Year: 1877




The democratic party made ceaseless war
against radicaiism because 1t was known
to be corrupt beyond expression or estimate.
Its piracies upon the national treasury will
never be fully known, because it is
for the interest of those in power
to keep the people in ignorance.
But il Is impossible to obscure all of these
Infamous transactions, for they grow from
year to year, and at last obtain such huge
proportions as 70 force themselves into pub
lie notice, and then. as in the case of the
whisky rings. the government will again make
pretensions of honesty and one in about every
i've hundred OF the thieves will be caught,
subjected to some restraints and the pay
ment of q small amount of money, after
which they will be set free to pursue their
old vocation. Since Grant has left the white
house various radical organs have out
ragged truth for the purpose of COM
plimenting his administration, when
every intelligent person is aware
that it was pre- eminently distinguished
for stealing. Those who know Hayes were
satisfied that under his administration, pro-
vided he reached the Office by honest means,
the stream of corruption would flow as deep
and strong as under Grants, but when he ex-
hibited willingness to accept Office by vir-
tue of crimes compared with which
the treasury is sanity virtue,
the people felt assured that The old ways
would continue. In this their fears have
been more than realized. The proclams-
tions of reform that venal press is making
for Hayes, indicating purpose to hunt
fraud and OF reforming the habits of radical
officials, is a trick too we'll under
stood to deceive any one. 1t is quite
possible that a great hue and cry
will now and then be made and a show of
earnest effort to punish offenders, but it will
be found, while dust is kicked up in one
locality. that the stealing will go forward
more vigorously and proftably IN some
other quarter. Just now il is given out that
the New York custom house is undergoing
investigation. a work which the Chicago
Tribune credits to Hayes. 1t says:


He has begun In the New York custom
house, and discovered that "A long list OF heav-
lily palQ OIQclalS merely DenSlOnerf on the
government. IL stead OF performing duties at
the custom house, they are practlcing attOr-
neys, merchants, brokers, editors of bankrupt
newspapers, besides being political strikers.
All u ese the president will have dismissed,
and IT, as Is likely. the offices are useless, the
offioes will be abolished. 1t is developed also
that so utterly rotten Is the service in hat
custom house that smuggling has become an
established trade, and the millions of pubic
revenue stolen and divided among the officials
largely exceed the robberieS OF the whisky ring
in its most golden days.


1t was against this state of affairs that the
democratic party aroused the whole coun-
try, and in the name of reform achieved a
triumph. While it is admitted that the
New York custom house is utterly rotten"
it is equally true that every other custom
hou is as rotten as the New York institu-
tion and that this utter rottenness pervades
every department of the government There
is not the remotest probability that any gen.
eral reform Is to take place, or that Hayes
contemflates such a work. The men with
whom he comes in contact recognize in MIN
crime stained official, and have no
respect for his professions Of hon.
esty. Weighed down as he must
be by sense of guilt he
is not the man to rebuke sin, and after pub
lie opizion is somewhat appeased by dis
play of regard for the public welfare.
Grantism will again commence its reign and
the aggregate of official stealings will ex-
ceed the most infamous achievements since
the radical party obtained power. Men do
not gather grapes of thorns, nor figs of
thistles, and man who accepts Office from
thieves is not the one TO punish officials for
stealing.