Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-11-02

no longer look up to an honest and
efficient public servant with respect
and honor, but mainly upon the party
bosses and workers, who are chiefly to
be secured for financial arrangements
of different kinds. 1t results that he
must either pursue the system or quit
politics. But by this time he has prob
ably become so involved as to be
financially unable to live without the
Office. So he has but little prospect
of getting even, unless he can devise
some method of diverting portion of
the public funds to his own pocket.
Do not understand me as defending
official dishonesty. | only mean that
when the punishment comes it ought
to be remembered that the unfortunate
victim is largely the scapegoat Of the
people"
Il agree with you" said third
member Of the group, that official
corruption is produced by the public
Indifference, but you have said nothing
about the low popular standard Of
political morals. 1t is especially due
to the fact that there is among the
masses a profound and widespread dis
belief in the entire probity of all de-
grees of men in public life and de-
spair of effecting a complete and per-
manent reform; not a belief that many
public men will actually steal, but that
they are nearly all, veil it as you will,
essentially on the make; that public
positions are no longer sought as OPP
portunities of doing good and thus
obtaining the respect and esteem of
the community, but are rated solely
according to their money producing
capacity and are worked in every con-
ceivable way for the financial benefit
o. the incumbent. This may be done
in so many ways without running
against any penal statute, and is so
universally praeticed that the people
know not where to begin to stop it, nor
to whom to look for aid, and 30 nave
sunk into a horeless indifference or
moral lethargy from which they can
only be aroused into spasmodic out
bursts when fragrant crookedness is
Haunted in their faces.
Look at the matter for a moment
from the average citizens point of view,
He sees the highest executive officials
daily accepting large favors from rail-
ways in the shape OF free passes and
the judges of the courts doing the same
thing and probably charging the State
mileage at the same time. He knows
that the former have almost unlimited
discretion in fixing the amount of rail-
called on to try controversies between
railway companies and private citizens.
Can he help thinking that he may
have to pay more than his fair share
Of taxes, or that, should he be so unfor-
tunate as to get into a lawsuit with
railway company, he may go into the
trial heavily handicapped. But it may
be said that he ought to know that
men in these high positions would not
allow themselves to be influenced by
these small courtesies. On the contra
ry he knows that governors and judges
are just as human as other people;
that if these trifling favors were con-
sidered with no value they would not
be accepted, and that railway compa-
MES are not in the free pass business
for their health When he turns to the
legislative branch, hoping to find, if not
great deal of capacity, at least a
comparative absence of selfish greed in
the chosen representatives of the peo-
pie, ne sees half the session wasted over
the creation and distribution of useless
Offices and twaddle about the revision Of
the Constitution, hears great talk about
equalizing taxation and making cOrpo-
rations contribute their share Of pub
llC DuIutuS, ludC dulOullIo W HCIlllllS,
perceives endless devices TO secure adj
ditional money for the members and
officers, knows that the former gener-
ally ride to and from the capital On free
passes ard at the same time charge the
State mileage, and after observing
many similar things is forced to con-
Guide that the chief object of the aver
age member is to work the legislative
job for all there can be realized out of
it in financial way. Can you wonder
that he is but little surprised and I'M
able to get up much indignation when
he is told that the small fry at home
is trying to develop local offices into
paying investments. How could he ex-
pect that they would refrain from fol-
lowing the example Of their betters?