Omaha daily bee., 1902-02-09

bihhu JuAF VI NWO mliiiohuAt bhoihNon
men on the charge Of corruptly negotiat.
ing a street railway franchise and plac
ing 1885, 900 in safety deposit vaults al
the disposal Of members of the St.
Louis municipal Legislature. forcibly H.
illustrates the prevailing double standard
Of public morals that threaten to un
dermine our entire fabric Of selfsgov'
eminent. This deplorable condition was
tersely expressed in the charge Of the
presiding judge to the st. Louis grand
jury, OF which the following is an ex-
tract:
No graver danger exists In our midst
than this Infamous method Of robbing the
people by corrupting their trusted repre-
sentatives. 1t Is a menace to our civic
and political life. 1t is anarchy, for II
strikes an insidious and deadly blow at
government. 1t substitutes the debauch-
ing moneyed power Of corporations acting
through their agents and the unscrup-
| ulops public officers for the lawfully con-
stituted authority vested by the people In
the municipal legislative body to be by
1t honestly and faithfully administered
The higher the position Of the persons
who bribe or are bribed. the greater is
their moral responsibility. because the
moro potent for evil is their wicked ex-
ample.
The double standard Of public morals
that impels men Of the highest
business integrity to engage In Grim
inal practices is by far more
dangerous to the social order and
good government than would be an
| epidemic of forgery. burglary or arson.
II is not confined to the managers Of
franchise corporations and capitalists
who are interested in log rolling special
privileges through municipal, state or
national legislatures. 1t extends through
and permeates our entire political sys-
tenn.
The manager of a railroad company
would scorn the imputation Of dishon-
esty in any form. He would resent as
a gross insult the intimation that he
would knowingly or willingly offer a
bribe to an officer of a competing cor
poration, or countenance any scheme by
which a rival railroad would be robbed
or swindled through dishonest practices
on the part of it's venal employees, but
these highly honorable and respectable
managers DO not feel shocked at any
scheme to subvert justice by the brib-
cry of legislators, executive officers,
court officers and even judges In the in
terest of their corporation.
1t has become a common practice for
these corporation managers to distrib-
ute brides in wholesale at the national
and state capitals to debauch the law
makers, always under the pretext that
they are compelled to poison the well
springs OF the republic as a matter of
self-protection.
The double standard Of public morals
| also permeates the banks and deposit
tories of public funds and concerns in
terested in public works contracts.
| Every honorable banker prides himself
on his ~unassailable integrity. His most
potential capital is public confidence.
He would no more be guilty Of wilfully
~defrauding a patron than he would of
breaking into a vault. But when II
comes to the deposits Of public funds
his conscience is elastic and the double
standard Of morals manifests itself.
The most reputable banks do not
| scruple to keep double accounts with
custodlans Of public funds and they see
nothing wrong in secretly paying inter
est to treasurers on public funds when
they know that under the law every dol
lar of interest belongs to the public and
it's appropriation for private gain con
stitutes embezzlement. What would be
thought Of the banker who would con-
nive with a dishonest cashier who would
solicit interest for his private use on
deposits of money belonging to the firm;
| Would not every bank officer regard II
a matter Of honor to notify a member
| Of the firm that its cashier was afflicted
with kleptomania? Would they not con.
slider il a breach Of faith on their part
to keep any patron Of their bank who Is
being robbed by his employees In the
dark? And yet this is what bankers
of the most approved integrity have
been doing in this state and are doubt
less doing In other states constantly
in their deals with venal and dishonest
public officers.
With the double standard Of morals
1t is all wrong to steal from any indi
vidual or corporation, but it is right t.
steal from the public so long as yor
are rot caught stealing. With the
double standard Of public morals mel
who enrich themselves by %corruptinl
city councils, legislatures, executive
officers and judges can hold their heads
high. play pillar for the church ant
move pompously in exclusive social cir
Giles because of their wealth. But un
less this double standard Of public NOR
ais is made odious and disreputable
commercial integrity and social respect
ability viii fade out of existence anC
become obsolete at no distant day.
Il
A"FORWARD MOVEMENT" IDEA,
The leader Of what Is known as thu
forward movement" In Chicago, thu