists among
tricksters TO improve every passing
opportunity. The halls of legisla-
ton should be sacred precincts.
They should DO guarded from intru-
sion while the Lawmakers are en-
gagged in their high and most re-
sponsible duties. Instead, it was
generally observed that the bar was
always down to the ring and its CO.
laborers.
MIR. Bagley will have opportunity,
We arc assured, to set himself right,
II innocent Of this grave charge, in
which event nobody will be more
willing 10 vindicate his character
than the STANDARD.
Mn. Tilden seems TO be the choice
oil nine-tenths of the Democrats