McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886, 1884-08-07
WASHINGTON LETTER.

| "OAA~ wv 90" i"i P"i pooSo VI PAuhuOi,
and the plunderers know it. They seem
to have taken it for granted that Gov
ernments-and this Government in par
ticular-are instituted among men to
enable the few upon the inside to whack
up between themselves, and for this
are the Offices disseminated. | don
know the exact period in the life of this
Governmental there ever was such a
time-when public officials began to
steal and get caught at it, but it was as
long ago as 1889 that Swartwout with
a million of dollars of Government
money in his pocket, put his thumb to
his nose and gyrated his fingers at Mar
tin Van Buren, and the Government
just as Tweed did at the New York
public thirty years afterward. AS time
has passed away the plundering has
gone on with more and more barefaced
audacity until stealing is actually look
ed upon as one OF the privileges Of Off
cial existence. And the Government
in all this time has never learned how
to keep its books, nor never looked after
the state of it's cash account so as to
know when, where, who, or how long its
trusted employees had been stealing, or
whether they had been stealing at all.
There was postmaster Fowler's larcenies
that covered an aggregate of $4,000,
and period of peculation extending
through nearly four years, yet the Gov
ernment's accounts with it's chief post
office were kept so loosely Cor rather
were not kept at alp that Fowler's dis
appearance was the first inkling that
the accounting officials received of any
sort of crookedness The approaching
trials of Swain and Morrow and Burn
side will develop with startling COM
pleteness the wonderful facilities afford
ed and the terrible temptations to steal
that comes of our system of Govern
mental bookkeeping.
Two days ago | paid visit to the
Document room of the House of Rep
resentatives in search of an item. tits
not the busy place just now that it is
when Congress is in session, but it is
quite curiosity shop in its way. Stow
cd away in pigeon-hvles and tied up in
bundles are the copies of all Documents
printed by order of the House, and all
bills introduced. The familiar inscrip-
ton which Dante put over the entrance
to the internal regions, abandon hope
all ye who enter here might we'll be
written over the doors Of this room. 1t
is indeed burying ground for this kind
of literature. Of the 900 bills which
entered there during the late session,
less than 200 emerged in the shape of
acts. Of course the great majority of
bills and resolutions introduced never
had any chance to become acts, and sad
would have been the fate of the country
if they had. Many Of those kept in the
back ground, owe their death to the v1g-
lance of certain members among whom
Holman, of Indiana, is the chief.
Much has been written about ''the
great objector," as he is called, and
many have doubtless conceived the idea
that he is stern, cross-grained and
morose man. But such is not the case.
Those who are familiar with his private
life, know that he has as kind heart
as ever throbbed against a waist-coat. |
1t was he who had the provision for the
salary of Jennie NJ. Hunt, a cripple in
the Dead Letter Office, placed in the |
Legislative Appropriation bill so as to
secure her against discharge. And
through him the little wan-faced hunch-
back who sits at the door of the Appro-
priations Committee room, got his place:
This boy, whose name is Willie Howard,
is the support of his widowed mother.
He used to stand on the Capitol steps
and beg, where he was allowed to re- I
main by the policemen whose hearts
were softened by his appeals, and final
ly in stormy weather he got place by
the elevator where he often performed
little services for members. Holman
became interested in him, and got a