The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1905-08-11
GRAFT.

GRAFT.
Permeating many public depart
merits, and encrusting the progress
of large ventures, graft is becom-
ing a serious menace to the material
prosperity of this country. Develop
ments in Washington during the
past three or four years are not very
roscate for those optomists who
believe that politics have a better
tendency. 1t is asserted, and certain
" with some truth in many in
stances. that there is hardly d branch
OF the government service, that does
nor in some manner, add to the
private income of grafters. 1t seems
hard for an average public official to
be honest This term, is used adj
visedly as while there are many who
would scorn taking a dollar directly
from the United States treasury, vet
they do not hesitate to profit by
some little side scheme, in which the
government is a participant, for
private gain. OF course, there have
been violations that the law will
reach, for instance, the conduct OF
Machen, who is now serving d term
for his indirect pilferings while at the
head of the rural free delivery system
but there are many transactions,
v hich, Will hardly violations of law,
indirectly result in taking money
from the United States government.
This has been an age Of progress,
and wrong doing has kept step with
the times Our statute books have
plenty Of laws to punish felonies and
misdemeanors familiar to the age of
Blackstone, but with the onward
m arch since that time our criminal
statutes have remained stationary,
and a century ago there was no such
thing as graft. Attorney General
Moody, III a recent interview with
President Roosevelt urged the adop-
ton of more stringent laws that
would punish a class Of wrongdoing
which does not come under any
particular head in our criminal code,
aud therefore escapes prosecution. A
striking instance of this was recently
made public when the government
report of the cotton crop was garbled
for manipulation on the produce ex-
change. The two men who made
fortunes at the expense of the whole
country, are now travelling around,
enjoying the ease that comes from
their ill-g wealth, while bona
fde dealers are mourning the loss of
their thousands, invested as they
thought, upon legitimate government
statistics.
Graft, as has been intimated above
is not alone confined to government
business. There are many large cor
porations today, who find them
selves in a very unfortunate predica-
ment, largely on account of question
able manipulations by officers whose
interest should be to protect the
business affairs of those who have
capital invested. On the contrary,
it has been shown that finances have
frequently been so manipulated as to
make an enormous profit for the few
who were participants in the nefar-
ious scheme. The country has stood
aghast at the recent disclosures made
by the investigation into the affairs
of the Equitable Life Insurance Com
pany which has now been going on
for the past three or four months.
The disclosures show that the mil
lions that belong to the stock holders
OF this largt concern, have been used
for private gain in so many different
ways that it hardly seems creditable
to think that the company is still
solvent One bad affect of this is that
it has hurt the business of other like
companies whose affairs are conduct
ed on a different plan. 1t is a case
Of where the innocent suffer for the
guilty, and life insurance business is
today, nearer at standstill than
for many years.
The President of the United States
is conducting an investigation into
our public affairs, and the officials of
New York are looking after the in
terests of the stockholders in the
Equitable Life Insurance Company
The outcome of both of these investi-
cations will be watched with great
interest, and it is to be hoped that
the resultant good, will be the be-
ginning of an era in both public
and private business which will
effectively stamp out graft.