The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1905-07-14
: CORRUPTION IN THE DE-
,.--- PARTMENTS.

rCORRUPTION IN THE DE-
$3.50 PAYMENTS.
"A few weeks ago the president ap-
pointed committee or commission to
make an investigation Of the various
departments of the Government. It
will be. its duty, says the Baltimore
Sun, to look into the methods Of do
ing the work of the Government, TO
suggest better methods, to eliminate
red tape, to shake up the bureaucrats.
A great deal can be accomplished 10
these directions. But there is other
work. which is even more important
and more pressing and it should en-
gage the attention of the President at
once: This work IS, to use thread
bare phrase. to clean out the Augean
stables. Perhaps there has never
been aatime SINCE the star-route scan
dals and the other. Government scan
dals of that time that there has been
as much corruption in the conduct Of
the United States Government as
there is at. this time or has been re-
Gently. Almost every department has
become infected with a virulent dis
eases The postoffice frauds and abuses
are fresh in the public mind, and that
department of the Government seemed
rotten to the core. It seemed that
nothing connected with it could be
conducted honestly, and the exposure
made by the President himself was
startling. Whether things are going
on any better since lot Of the graft
ers.have been locked up in the peni-
tentiary we can only surmise. The
State Department has just made an
exhibition of the LOOMS scandal.
The condition of affairs in the Navy
Department is illustrated by recent
occurrence at Charleston. A naval Of
ficer was assigned to inspect materials
provided and used by contractor.
He rejected a lot as not coming up to
the requirements of the contract. The
contractor was rich Boston firm, and
after making threats to the naval Of
ficer, which did not deter him from
doing his duty, the officer was renov-
ed by the Navy Department because
he insisted upon doing his duty and
protecting the Government from i'm
position. That is an illustration of
conditions which have lately existed
in the Navy Department.
The rottenness of the Department
OF the Interior has been on public ex-
hibition in the courts for some time
past. With this condition the Presi-
dent and Secretary Hitchcock have
already dealt with praiseworthy cour-
age. The President removed a Dis
trict Attorney and pressed for an in
dictment of United States Senator
and member Of Congress. The form
er has already been tried and convict
ed. But in the meantime the United
States, by the connivance of its agents,
has been defrauded of immensely val
liable land amounting to $50, 100000
acres, an area as great as 80 States as
large as Massachusetts.
And now comes the Department OF
agriculture with its Holmes scandal.
We are threatened with Philippine
scandal, and the conditions at Panama
are all ripe for crookedness on a big
plan,
The President should detect and
p9rsah the faithless agents of the peo-
pie who have betrayed their trust
When the star-route frauds were prac-
ticed the Government had lately
emerged from the Civil War, which
had given opportunity for thieves to
fatten upon the public service and the
public revenues. The reaction against
dishonesty was so great that for time
the Government was conducted upon
a high plane. But now we have drift
ed back into evil ways, and in magni-
tude the frauds recently exposed have
made those of the star-route period
seem trivial.