The Republican., 1904-05-26

NMAMN ed rs 10 warrant an
H S: s.: S: -: 4: :::::: i: i: !: !.
ing attention to the
! more conspicuous of
/ the scandals which have disgraced
state and municipal legislation and the
administration of public service the
| speaker continued as follows:
/ where shall we lay the AK in order
/ to strike the taprOOt of the tree of po-
+ litical corruption? In what school were
reared these boards of public thieves,
these shameless betrayers of Il conf
dencc repoSed in them by the people?
/ A day has come when the thieves and
their methods are known. Here and
/ there we hear languid denunciation of
Il guarded and impersOnal character,
/ but | fail to note any sign Of popu-
lar uprising which shall bring rascality
| to justice. Why this negative toer-
ance of yenality? These are questions
which all true patriots and all honest
lovers of their country should ask of
each other on this day.
Il am firmly convinced of the truth
Of the saying that community or ma
ton always has as good government
and as honest set of officials as it de-
serves. Show to me dishonest alder
man and | will point to you a district
or ward inhabited by dishonest peo-
pie. AS a rule, corrupt municipal
Z -, IL
whose leading and more influential cit
iZens are personally corrupt and the
mass of whose voters admire and seek
to emulate successful plunderers. A
series of corrupt legislative bodies is a
brand of infamy on the brow of any
state which elects and tolerates them.
A man is known by his works and a
community by the character and acts
of its representatives.
Back of every representative, sen
ator, judge or other public official
stands community which should be
and which in the final analysis is re
sponsible for his actions. Elected and
the larger share Of responsibility rests
upon the latter.
An honest community, whose mem
DerS have proper sense of pride in
their citizenship, cannot make the mis-
take of electing dishonest man to of
flee. There are honest citizens who are
careless in their duties as electors, and
the same can be said of certain COM
munities, but any constituency which
returns discredited and suspected of
ticials deserves to share the obloquy of
its accredited representatives.
The plea of a district that it is mis-
| represented is a confession of indiffer-
ence, stupidity or cowardice. Honest,
intelligent and patriotic men do not
tolerate the domination of selected
thieves. The time has arrived when
the responsibility for the rule of cor
ruption must be placed where it be-
longs-with the individual voter In a
monarchy corruption springs from the
king or his court In republic It's
fountain head is the people
LET us look the truth full in the
face. The passion for wealth, the
craze for possessions and the frenzied
struggle for money have reached eli
max in which moral principles are
ignored and almost forgotten. Money
Money. Money at any price! These
are the cries which swell into an angry
chorus, deafening all words of admoni-
tiOn or warning. We have no popular
ideals other than those expressed in
dollars and cents. Our great men are
our moneyed men. To be rich is to be
exalted; to be poor is to be disgraced.
No longer do we have honorable poy-
erty, and by the same token no longer
do we have dishonorable wealth
Il do not overdraw the picture We
are witnesses to such spectacles as
powerful corporations combining into
pools in defiance of the enacted and
valid laws of the land and we watch
these conspirators as they secretly vio-
late these illegal compacts in order
that one faction may obtain financial
advantage over the other in the shat
tering of 'gentlemen's agreement
Who now quotes except in derision the
motto, Honesty is the best policy 2
The customer watches the retailer and
the retailer suspects the customer.
Ten thousand factories are flooding
the markets with adulterated or coun-
terfeited articles. Wholesalers extend
their trade or defeat their rivals by
bribing the trusted representatives of
purchasers.
THE reign of graft is not confined
to public officials. The janitor eXacts
tribute from the various purchases of
the tenants he is supposed to serve.
Coal dealers are aware of the fact
that in innumerable instances no 'busi-
ness can be done with certain custom
ers without first paying Il commission
to some subordinate. From the barber
who shirks his duty because of the re
fusal of a bribe in the form of tip
to the president of Il vast corporation
who authorizes the corruption of a
chain of state legislatures there has
spread n system of thievery. What
shall be said of the moral tone of
community when 'kleptomania' has be
oorno a fad ou1 vvbou CIadiac' and traD.