The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-11-11
Corruption Funds
and Their Uses.
BY Ambrose Bierce.

use of money 10 oeIedl Ai9
party. 1t is a righteous indignation
True. the man does not commonly know
anything about what he points out
unless he has himself taken some of the
money.
Men who use money cOrruDtly are
rogues. but. as a rule, not fools, except
in the general sense that all rogues are
fools. for no folly is greater than that
of dishonesty. Indubitably the rascal
who tries to carry an election" by the
ilegimate use of money is a Ounce OF
magnitude but Individually his stupid
ity does not find expression IN taxing
into his confidence anybody but the
persons who - the money. And these
do not tell. hOET then, excepting IN
rare instances of planned exposure or
confession under pressure do the others
know about it? They do not; they mere
Iy suspect. Almost all the TAX OF
bribery" the purchase OF votes ana
so forth, has no foundation in known
fact | do not say that the fact does
not exist; only that it's existence is sell
dom known to the accuSer, who, II re-
uuired to make good his accusation
as he might be if he had not the pru-
dence to be rather vague-WouId De
missed for season from his customary
environment.
The corrupt use OF money to carry
an election is a thing easy to affirm;
it is one of the cheapest and handiest
arguments against the opposing party.
ANYBODY can use it: no thought, no
knowledge. no mental ability is re-
quired 1t is as serviceable to the polit-
icaI peasant as to the scholar and
statesman Like bad language and
these ugly nicknames which have no
special personal appropriateness, II IS
free to all, and, like them, has the merit
.T,sTT ~ NH sah re
for as effective use against the man
ayers of one political party as those or
another 1t is a dead cat that any hand
can fling into any crowd
| say can understand and sympathize
with the indigna ton of a man making
that accusation-if he is sincere. What
1 Go not understand is his amazing
choice of a political party upon which
to empty the walls of his wrath; he IS
always mad at the wrong one. If ne
will have the goodness to loan me his
attention 1 will try to make this as
clear to him as the use of some words
of more than one syllable will permit.
Let me be frank. The advantage Of
these remarks, if they have any, will
necessarily accrue to the Republican
party That party has the most money,
therefore, probably, the largest cam
paign fund
That this fund is as great, or nearly
as great, or a tenth part as great as
the Democratic writers and speakers
say it is, there is no reason whatever
to suppose. These gentlemen have &C
cess to ali the resources of arithmetic
to assist them in stating it's amount
and to none of the books which might
enable them to state it correctly II
! they wanted 10; and they are in no ap-
urehension of disDTOOf. Under these
circumstances it would be strange, in
, deed. if they did not permit magma
a Z, md
. Nor are they in possession of any proof
F whatever that the money is used, or is
, to be used. more cOrruDtly than the
campaign fund of their own party.
That is an assumption based upon what
they conceive to be the low morality Of
those whom they believe to contribute
omst of the money and those whom
> they know to handle it.
! For the purpose OF this article let US
! admit the truth of the assumption
! that the money is mainly contributed
: by the wicked trusts and expended in
. such rascaIly ways as the corruption OF
= the press and the purchase of votes
> But to what class of editors and voters
a will it naturally go? To Republicans.
Surely Senator Hanna and his accom-
o plices (bad men as l concede them &c
! be- are not so foolish as to purchase
. what will come to them without price
II The stupidity of knaves is hardly st
4 hopeless and impenitent as that. WheT
: Senator Hanna seeks DuTChaSable Vot-
: ers he will not go among voters whom
4 he does not need to purchase, Will he
+ If he brides enough men to carry the
: presidential election they viii be most
" Democrats, will they not? Now
O fancy all will admit that there is NJ
II moral difference between giving bTlb'
r and accepting one. Even the law Wit
o its tendency (being usually the WORT
? of lawyers) to fine and fanciful dis
l. Il e-~4v 0raNr Ton
% tween them. Bribe-giving is a feion!
and bribe-taking is a felony-the bride
). and the briber are impartialiy III
a danger of hell fire" One is as great
! scoundrel as the other
Now, not many men are engaged il
- handling a campaign fund corTuptly
a and not many of it's contributors hav
10 guilty knowledge of its use. If it re
Y quired 100000 Republican rOgues I
: buy the votes of 1000, 900 Democrats
q rogues one might say the "honors
~ were easy"
" But that is not so; we all know tina
d when votes Of sovereign electors ar
/ purchased the sellers are many an
? the buyers few. What follows?
This follows: The severest indictmen
"a that one can draw against ones OW-
n party is to accuse the other party O
N having won an election by the cOTrup
use of money but for the prevalence O
rascaIs in the party corrupted. Unles
the Democratic party has many time
as many rascaIS as +he ReDUblica
party no Democrat SHOULD express
fear of Mr.. Hanna and his money bag
for every Democrat processes to q q
that it has an immense natural ma
- jority. Yet all the Democratic writer
er and speakers do fear, or loudly probes
10 TO fear the Republican -'cOTrdI tiCn
X fund, and are apparently viTtuOusly in
1e dignant against those who handle j
e while they have not a word of DISCUS
rs for the Democratic ra5cality Wiaic
II makes It profitable to 10 so.
m That is what 1 do not comprehend
: why in dealing damnatiOn round
g upon the sons of political corruptiO
1r the indignant patriot should so mis-
to place the leaven Of his wrath. 1 do NJ
re belong to any political party. If I Git
Is and thought I had reason to fear its d'
IN feat by dishonesty of the money pOwe
lr I hose that heaven would give n
at strength to execute tle quickest 'flOI
IN on record.