The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1907-05-09
WHERE THE LOOT WAS USED.

WHERE THE LOOT WAS USED.
From the first announcement o
graft in the construction of the
capital there have been suspicion!
that part of the loot went towarc
making up deficits i'll the State
Treasury. Immediately upon the
announcement of the election ot
Mr.. Berry to the office, the ma.
chine managers got busy at the
task of getting affairs in order.
They worked day and night dur.
ing the six months which interven-
ed before the transfer of the Office
and at that time exultingly declar-
ed that everything was in good or
der. Wonders had been achieved,
beyond question ami on the face of
things, there was no cause of COM
plant. Some of them actually
"poked fun" at Mr.. Berry because
the campaign predictions hadn' t
been fulfilled. Mr.. Berry was a
good deal surprised himself. it may
be added, to find conditions so sat
isfactory. He knew that the En-
terprise bank defalcation had been
repaired though he didn't know
where the money came from. 1t
was suggested that possibly the
graft mill had been grinding grist
for that purpose, but being a just
man Mr.. Berry said that would be
impossible without the connivance
of certain bankers.
1t has since developed, however,
that a very considerable portion of
the graft was used in that way and
that not only the Enterprise bank
deficit but shortages of other banks
were made up through the collu.
sion of certain bankers. Of course
this puts the bankers concerned III
the crimes on the same level with
other embezzlers and forgers and
will probably result in their doing
time" in the peniten;iary. But they
are entitled to precisely the same
treatment which would be meted
out to less prosperous criminals
and l hope the courts will not be
too much inclined to leniency. Lin
coin Steffens ascribes most of the
corruption in public life to the will
ingness of what are termed the
Captains of Industry" to encour-
age misfeasances and share in the
spoils. He never wrote a truer
thing and to my mind punishment
ought to be graduated according to
the wealth of the criminal. A mil
lionaire forger or robber should get
ten times as long a sentence as one
in poverty. In nine cases out of
ten he is influenced to the crimes
by baser motives. Avarice is
among the basest of all evil pas
SionS.
The sessions of the Investigating
Commission will be held in private,
hereafter, and for sufficient reason.
The public hearings revealed too
frequently the plans of the distin-
guished lawyers conducting the in
vestigation. For example the val
ue of the testimony of S. M. Will
liams who is said to have got SIo,-
900 of hush money from Congress
man Cassell who mulcted the State
out of million and half on the
contract for steel filing cases was
greatly impaired because somebody
prevailed on Williams to forget GER
tain salient facts. The commission
will get all the information on the
subject it requires. however, and
the attempt to miscarry justice in
that instance will fail. In fact
enough evidence has already been
obtained to send several of the con-
spirators to the penitentiary and
force others to make restitution and
both of these ends will be fulfilled
n IL '