The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-10-23
CURRENT COMMENT.

Mark Hanna is busy in Ohio, trying
10 keep Tom Johnson from pushing
| him out of his seat in the senate and
Mark Twain is wrestling with Tamma-
ny in New York and trying to twist the
tigers tail. "Trusty" Mark is having
| such q hard time in his enterprise that
he is shouting for spellbinding rein
forcements from Washington, while the
indications in New York are that the
old Mississippi pilot is about to run his
boat against a democratic stump.-Sa-
Yannah News.
Thomas W. Gilmer, the man who
made the initial discoveries Of graft
ing in the postoffice department and
as an outcome of whose labors thirty
persons have been indicted and upward
Of $200,0 900 worth Of graft unearthed,
was reduced in salary from 1900 to
81. 500 a year and transferred to an in
ferior position as a punishment for
having made himself obnoxious to
those whose official conduct he in his
line of duty investigated. The wonder
is he was not permitted to resign."-
Atlanta Constitution.
Japan is trying to make it appear that
it is our duty to tackle Russia for
the failure of the cars government to
evacuate Manchuria. 1t is pointed out
at Tokio that the pledge of Russia to
quit the province was made specifically
to the United States and not to Japan
or any other power and that We nave
been fiouted by the disregard of the
promise. There is something in that, of
course. for it is a fact that, not only
was Russia's promise given to us, but
our government made a great boast of
its triumph in wrestling the pledge
from st. Petersburg. Blu that we will
fight the Russians because they have
violated their solemn word is not to be
thought of.-CharlestOn Post.
We hear that the recent scandal at
tending the marriage Of a United states
senator in this city has brought we're
criticism upon the Doctor of Divinity
d. who performed the ceremony. Why, it
is said, did he not refer the hlushing
pair to u Tammany alderman? But
this, we are sure. is to do a grievous
wrong to Il good man. Before giving
the sanction of religion TO this union.
We have no doubt that the clergyman
made certain hat the senator would
stand like Il rock against admitting an
open, or eve a suspected, Eolygarnist
to the senate. and would contribute
handsomely to any society working for
purity in the home. Besides. might not
the unjustly accused divine plead that
little irregularities in private life had
been fully "~condOned" by the triumph
ant reelection of the offender, at the
hands of the party of moral ideas?-
l New York Post.
1t is not risking much to assert that if
any one would take the roubIe to col
lect the statistics bearing on the sub
ject, it would be found that corruption,
inefficiency, neglect and rOttenness in
greater or less degree constitute the rule
in municipal governments throughout
the United States. One rarely picks w
a that he does not find sup
! port of that assertion. Every day near
! ly appears some new candidate for no.
toriety in this line. The contamina-
, ton seems to be constantly spreading
The stupendous bOodling unearthed in
st. Louis, the gigantic system of graft
Carter Harrison referred to as obtain
ing in the Chicago city hall, the whole
sale "knock-dOWns' that from time tC
time have been revealed in New York,
the un~blushing matchmaking and steal
ing that have characterized Philadel-
phia but represent in more glarlng
form and on the larger scale the oppor-
tunity offers, what is going on IN com
munities. big and little, all over the
Iand.-Richmond News Leader
1t is probably within the truth tC
saw the democracy of the country al
large smiled a smile of pleasure when
it read in the telegraph c9lumns that
the fusion movement of New York city
was in dire straits. Tammany is per-
haps the proprietor of as much ~Villainy
as its enemies have charged But Tam
many is also the proprietor Of not a few
! charms. Standing for the spoils sys-
tenn, and perhaps, to as great an e
tent as alleged, for corruption, the tiger
has also always stood guard over the
liberties of the citiZen-and without dis
Suise. Moreover to the democracy OF
the n at large. and especially to
the democracy of the south. Tammany
has always been as a rOlitical polar
star. In the darkest hour of our dark
est night the organization has stead
tasty stood for those things for which
We hoped and toward which we aspired.
In days of reconstruction, when all else
was bl3ck-paled. the lights n the wig
wan streamed out in cheering rays,
ana since then. when democrats and
democratic organizations fickereI and
fled, the soiled plume OF Tammany's BIG
chief waved doggedly anu loyalty on
high. and furnished that around which
all other loyalists might rally. Atlanta
News