Show PUBLIC OFFICE A MORAL TRUST THE day of awakening awa hebing seems at last lad to have come over the courts in their method of dealing with official thieves john bardsley Ba risley while treasurer of the city of philadelphia deliberately robbed the city of sums bums which at the time his rascality was discovered aggregated upon his bis conviction he was sen fenced to fifteen years in the penitentiary vy for the crime of malfeasance in office and in view of the fact that he had appropriated to private uses of the public money be was fined precisely that amount or in other words was commanded to return what he had stolen in passing sentence judge wilson observed that the time had come tor for scoundrels of his class to be given due notice that they held a moral as well as ae pecuniary acu ecu biary accod accountability I 1 ty to the pu public b employing them the filing of bonds as required by law was not all there bere was to their contract they placed likewise on file as security for good behavior their personal honor the violation of which they must understand was a more serious offense to the public than the forfeiting of their bonds when they accepted a public trust their personal honor became a public property the depreciation of which affected not only the concerns of their particular term of office but affected in great measure the relations of their successors for many years succeeding their malfeasance brought cheref therefore ore hardships and embarrassments embarrass ments which could not be estimated in dollars aastra abstractly atly speaking the judge proposed lied to demonstrate for once that while the commission of crime was neo necessary Bary proof of criminal intent punishment was not only fur for the doing of wrong but for being a scamp we aai are not quoting judge allson WIlson literally but interpreting so BO to speak th the spirit espirit of his big remarks if this salutary lesson lemon to official thieves could be repeated in the cases that may follow the public ought soon to experience a relief from the gangs of practiced robbers that are storming ng the public offices the country over |