The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1885-09-02

Pendleton to the United States Senate wa.
20 UNANIMOUSLY corrupt q Transaction as u
put to shame every honest man in the
State OF Ohio. According ~ these &C.
Counts 1t was corrupt IN the most odioua
and offensive sense OF the word, 90 cor.
rupt t6at-it seemed to the Intelligent and
reasoning people Of the State scarcely pos
sible that man OF Senator Payne's re-
puted good character could be induced to
accept such an honor. II nothing else
could be said against the Slxty.sixth Gen.
eral Assembly than that which has been
said oyer and over again by these Demo.
cratic newspapers aud by Democratic vot.
srs with respect 10 the election OF Henry
3. Payne, then that OF itself would bs
sufficient for branding that Legislature as
UNANIMOUSLY corrupt, and for retiring 1t and
every man vino would dare say word in
lis defense, TO private life forever.
ExrRAvAGANcE.
But this bad beginning was only the be,
ginning Of course that, with very few ex.
captions, was bad throughout its close.
For the Legislature was not only the most
corrupt, but it was the most cxtravagant
that ever sat in the State Of Ohio. Iii
creased the annual expenditures for tie
State Government, not by $4,000, 80 |
said on io.mer OCCASION when l did not
have al tho figures btfore me, but by
more than S900, 600 anuuslly. lhaYe seen
itstated by say Of apology and .xplana.
ton for this that We are charging upon the
Democratic Legislature tho cost and ex-
perses they were called upon 70 provide
Tor OH account Of tae floods, tho riot at
Cincinnati, e.. But not 80; for after eli
minating all these costs aud expenses, and
considering only those which were lcgu-
lar and ordinary, there ia this increased
expenditure, Ds have said, OF more than
s95O,OO0. Never has there been such
extravaganza III tho administration
oi State affairs. In addition TO this in
crease cf expenditures, they increased the
local municipal Indebtedness Of the State
by more than $ll 100000, thus rushing
tile State headlOng to absolute bank
ruptcy. And not only were they ex-
traysgant, but with it all they have mani.
tested an unusual incompeIeEcy. This is
especially true in the matter Of the man
agement OF the psnttentiary. AT the
close OF Governor Fosters administration
this institution was not only seif.sussain-
ing, but was yielding an annual revenue
and income 10 the State Of more than
$50 00O. By this Democratic administers
tion the management Of the ponitentiary
has been such as to make il au annual ex-
penae TO the State OF near that amount.
and not only have they thus mads IL a
losing institution TO that extent, thus in
creasiug the burdena0f Newspapers, but
they inaugIrated the piece pnce plan,"
as it ID called, which is far more
od;ous and offensive to outside honest
labor and far more destructive to the busi-
ness industries with which il comes in
competition than was the original coll
tract system with which so much fault was
found. In addition to this exlravagance
and outrage upon the people Of the state
and the taxpaYers, they have violated the
very genius Of American institutions by
laying violent hands upon local sclfgov-
eminent, in attempting, for the mos. bra
zenly partisan purposes, to practically take
away from the people Of Columbus the
right OF governing themselves. And not
only did they undertake to take away
from them this rlght but they also un-
dertook to take away from the courts the
right to declare that their measures in this
respect were unconstitutional and void
assailing therefore not only the people,
but the highest Judicial tribunal OF the
people.
TIE LIQUOR QUESTION.
And on top of it all, they have de,
stroyed the Scott law, and with it they
have broken down all regulation and re
strsint OF the evils OF the liquor traffic
and have robbed tho people of a just
source Of revenue to the amount o.
S2,OOo,OOO annually. But it is said that the
law is unconstitutional. We have onl
respective opinions as to whether it shoult
ever have been 80 declared, and We like
wise have our respective opinions as to the
manner in which the decision was SO
cured. But suppose it was unconstitu
tional for the reason assigned by thu
Court, 1t does not follow that another lik'
| il would be II it omitted the lien clause OF
which the Court rested its deCieion. o.
the contrary, the Court has held that /
would not be. In other words, it il
the decision OF the Supreme Court o
Ohio that while the scottlaw, according Il
the last decision, was for the partiCula
reason assigned unconstitutional, yet tina
Tits constitutional ard entirely eompeten
to tax the liquor traffic, and 10 regulate i
so as to suppress its evils. The Court ha
never presumed to say that it was uncon
gtitutional to tax the traffic. 1t was til,
duty, therefore, OF the last Legislature,
Il wanted TO serve the best interests OF TIT
pcopIe OF the State, to have promptly re
enacted another law for the taxation o
the LIQUOR traffic when tho Scott law va
abrogated by the Supreme Court decision
But Il failed to do so; it neglected It's op
portunity, aud that OF itself is GnOthe
reason why the Democratic party SHOULD
be turned out and the Republican part,
put in.
law as the Scott law was, and they no
only want il, but they intend to have Il
Not that We imagine that such law wi
be entirely satisfactory TO everybody, 70
we do not. On the contrary, We kno'
that some people will be satisfied wit
nothing but lic0Dse, others with nothiu
hut prohibition, willie others wantabsOlut
free trade; such as we are practically haI
ing now but because so long as We liv
under our present Constitution-which "
must do until the people change it-it
the only practicable and the most nearl
satisfactory measure We can have.
The Republican purity is practical pal
ty. 1t takes hold OF the situation as 1t es
lists and makes tho most and the best poi
sible out OF It. And hence II Is that tn
Republican party, recognizing the aituI
ton as II Is, declares itself to be in lave
Of the regulation and the taxation Of III
LIQUOR traffic. Our Democratic friends d
not pretend to say that the liquor trait
ought not to be taxed. On the contrary
they conceded that right two years age
and they OoncedO that right now. Thei
only objection Is that thOy do not want ;
| tar It until they can amend the Conatitu
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