Democratic Sentinel, Volume 8, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 October 1884 — A CORRUPT SYSTEM. [ARTICLE]

A CORRUPT SYSTEM.

The following speech was delivered by Toomas J. Wood, member of congress from the tenth Indiana district, at Royal Center, Oct. 3: The republican party has had full power in this government for nearly twentyfour years. During that ttme more of t he people’s money has been wasted through fraud, speculation, and bribery

than in the whole seven tv two years of government administration by the democratic and whig parties. Go back four years and recount the defalcations of republican officials They cover a shameful page in our history, and inelude Burnside, late disbursing officer of the pot’office department, *BO,OOO, and John Hall, United States marshal at Pittsburgh, $ 15-000. The list is a long one. The amount ot defalcations since June 30, 1881. up to June 3 *, 1883, amount to nearly *3,000 0< 0. Straw binds were taken in hundreds of cases, and when the official became a defaulter the attorney general ordered suit brought upon the bonds, which were found to be worthless, and this vast sum of money w is lost to the government, every dollar of which came from the pockets of the people. But bad as this is the worst is not set fold. There were defa’cations of government officials from June 30, 1881. to June 30, 1883, of over} *1.854,"00, and the attorney general, knowing lie bonds of such defaulting officers to be worthless, did not sue them, but com-

promised with the defaulters for about *441.000 leaving a total loss to the government of over|*l,4l3,ooo. The sum total of defalcations in the last three yews reaches the enormous sum of *3,CCOOOO. With this bad record befor tne people the Republican part}- asks to be again trusted with public affair-. <>an you trust it another four years in the face of this dichonest record? I expected nothing less than this when I saw , the leaders of tnat party spending vast sums cf money in 1880 to corrupt the people and the ballot-box. Dishonest money was then sown broadcast over the country, and the result is a general defalcation of public officials. The same unholy and corrupt system is adopted this year. Your neighbor is to be corrupted, if possible, by money—mo ley wrung from 120,000 office holders in defiance of the civil-service law. lour elections are to be corrupted- Ycur oal-lot-box to become a mockery of honesty and honest men. Dow will the people <nfo ce reform and purity in the administration of this government when the ballot-box-the only peaceful resort of a free people to remedy evils, becomes