The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-11-22

AAlel LEN-4 GU TIE H4A EAAea-s- NA4les 4OD~
berries and extortiOns innumerable are I
being practiced on the American peo- I
pie Where is the community which .
can proudly and truthfully say that it +
is not being plundered as a conse- 4
quence Of the veuahty Of its elected :
or appointed officials?
How many boards of aldermen are
there which stand so high i'm honesty {
as to be above Suspicion In what 4
state do legislatures meet which have 7
the respect, approval and implicit /
trust Of its people2
This is the only nation in the world 4
where the holding of a public Office
raises~a suspicion as to the character I
of the incumbent. In our great mu-
inequalities we esteem it a matter for j
COngratulation il a man of known /
prObity and OF recognized character /,
and ability can be induced TO stand |
for office Derisive names are coined /
TO designate those whose unselfsh civic /
pride impels them to bear the odium Of /
OfiCehOlding. We call the man who I
places honest citizenship above parti- /
san greed a "mugWump-" We term I
the man who dares defy the cohorts OF .
organized rapacity a "goOgoO.' In /
most of our large cities and in hum !
dreds of smaller ones it is impossible !
/ to elect a ticket composed wholly Of
( reputable men, except at long separ-
ated intervals when disgust with I'M
usually outrageous misgOvernment |
! aroUses a municipal revolution
/ In other words we have not enough
Of civic pride 20 outweigh the energy
and influence Of the CRATER. Surely
/ this is an astounding and deplorable
state Of affairs. Since it obtains in no
other nation on the face Of the globe
. the inference is clear that we have
4 reached a low moral plane. which
should and which does hold US up to
the scorn Of all students Of these con- !
/ taminated institutions.
4 Look the facts straight in the face
and attempt to read the secret Of this
infamy. Who is the ally Of the CRATER?
I Who pays over the money which makes
his ceaseIess activities profitable? In
the answer to these questions is found
the secret Of the success of the CRATER
and of the shame Of American citizen
ship.
For each CRATER who receives brides
there are "a score or more OF men who
tender them. These patrons of the
CRATER, these producers of graft, are,
as a rule. men who make pretense Of
responsibility. They are men of affairs.
They are business men. They have
bank accounts, They employ other
men and expect and often insist that
their employees shall not vote counter
10 their interests They belong to
churches. clubs and societies. They are
a part of the solid conservative eIe-
ment. Why are they the patrons Of
grafters2 Why do they vote for graft
ers in conventions and at the polls? Be
cause. like their henchman, the graft
CT, they are working for their own
pockets all the time"
No city on earth has a criminal class
so strong or a slUm district so pOpulous
as to return a majority in favor of po-
. Hffpq1 thieves bs. rfae4 is 81,
fore because criminal business inter-
ests have placed him there. He is on
the same payroll with the lobbyist. He
Is the hireling of respectable rapacity.
Whenever a bride is rendered, four
crimes are committed or contemplated.
The one who offers the briba wishes to
violate or eVade law. He declares his
intent as a criminal That is crime No.
L. He offers the bride. or authorizes
an agent to do SO. This is crime No.
2 The CRATER accepts The blood
money This is crime No. 8. He vio-
lates his oath of Office and permits the
infraction of law. This is crime No. l.
No vicious piece Of legislation stands
on a statute book but that some selfish
and criminal interest brought it and
placed il there. There is no CRATER Of
consequence who, in time OF stress or
danger. cannot demand and speedily re-
INCANe the SuDDOI- ana influence OF men
who stand high i'm the world of affairs.
The CRATER is an effect; not a cause.
He is the retainer of dishonest bust
ness interests; the henchman Of those
so carried away by lust of greed that
they do not hesitate TO plumber their
fellow citizens through the bribed CO.
operation Of those who are paid to pro-
tect their interests.
In foreign countries, which make no
claim to the liberty which is our herit-
I age, they are partly TeCOmpensed by the
service Of officials who find honor and
{ pleasure in the just and careful adj
ministratiOn of the duties Of their posi-
ttons. In the great municipalities Of
= England, the citizen who has served his
country and amassed an honest com
, ! petence as a business or professional
man, looks forward after middle age to
the possibility that the ripper years OF
his life may be called into requisition
b. / by the community OF which he is a
r part Such men fill the higher cleo
t tive and appointive positions. serving
generally without pay. and finding their
) reward in the appreciation Of those who
| have hOnored them by their confidence.
T The vast engineering works completed
J + in recent years have been planned and
3 supervised by men whose only pay was
I the great applause Of their fellows The
/ great pubic utilities Of Glasgow. Bir-
mingham. Manchester and London are
in charge of men whose lives and acts
raise them beyond the reach of sus-
r picion. Bribery is a crime in England
! 1t is a profession In our beloved couu-
, try.
We have blurred and well-nigh oblit-
Grated the line which separates honesty
: from dishonesty as a policy and not as
a virtue. The shrewd trading and bust
, ness instinct Of the former. generations
! has degenerated in many instances into
, an oveT-reaching and UnscrupulOus
/ avarice. The tricks Of trade" had not
far to fail to become the crimes Of bust
, ness.
! Powerful and seemingly unassaiIable
as is this alliance between criminal in
> u terests and criminal officials, il Will be
ground to powder when once the Amer
I lean people realize the shame which has
crept upon them. There is brewing a
) revolution against venality, whether OF
: the tap room or the counting room
r When 1t bursts it win fill the jails with
l strangely assorted criminals. There
, will come a day when honesty viii be
. fashionable; when probity will no long
: er be the subject Of a sneer.
Longest Service at Washington.
3 Chicago Record HeraId)