Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1898-10-06
THURSDAY EVENING, oCr. 6, 1898.

THAT THE machine leaders of the
republican party in New York look
upon politics as merely game for Of
fee, patronage and plumber is tknown
of all men. The platform adopted by
the late democratic convention OF New
York is devoted mainly to State is
sues. 1t is true and terrible arraign-
ment of the misdeeds of the republican
State government, and shows how they
have availed themselves of power I'M
worthily obtained in 1896 to plumber
the people aud Cypress all decent citi'
zens. Amid the class of people who
have put up Mr.. Roosevelt, tax lodging
even by the method OF perjury has be-
come a high public virtue. At the time
when the income tax was proposed dur
ing the last Cleveland administration
in order to make the rich men bear
their proportion of the public burthens,
the Eastern organs of the plutocrats
openly boosted that perjury would be
resorted to in order tc defeat the exc
cution CT the law. They saw nothing
wrong in ali this. Mr.. Roosevelt sees
nothing wrong in all this recent per-
Torrance of his in tax lodging. He
has the morals of the rich men with
whom his days and nights are spent.
He is neither better nor worse than
thew are, so far as tax lodging is con-
cerned. They believe in the bottom OF
their hearts that the farmers and the
laboring class ought to pay all the
taxes. But in one respect Mr.. Roose-
Welt seems to have sunk below the
level of his companions. 1t is asserted
that when he was police commissioner
of New York city he played the
part of a common vulgar detective
spy and eavesdropper, Disgusting him
self and going about the lowest quar-
tiers in midnight hours in order to catch
saloon keepers who might happen TO
violate the liquor law or any policeman
who might be caught giving any sort
of aid or countenance to such saloon
keepers. This and the other business
of playing the spy and detective on
fallen women are occupations far too
low for gentleman. Mr.. Roosevelt's
club companions would have left this
sort of dirty work for some one else.
Such is the charge made against Mr..
Roosevelt. 1t is thousand times
worse than tax lodging. But leaving
This, is it crime for poor man to
drink glass of beer in a saloon, aud
yet virtuous, legal, honorable and nice
for dillitanti statesman and clubman
to drink champagne at club amid
luxurious surroundings? Yet this is
the case presented by Mr.. Roosevelt
and the advocates of the Raines liquor
law. 1t is this sort OF discrimination
between the poor and the rich that has
made in the city of New York barrier
of prejudice between the classes nearly
as wide and rancorous as that which
preceded the French revolution The
idea that there is to be one set OF taxes
Tor the poor and another for the rich,
by which the former are to bear the
principal burden, is an evidence Of the
insanity of the Eastern plutocracy.
These people may employ BLACKBOARD
epithets and denounce democrats as
anarchists" as they did in 1896, but
the people ere long will rise and drive
them from power. Mr.. Roosevelt be-
longs to this gang. Affecting indie
pendence and purity, he capitulates to
Plat, wears his collar, and PIRATES Of
public virtue, while he upholds Alger
and jobbery.
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