Rensselaer Union, Volume 6, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 February 1874 — The So-Called Reformers. [ARTICLE]

The So-Called Reformers.

The “Reformers” seem bound to turn out a bad lot wherever they are found. At the last election they turned up very strong in Kansas. Five-sixths of them were Democrats who, after years of wandering and years of waiting for the party of their youth to come once more into power, finally gave it up as a bad job and turned their attention to a business which, if less agreeable, promised better pay. They suddenly discovered that all their lives had been spent advocating and supporting principles at war with the best interests of the Republic. They were great sinners, and they owned it; and, as if the fact that they had always sinned qualified them in a superlative degree for teaching piety, they at once sallied out as political missionaries, and called upon those who had never wandered to join them in a holy crusade for human rights! The remaining one-sixth of this band was composed of former Republicans, who, having been denied the opportunity by a stupid people of exhibiting their colossal wisdom in places of trust, saw in the new movement a chance which had been denied them before, and so began singing the song of reform with their old enemies. Some of each of this class were elected to the Kansas Legislature. Thereupon Kansas held her breath and prepared for such sweeping reforms as would make everybody rich forthwith. But these gentlemen have passions as well as the rest of humanity, and begin to exhibit pretty plainly that they have pockets also. 'lnstead of reforming other people, they are taken in hand by the Republicans and put through a course of medicine that is very unpalatable. Every abuse whic'li It. has been found necessary to correct during the session so far has 'been attacked by the Republicans. When this did not affect the Reformers personally they generally came up and voted with the former, but when their own pockets have been touched there has been such a fluttering and shuffling and falling back as was rarely seen before. The other day some cruel Republican asked airmembers to hand over their railway passes and stand erect before their constituents as untrammeled law-makers. This created a flurry equal to a small tornado in their midst. They couldn’t see exactly that this was necessary. So long as they could ride for nothing, where was the necessity of paying for it? They didn’t think their constituents would ask this —not they—and so they debated, and amended, and postponed indefinitely, and the cheerful pass still remains to warm the pockets of the Kansas legislator. This is perhaps natural, but it is not consistent'. They are not immolating themselves in that entirety which they led the people to suppose they would when victims were called for the sacrifice. They are like Artemus Ward, who cheerfully consented that all the property of his wife’s relations should be sacrificed before the war should cease, but didn’t say anything about his own ducats. As too much cannot be expected of them, however, we suggest that they go to work and deprive everybody except themselves of all rights which “white men are bound to respect.” Then they should go home, and let another lot of Reformers come up and take away theirs.— Chicago Inter-Ocean.