The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1905-11-02
JUST PLAIN THIEVES.
Editor of Mcclure's Magazine Says If
Grating Was Called Stealing
Much Good Would Result.

Kansas City, Nov. lift boodlers
were called simply thieves and graft
ing was called stealing much good
would result" said S. S. Mcclure Of
McClure's magazine. Mr.. Mcclure was
in Kansas City to join a. e. Stillwell's
party to Mexico.
Through the ages the meaning of the
words thief and steal have never
been furnished" Mr.. Mcclure contin-i
ued. THE popular meaning of many
words change, but a thief has always
been a man who stole. And the hood
lers and grafters are simply thieves and
they merely steal. The machine in.
Philadelphia which combined with the
gas company and set out to steal a
hundred million dollars from that city,
We're simply thieves and what they lii
was plain stealing. II the words Doodle
and graft We're put out Of business and
the words thief and stealing brought.
back it would be a great gain.
What a Briber Is.
"Some years ago a Missouri judge
said that bribery was a conventional
crime, and I think that people do not
realize the terrible nature of bribery.
even yet. The briber is a nan who de-
grades another mans soul, who de-
stroys another mans conscience for the
sake of robbing a third party. That is,
for the sake of making some money
out Of town a mar will bride an off,
cial. He destroys this mans moral
nature; he degrades the man so that
he may rob from the third party, which,
is the town. Jesus said once that 1t.
We're better for a man to have a mill
stone hanged to his neck and be cast
into the sea han to offend one Of His
little ones. Every briber does the.
thing which Jesus said were better for
him to have a milestone hanged to his
neck and he be cast into the sea han to.
do. He causes some human being to-
sin merely for the sake of making some
honey
Two Terrible Methods.
"Tllere are two methods of making mon.
ey that are equally horrible. One is by that
which results in the degradation of the
souls Of both men and women, and the
other is by bribery. A burglar who breaks
into a bank and robs the bank commit a
lesser crime than a man who enters into a
conspiracy with officials and robs, because
in such a conspiracy he degrades the souls
Of the officials. There are two fields in
which bribery is employed where the re-
suits are the most serious. One is when
psblic officials or city or state officials
enter into conspiracy for the purpose OF
robbing the city or state, and the reason,
why bribery is so terrible here is that not
only does the bribcr destroy these mems
conscience, but destroys consciences Of
men whose duty it is to make laws, there
by c~orrupting the very fountains of jus
ticc.
1T can easily be seen that the crimes of
such men produce more terrible results
than men who bride the officials of a bank
to rob the uank.
The Bribery CT Rebates.
Again., the other most terrible method is
where men bride or by other means COM
pei the officials of railroads to grant
special privileges TO them and because
these special privileges result in enabling
a very few people TO monopoliZe whole in
dustries. Any man with special privileges
with the railroads can get the property of
all his competitors who nave not these
privileges. Nearly thirty years ago there
were twenty-siX oil reincrlcs in Cleveland,
o. One man got special privileges and
within SIX weeks they nearly all went out
Of existence. The other either became
bankrupt or sold out at a very small price
or became partners in thlevery in other
parts Of the United States. =
yet we are told that this was merely
business. Some go SO far as to say it was
grating. But suppose that everyone spoke
Of it as plain stealing and of the men
who did 1t as plain thieves! Don't you
think that would have a deterrent effect"