The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-14
CORRUPTION sELF-CoNFEssED.

CORRUPTION SELF-CONFESSED
Not even any Republican newspaper
in the United States, as far as we have
seen, has the hardihood to deny the
utter corruption of Ohio politics as evil
denced in the late senatorial struggle
The best and the worst of them alike
are full of expressed regrets for the
shameful situation. Yet most of them
dare to throw about their own faction
and its candidate the mantle of holi-
ness. and tc utter against the opposi-
ton a charge that comes home TO
themselves with unanswerable force
We quote, by way of illustration, from
the Minneapolis Journal: 'The scenes
at Columbus have been revolving
enough tC disgust even the bribemon-
ger with his own corrupt practices.
There has BEEN an upheaval of all that
is befouling in Ohio politics, and every
device Known to unprincipled men has
been resOrted to for the purpose of de-
feating the expressed will of the Re-
Po'hANe'4i POI y III lllC SldlS vi COuTSG1
the skirts of the combiSation that pre-
vailed in the senatorial election by
single vote are clear of completely in
this shame. The Journal makes this
its position by declaring that 1.-The
whole voting procedure at Columbus
was a piece of rascality." The result,
it says, was made desperately close
by the corrupt Vaccinations of the
Bushnell Republican element and tho
free silver men,"
Let us look into this a little more
closely. The fact of corruption is ad-
mitted. The question is, by whom
was it practiced? The Journal, in
common with all the regular Republi-
can organs, outside of Ohio, places the
sole responsibility upon those
members Of the Ohio legislature
who voted against MI Hanna. In the
same issue of the Journal from which
we quoted, and only two columns dis
tant from its editorial confession, is a
written statement, signed by seven Re-
ture, asking that charges of bribery
against M. A Hanna, Charles Dick, S.
D. Hollenbeck and Henry Harrison
Boyce be investigated. These charges
are explicit, and declare that money
was used to secure the reelection of
Senator Hanna. One of the signers
states over his own name that he "ab-
solutely knows that Mr.. Hanna did at
tempt to bride" This man says that
the sum Of $4,000 was offered to him
directly, by a person whom he names,
In order to purchase his vote for Mr..
Hanna as senator. This is direct tes-
timony. 1t is corroborated by indirect
evidence of the strongest possible ma
lure.
1t would be amusing, were it not
so disgusting, to listen to the glori-
ications of Republican editors over the
triumph of straight Republicanism and
party discipline in Ohio. when we look
at the fact that the election of Mr.
Hanna was due to the votes of men
chosen on their pledge to vote against
him. In the city of Cincinnati there was
a. fusion ticket whose members, support
ed by Democrats and antf-Hanna Re-
puhicans. went to the people on the
single platform of opposition to the re-
turn of Mr.. Hanna to the senate
These members were elected by a
handsome plurality. Whatever else
they might do, and with whatever
party they might act on other issues,
they were bound by their promise to
their constituents to oppose the re-
election of Senator Hanna. 1t was by
the aid of their votes that he succeed
ed, and without those votes he could
not have been returned 1t is left
open to any man to decide for himself
what were the reasons which induced
this remarkable change of front 1t
certainly does net lie in the mouth Of
any Republican to talk about the "cor-
rupt Vaccinations" of the opposition
and about the maintenance of party in
tegrity, when this fusion contingent
was carried, by means which the party
managers alone understand, into the
Hanna camp, and when he received
from their hands the certificate of re-
election.
If we are looking for evidences cf de-
fance of popular will, we must take up
first the action of the Cincinnati mem