Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-01-07
ASsAILING tTHE CHARACTER OF OP-
P0NENTS.

George Alfred Townsend, in a letter to the
Cincinnati Enquirer, thinks it is fortunatefor
right criticism Of the character of officials
that at least two of the Cabinet officers of
the Administration have made money
while in office, because the party is now in
power which has always held " that a pub
lie servant ought to be out at the knees
and down in the mouth" Postmaster
General Villas, for instance is now worth
$1,000 00-due largely to recent rise in
the value Of property in which he invested
General Villas is an honest man; no one
win venture to assail his integrity for his
character is that of uprightness, and good
men will be pleased to learn that he has
succeeded financially. 1t is the meanest
and most vicious of methods that can be
employed in criticising public men, to in
innate that their financial success is due to
their official administration. The Albany
Journal well says:
1t is really remarkable that newspapers SO of
ten undert stimate the lntellig nee of their
readers as 10 base political argument on the
fact that a man has been in public Office and at
the same time has been able to accumulate
money. THIS was one of the principal charges
against Mr.. Blaine in the Presidential contest.
1t is the principal charge against Senator Sher-
man. Every one knows that dishonest man
in Office might steal but every one does not stop
| TO think that man of high character holding
a prominent public place would, from selfish
standpoint, make great mistake to imperil his
reputation and risk his political fortunes by pill
fering, when his pilferings must surely sooner
or later, come to light.
1t is discernable now that change is
taking place for the better in this matter
of assaults upon the characters of public
men by political opponents. The people
receive with marks of disapprobation, more
positive and emphatic than ever before,
political efforts to pull down and destroy
character because the person happens to
be serving his country. The fact is, that
while our civil list contains the names of
nearly 100000 officials, up to the 30th of
June last only seventy-six officials were
found in that fiscal year to be short in
their accounts. 1t is very much lighter
proportion than obtains in non-official life.
The practice of assailing all officers as
pickers and stealers results in the people
refusing to believe the press when really
dishonest official is denounced There is
venality among those in public life, just as
there is abuse of confidence among those
in whom trust is reposed in private walks.
When there is unmistakable evidence of
wrong-doing in office, it is the Office of the
press to expose it and hold it up to public
view. But it is very different thing
when suspicion is invoked simply because
citizen holds an Office of trust The
press, we think, is coming around to
realization of the fact that it loses power
among the people by such indiscriminate
onslaughts; it is beginning to feel the YER
dict of the people in these matters, and the
consequence will be greater circumspec-
ton in criticism of public officials as time
progresses. AS Mr.. Townsend puts it, "the
warfare on individuals who have managed
to keep themselves out of the poor-house
while attending to public affairs is going
to stop"