Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-11-26

was only Cqualcd by another, wherein an OK
politician was for four years expected 10 up
hold the honor of IA flag of great nation
over an ocean he had never tempted, with
discipline tho Iudmcnts of which hc could
scarcely acquire before he was removed, or
his term of office expired, receiving his orders
from a superior officer as ignorant of his
special duties as himself, and subjected to the
revision of n congress corniHant of him only
as n politician At the further end OF the
avenue was another department so vast in its
extent and SO varied in it, functions that few
of the really great practical workers OF the
land would have accepted its responsibility
, for ten times its salary, but which tho most
perfect constitution in the world handed over
to men who were obliged to make it n step
ping stone to future prefermcnt. There was
another department, more suggestive of its
financial functions from the occasional OK
travagances or economies exhibited in its pay
rolls-succCssvc congresses having taken other
matters ont OF its hands-prcsidcd over by an
official who bore the title and responsibility
/ of tho custodian and disburscr of the nations
purse, and received n salary that bank
president would have shifted at. For it was
part of this constitutional Inconsistency and
administrative absurdity that in the matter
of honor justice, fidelity TO trust and even
| business integrity, the official was always ex-
pected to be the superior of the government
| he represented. Yet the browning nconsist-
ency was that, from time to time, it was sub
mitted to the sovereign people to declare if
these various inconsistencies were not really
! the perfect expression of the most perfect
government the world had known And it
is TO be recorded that the unanimous voices of
representative, orator and unfcttercd poetry
were that it whsl
Even the public press lent itself to the great
Inconsistency. 1t was as clear as crystal to
the Journal on one side of the avenue that the
country was going to the dogs unless the
spirit of the fathers once more terminated
the public; it was equally clear TO the Journal
on the other side of the avenue that only a
rigid adherence to the letter Of the fathers
would save the nation from decline 1t was
obviou, to the first raiad Journal that the
letter" meant government patronage to the
other journal; it was potent to that Journal
that the ">hr}cl," of Senator Y really ami
mated the spirit of the fathers. Yet all
agreed that IL was a great an" @oou ana per-
feet goycruHont-suli.' e only to the preda-
tory ncuralons OF hydra headed monster
known as II ping Inc ring origin was
wrapped III secrecy, IT. lecuhdl'y was alarm
ing; but although Its rapaclty was prefer
natural its digestion was perfect ana easy.
1t circumvoiNcd all affairs IN an atmosphere
of mystery; it clouded all things with the
dust and ashes OF diStluSt All dlSappoht-
ment OF place, OF avalice, OF incompetency or
ambition, was clearly attributable to it. 1t
even permcated private and social life; there
were rings in our Kitchen and household se:-
vice; in our public schools, that kept the
active mtcliSonres of our children passive;
there were rn-S ~ cAIa2hS' handsome MS
,oute youn; fellows who kept us moral
but uncngagin" Seniors from the iavors
of the fair: there Wcro subtle conSpHnS
rings among our creditors which sent us INTO