The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1890-02-07

4 posislea, Conspiracy v hleh stands Alone
IN American niistery.
II a common and notorious criminal Is
I found consorting with those Of his own
class. no one is surprised; IL. under
stress 81 examination before q court Of
law. such man admits that he has used
as tools men even mcaner than himself
expecting 70 profit by their rascality
the world says: why. II il only 3
case OF Fagin and The Artful Dodger'-
employer and employed. the one prolnis-
ing support, advancement and protcc-
ton; the other returns" From Grim
inals we all expect cJmo. and long fa-
miliavify with its manifestations has
dullcd the edge Of surprise.
When. however. the scene shifts from
crime to politics and we find a man but
yesterday a prominent candidate OF one
Of the leading parties for the nominal
ton to the Presidency OF the United
States--thc browning honorable ambi-
ton OF every statesman contrasting to
having dealt with trickster 70 compass
his election as Governor o. Ohio con-
Tossing to the long series of lies, eva
sions and tergiyersations which marked
the earlier history OF the episode Of the
Wood letter. 1t is enough to bow the
head OF every American with shame
that such things can be. and lead him
70 pledge the efforts Of his life to purg-
ing. not alone the party now involved
but the political system Of the country
Of such evil.
II is scarcely worth while 70 20 deeply
into an analysis OF the ease, and the
Free Press will not attempt il. Two
witnesses -accompliccs in this atrocious
political fraud 10 place Mr..
Foraker before the American people.
convicted as charged These are Wood,
who concoctcd the forgery, and Joseph
Benson Foraker. the beneficiary con-
templated when the crime was Matched.
Imagine man. a leader in his State,
prominent in the National councils OF
his party; lawyer-one who had been
judgc--imaginc him being deceived"
by such person as Wood. The wish of
Mr.. Foraker was the devil which stood
at his elbow and inspired both thought
and act. The thought in his mind may
have been this: IL am Governor: ! wish
to be Governor again. that / may one
day be President. feel defeat in the
air. II am defeated, my end is come.
will risk all on this last Device"
And so the man recommended to him
BY an obscure political heller was re-
tanned to produce certain evidence; and
he did So 1t was delivered TO Mr.. For
aker The candidate did not intend it
for publications. at all; it was too
shaky for that He intended it to be
shown to this one and that one ''about
headquarters" To be talked OF by
Democrats and Republicans: to elbow
its way into the press in the form OF in
situations and innucndoes-and to kill
Mr.. Campbell-whom Mr.. Foraker in
his heart knew to be innocent. because
it would not take form definite enough
TO be answered.; before it was too late to
counterfeit its influence.
The testimony shows one thing with
the utmost clcarness. IL shows that
neither Halstead nor Foraker was above
using paper upon which the name Of
one Democratic candidate appeared &C.
companicd by those OF Sherman.
Mckinley. Butterfield and other Re-
publicans as . weapon against that
Democrat while the signatures Of the
Republicans were suppressed.
This brands Foraker and Halstcad
alike as political tricksters.
The testimony shows another thing
to the satisfaction Of every thinking
man-that Foraker was party. from
first TO last, to the fraud which was
planned to defeat Campbell and compass
his own election. This - shown in the
stories he told at the time OF the original
exposure. when he denied that he knew
at certain date that any other name
than that Of Campbell appeared upon
the paper-a story contradicted by his
own testimony upon the stand; this is
shown by his easy deception by cheap
adventurcr; his payment OF money to
that man TO 90 upon second mission
for him, when Foraker himself so seri-
ously suspected Wood that he was led to
hire another man to watch him: IL is
shown by his tacit consent to the pre-
conceived exposure and his failure to
give any man whose name appeared
upon the forged paper the least chance Of
explanation.
Foraker is as dead as Ramcses Ii;
Halstead should be also. but what Of
Forakerism and what Of Halsteadism?
Do they die with those who will give
them name for all time?
Let us be thankful that even Harri-
son rather than Foraker is President,
and that Halstead is at home rather
than at foreign court. Then let us
put the heels on the head. not the tail,
OF the Ohio-idea snake and be done with
it-Detroie FREQ Press.
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