Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1885-07-16
Democratic Corruption and Extrava-
gance.


gance.
The Democratic managers are now
anxious, and they will be still more SO as
the October election, when the people
will pass upon their record, approaches,
to avoid a discussion of the character
and extravaganza of the Legislature.
That it was corrupt body no intelli-
gent citizen of Ohio need be told The
methods employed to elect II. B. Payne
u. S. Senator are in themselves sufficient
to fix its reputation as mercenery body.
We have endeavored to impress upon
the Senate of the Senate of the United
States, in its own interest and in the in
terests of decency. to investigate that
election. We have tried to convince
Mr.. Payne, if he really believes as he
processes, that he was elected without
the dishonest use of money, to rise in
his seat in the Senate and ask for an in
vestigation, but he is deaf to all such ap-
peals. There will be no Investigations.
The Senate will not move of its own ac>
cord. The seat of II. Z. Payne is not
the only one that represents Doodle rath-
er than an honest constituency.
But the people of Ohio are called upon
to investigate and pass judgment. The
Democratic Legislature and the party it
represented is arraigned at the bar OF
public opinion, and within the next three
months it will be tried, and in October
it will be found guilty, among other
things, of having lastingly disgraced the
State of Ohio by sending to the .. S.
Senate man who could not have been
chosen without the use of corrupt meth
DDS. The importance of this trial is
made still more important by reason Of
the barefaced proposition that is now
made and the methods that are being
notoriously employed to elect Demo
cratic majority to the next Legislature
that will be ready to adopt the Payne
methods, or in other words, the Doodle
methods, to elect Senator to take the
place of John Sherman. 1t is the first
step thot always tells. Having once
debauched the Legislature and disgraced
the State and shocked the moral sensi-
bilities of the people, it is now proposed
to run the approaching election and
manage the next Legislature on the
same line, and the contest is virtually
reduced to this. The question is, wheth>
er the Doodle party shall control the
Legislature or whether the honest peoe
pie of the State shall be fairly and
worthily represented in that body. Album
dant evidence of this, if any were re-
guired, is to be found in the Highland
House methods employed in nominating
Democratic candidates for the Legisla+
tRre, and the source of this evidence,
too, is Democratic. OF course the Dem
ocratic party, as such, can not escape the
responsibility for the acts of its Legisla-
ture, nor can it escape the responsibiil-
ity for the course of its managers in the
Legislative and Senatorial districts of
the State. The Doodle party or the coal
oil party propose to carry the Legisla>
ture under cover of the Democratic or
ganization. To that end they will use
the candidate for Governor, and to that
end they will work the Prohibition
movement for all that is in it. and the
latter. knowingly on the part of some
of its leaders and innocently on the part
of others, will be tail to the kite of the
coal-oil and Doodle gang.
Dropping this Senatorial disgrace, let
us look at the financial feature of the
Democratic record. The financial RET
suits of a Legislature come home to the
pockets of every taxpayer in the State.
1t has been said of the late Democratic
Legislature, that it might have done a
great deal worse, and this is'the feature
that Gov. Hoadly must have had in mind
when he commenced it. 1t was certain
ly relief when it adjourned, having
authorized and caused an increase of ten
million dollars in the municipal indebt
edness of the State. For this it was at
least indirectly responsible. For the
increase in State taxation and expendi-
tores its responsibility is of course di-
rect. How does this record stand?
The Democrats had control of the
Legislature in 1878 70. That, we think,
was called the OConnor Legislature,and
a bad concern it was. 1t had Republi>
can State officers, however, to serve as
brakes; nevertheless it increased the
State expenses to an average,of 2,637,-
59l 80, while at the same time it demoT+
allied, as far as in its power, the benev-
olent institutions of the State. That
Legislature and its legislation proved
too much for the people, and the Repub-
lican party was restored to power, and
in 1S8O-S1, 'S2 and 'S3 the average annu+
al expenditures were reduced TO $780,
525 40. Now comes the Coal-oil Legis-
lature, and for 18S4-S5 it has increased
the average annual expenditure to
$3.254,614 so. From these figures,
too, we have carefully omitted extraor-
dinary expenditures. Let us repeat
these startling aggregates. for they de
serve to be carefully impressed upon the
mind of every taxpayer.
Average annual
expenditures
The Bishop Administration $2.637 ,591 SO
The Foster Administrations 2,347,52 As
The Hoadly Administration 3,254,6l4 so