The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-30
The Bristow Report.

Those interested in government az
fairs will read with interest the
lengthy summary Of Mr.. BristoW's re-
port on the postoffice frauds, made
public to-day. They will read with
even more interest the presidents
comment on the report. The subject
matter Of both report and comment
has been thoroly threshed over in the
newspapers and there is not much to
be said about the frauds that has not
already been said. 1t is disheartening
to the patriotic citizen to see how cor
rupt public employees can. become
corrupt not only to their own benefit
but to the great injury of the people.
Until these postoffice frauds came
out the honest people Of. this country
had believed that however corrupt
city and state officials might be, the
great sin Of the day-graft-had not
fastened itself upon the federal gov
fernment. The discoveries that have
been made arouse the fear and sus-
picion that other departments of the
federal government may be rotten, and
that after all, graft has corroded the
fabric of national government quite as
much as 1t has municipal. ..' ..>
If such be the case, we can only
hope that all the rascals will be
eventually found out and punished,
and that the work of. experimenting
them will be as thoro as it has been
under Bristow in the postoffice de-
L. i,, ~AL 49,
ments, If such there be, will doubt
less take warning from the disgrace
and humiliation that has overtaken
Machen and Beavers and others who
thought themselves fully defended
from detection and secure in. the en-
joyment Of graft, it,, ,.~~.~.
The rascals will find no words of
consolation or encouragement in the
presidents remarks. The gist of them
Is that every guilty man must be pun
ished and that neither political fear
nor favor will stand between justice
and the offenders. =
There are no notes of extenuation
excuse or explanation in what the
president says. Great offenses against
the state have been revealed, and
the offenders must be punished, let
the. ak fall where it will. These
frauds mean trouble for the presi-
: dent. Most of the Offenders are poll
tfcians with influential connections
These will all now be lined up with
the presidents opponents within his
party. The democrats, moreover, will
construe the frauds as an indictment
against the republican administration
of the government. r..
We think, however, that in the end
this unpleasant affair will make the
president more friends than enemies
1t has given him one more opportunity
to show to the country of what sturdy
stuff he Is made. 1t shows him as fa1
more than politician in the presi-
dents chair. The politician would
have hushed up the postoffice scan.
dals and contented himself with tell.
h Ing the rascals to be good But Pres
ident Roosevelt has taken a course
which has brought the scandals into
q lime light of publicity. He has pub
licly admitted their gravity. The peo-
pie like a frank man. They will not
be tempted to dispense with the presi-
dents services for another term be-
cause he has been guilty of cleaning
out a government department They
prefer the cleaning, even with some
malodorous accompaniment, to cor.
ruption concealed by a policy OF hush
Ing UP for the sake of the party.