OCR Text |
Show 'CHICAGO. The Beecher Scandal Gives Place: to Discussions of Kascality at Home. Fraud, ilypot-risy and Crime Unparalleled. iCcrre'rondence of the Ii erald.) Chicago, Aug. 31, 1S74. The Brooklyn mess of nastiness has ceased to occupy more than the apace ot a third-rate sensation in this city. At first it absorbed the attention of everybody, male and female, religious re-ligious and profane; but after a brief while the acknowledged presence of so much rascality and dishonesty and hypocrisy at home pushed the Beecher-Tilton scandal to one side and our people began to revel again in their own Hastiness. Five years ay;o this writer printeel in the Omaha Htrald an assertion that there was more official rascality being practiced in Chicago than had ever been un-; earthed in New York; and after the expose of the Tammany Ring and the conviction of Tweed, he reiterated his charge, and, in a short time the defalcations de-falcations and robbery of David A. , Gage verified hia assertion. WHAT ARE THE FACTS 1 Had it not been for the greit fire, in which the reconls and traces of crime were destroyed two years ago, the explesion would have come upon this people and their faith in humanity would have received a far greater, shock than the people of New York received when all the crime and robbery rob-bery of the Tammany Ring were laid bare before them David A. Gage, in his fall, brought down with him but a few of the leading men of Chicago. But it is known to day, and has been for years, that Beveral of Chicago's moat distinguished business, proles-sioual proles-sioual and religious citizens have regularly and systematically identified themselves with and reaped the profits of schemes of plunder that ought to shame Ingersoll, Garvey, Dick Connolly and Harry Genet. The Times has at last commenced unearthing gome of these Bchemes. For two weeks it has daily preferred charges against many of the leading officials aud prominent business men of the city, and its charges have been so circumstantial and correct that public opinion demanded a special grand jury, which is now in session, and which will undoubtedly return true indictments against several members of the Board of County Commissioners, the president, Sam Ash ton, among the number; and other prominent citizens. The charges of the Times are that these men have been common thieves of the people's money for years. Aud then, there is the continued failure to account on the pait of the citizens' committee appointed to receive and , disburse the world's charity to the ; stricken city after its fierv devastation 'in October, 1871. This charity jreached up to milbons of dollars in men and mechanics themselves sad Buflerers have been trying in vain to get an accounting from this ("-appointed committee. They are all "honorable men," but there are other honorable men inChicago who make no concealment of their opinion that two or three million dollars of this relief fund has been stolen out-j right. IN COMMERCIAL CIRCLES there hare been some of the most dishonest transactions ever known in this country. Meu worth tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars, standing high in the community and professors of religion, have been detected in setting fire to their own premises and endangering the property prop-erty of thousands of other citizens simply because times were hard and, they being fully insured, thought that kind of robbery easiest and best. Three of these men are out on straw bail, after being fairly convicted before be-fore an examining court. On 'Change men lie, forge and steal every day, and yet escape the fangs of the law. In professional circles there is the same laxity of morals. Old established estab-lished physicians are detected in nrartininp abortion: their vinfimn die and, in only one instance, has conviction followed. Earll is in the penitentiary, and yet there are scores of worse murderers than he walking the streets every day. Lawyers conspire con-spire with one another to rob orphans aud widows, and the courts sustain them. In the church, we are no sooner rid of one scandal than another is thrust upon us. The Baptists depose one of their ministers for licentious behavior; the Presbyterians have had three disgusting quarrels in the past six months; the Methodists have a minister who chews tobacco, sends his daughter to darcing school and otherwise conducts himself as an emissary of the devil; and, finally, Mother Ferdinand, Superior of the Order of Lorettu openly prints in the Tribune a charge that Bishop Foley ia a deceiver and a robber ! EVERYTHING SEEMS ROTTEN I Storey, prints in the Times that Hesiug of the Slaats Zcitung is a robber rob-ber and a thief, and Hesiug retorts on Storey by calling hina a dog and the murderer, by abortion, of his own wife! With all these things fir our food, is it any wonder that the people of Chicago have very little time lor the digeation of so gushing an adultery adul-tery case as the Breioklyn one? The sanctimonious and pharisaical world of Chicago and Brooklyn may, and doubtless does, sneer at your people arrogating to themselves the title of Saints. Xnowii,g your people as well as 1 do, and comparing them with these people whom 1 know so well, I confess aud deny not, but confess that the Mormon claim to saintship is founded on a much more stable basis than is that of any Gentilecommunity north of Mason and Dixon's line. WATCHMAN, WHAT OF THE SIGHT? I have given a gloomy picture so far, has it any lighter shade? Perhaps Per-haps so. Returns from the Northwest North-west are to the effect that the crops are unusually large, in acreage and yield. The commercial world already hopes to feel a reviving influence. The fall trade promises to be larger than ever before, and if men mute money honestly it is to be hoped thev J will have less desire to steal. From me oiueera ui tue juieago, Durung-,tonfc Durung-,tonfc tjuincy road a road that does tho largest business of any with the great West I learn that the prospects pros-pects for a heavy fall trade are flattering flatter-ing beyond description. Tiie Grangers' Grang-ers' folly has about spent itself, for shippers and producers have found out that it takes two to make a bargain bar-gain and that while legislatures may t.-nact they cannot compel railroad companies to do business at starvation rates. I speak of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy road, for it was the first to reduce iu running expenses by taking off trains so as to conform to the Illinois tariff and it has been the first to systematize sys-tematize its running of trains so as'to all'-rd every community necessary railroad facilities. Robert Harris and W. B.Strong.ils General Superintendents, Superintend-ents, and U. W. Hitchcock, its General Gen-eral Passenger Agent, have given more brain work to the wants of the people of the West than havo all other railway officials put together. I speak of what I know. Harris has given the trains, Strong has directed them, and Hitchcock has seen that they were faithfully served. Between the East and tlie West the Chicago, Hurhngton i Quincy is not only the best but it is the shortest and safest. I say this because, like the Pennsylvania Pennsyl-vania Railroad Company, the C. B. & Q. directors early discovered that an ounce of prevention was better than a pound of cure. Having no occasion to water or inflate its stock, and tapping the richest sections of the Great West, a safe road bed and first class rolling stock were deemed necessaries, ne-cessaries, not luxuries. It is the model road ol the country. Phocion. |