The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1888-10-17
An Outrage on Decency.


The most indecent, scandalous and in
famous campaign article printed this year,
so far as we have observed, appeared as
an editorial in Saturdays Journal under
the caption of "CLEvELAND's Gift to the
Banks"
From the bottom of our heart, we pity
the man who wrote it. We pity him be-
cause any man who, for political advant-
age, can get down into the mire of deliac-
ton and calumny and deliberately pen
such villainous ISLANDERS as that article
contained must have a bad heart and
foul imagination-and such creatures
should be pitied. With all the facts be-
fore him, this man accuses President
CLEVELAND of personally profting by the
deposit OF the public funds in banks-an
accusation so base, so malicious, so utterly
unfounded, that we do not hesitate to say
that no person not utterly devoid OF con-
science would make it.
The writer deliberately lies when he
says that the sums now on deposit in
banks are nearly five times as7much as
they were under a republican administra-
ton. The reverse is true. They were
four times as large under President
HAYES administration as they are to-day,
as we showed from the official records
Saturday. The writer of this falsehood
knows that the deposits were made
by the administration under protest,
and in order to save the country
from financial panic; that both the presi-
dent and secretary OF the treasury have
repeatedly expressed their disapproval of
this policy, and only adopted it, and with
great reluctance, as a choice of evils that
no discrimination was shown in placing
the deposits, but that all the banks and
ali the sections had precisely the same OPP
portunities in the matter. Knowing all
this, this unspeakable BLACKBOARD says:
A president who has shown himself TO DO
thoroughly inscriptions and ENTHUSIASTICALLY
in politics has no right TO complain If, under
suspicious circumstances, his personal honesty
is questioned. If the president is directly or
indirectly party 10 the transaction by which
favored banks are protiting TO the extent OF
S3,600,0O0 year by these enormous deposits of
government funds, he is personally dishonest,
4 man Of his habits and loose principles, who
has brought himself 10 believe that his re-
election is necessary 10 the welfare of the coun-
try, could very easily 60 a step further and
| justify himself in accepting campaign dona-
lion of $4,000 10 be made in his name by
banks that We're protting by his generosity
with the public money.
And this appears in the columns OF BES
| HARRIsoN's personal organ. Il reads very
much as if it were written by Ben HARRI-
son himself, and perhaps it was. BE that
as it may, it is an outrage on decency.
| President CLEvELAND's absolute integrity
has never, TO our knowledge, been ques-
toned before, even by his bitterest oppo-
nent. His name, indeed, is synonym
for rugged honesty. The people of
Buffalo, without regard to party, made
him mayor OF that city to break up o cor
rupt republican ring that had fastened it.
self upon the municipality. He broke it
up. The people of New York state then
made him governor for like purpose.
He fulfilled all their expectations. Then
the people of the United States made him
president, and for three years and a half
he has fought from the white
house the rings. combines, trusts
and mOnopolies, the land grabbers,
the thieving contractors, the subsidy mon
gers and the great army of pubic plum
derers of high and low degree. And after
all these years of vigorous warfare upon
corruption and prohigacy the personal
organ of BENJAMIN HARRISON accuses him
of venality. There could be no lower
depth of organic degradation than Ben
HARRIsoN's newspaper touched when il
printed this infamous article.