Chicago daily tribune. [volume], October 27, 1878, Page 4, Image 4

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SOCIETY MEETINGS.
LAFAYETTE CHAPTER, NO. 2. R, A. M.-Hall,
T 6 Monroe-st.—Special Convocation. Monday evening,
Oct. 2H, at 5:30 o'clock p. m., for work on P. and M.
K. Degree*. Stated Convocation at 7:30 o'clock, for
business and work on U. A, Degree. Visitors cordially
invited. Ur order of W, D- REID. U. P.
E. N. TUCKER, Secretary.
WILEY M. EGAN CHAPTER, NO. 12G. R. A. M.—
Special Convocation Saturday evening, Nov. i>. at 7:30
o’clock, for the purpose of work on Council Degrees.
All members requested to be present. _
Per order 11. P.
E. F. NnWELL, Secretary.
CORINTHIAN CHAPTER NO. G 9. R, A. M.—
Regular Convocation Monday evcnlnp. Oct. 28. at 7:30
o'clock. Work on tbc >l. K. Depree. Visiting Com*
panions are cordially Invited. By order.
C. W. BARNARD, H. P.
ST. BERNARD COMMANDERT, SO. 35. K. T.—
Stated Conclave Wennesday evening, Oct. 30. at 7:30
o'clock. Work on tlie K. T. Order. A full attendance
Is requested. Visiting Sir Knights are courteously In
vited. J. S. WHITE, E. C.
BLAIR LODGE. NO. 303. A. F. & A. M.-Regn
lar Communication Monday evening, INth Inst., at
Frec-Masons' Hall, 76 East Monroe-st.. at 7:3oo'clock.
All resident members are requested to be present. Vis
iting brethren cordially invited. Br order of
- D. H. DICKINbON. W. M.
VAX RENSSELAER GRAND LODGE OF PERFEC
TION will confer the Sixth. Seventh, and Eighth De
cree* of the \ . A- A. Scottish Rite on Thursday evening
next. By order of
AMOSPETTIBONE, T.*. P.'. G.*. M.
ED. GOOD ALE. Grand Secretary.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, IS7S.
Xu New York on Saturday greenbacks were
steady at 99$ in gold and silver coin.
The Cashier of the St. Gothard Railway in
Switzerland, having adopted the American
system of keeping acconnfcs, is now in jail.
The Surgeon-General’s report for. the past
week shows that there were (>99 cases of
yellow fever and 229 deaths at New Orleans;
at Memphis there were r>o deaths; at Chatta
nooga, 80 cases and 23 deaths.
The second snow-storm of the season vis
ited Chicago early this morning, and our
telegraphic dispatches report snow at vari
ous points north and south. This change m
the weather is said to be produced by the
traditional Manitoba wave.
Ex-Gov. Kellogg denies any knowledge
of the Sherman letter, referred to by Ander
son In his confession. Kellogg’s private
secretary also waxes wroth at the statement
that he forged the letter. There will be, of
course, denials all around on the part of the
Democrats.
The Arctic schooner Florence Tyson
supposed to be lost, arrived yesterday at
Provineetown, Mass. Her Captain reports
more ic}' seas in the North than hare been
known for thirty years. This may serve as
a hint to the weather-prophets and to the
ulster-dealers.
"Whatever may be the present relations be
tween Eussia and England, it is certain that
the former Power does not intend to get into
another broil with Turkey. The Enssian
Government has repeated its previous as
surances that it proposes to evacuate Turkish
territory immediately, without waiting to
enforce the provisions of the Treaty of Ber
lin. This is another back-down.
Mexican troops are marching towards the
Eio Grande for the purpose of co-operating
with the United States troops in preventing
further depredations. President Diaz is said
to be anxious to secure more amicable rela
tions with this Government than have lately
existed. This dispatching of troops to the
border is a tardy, though acceptable, recogni
tion of the duty of the Mexican Government
in a matter which has caused great suffering
to the Americans in Southwestern Texas,
and which has embittered the American peo
ple generally against the Mexicans.
Although the money to be paid by the
United States to the British Government
under the Halifax award is now in London,
awaiting orders from the State Department
for its final disposal, some new objections
have lately been raised to the settlement of
the claim. It is stated by the London cor
respondent of the New York World that
Lord Salisbury has indorsed the re
port of Capt Sullivan, a British naval
officer, staling that the people of New
foundland were justified in their assault
upon a number of American fishermen on
the Bth of last January, because, under the
local is prohibited on
Sunday. The point “which-‘is “raised by the
State Department is that the British For
eign Minister should not decide as to the
right or wrong of the assault in question
without first consulting this Government.
Still, it is hardly probable that anything
more will come of it than a protest from the
State Department. The time for paying
over the Halifax award expires Nov. 24,
and, although it is conceded by all fair
minded people that the decision of the Halifax
Commission was unjust, there is little ground
for believing that the money will not be
promptly handed over to the British Gov
eminent To refuse would bo to put .an
end to international arbitration; and, of, all
Governments, this should not be the first to
overturn a system which was originated in
the interests of peace.'
One of the unaccountable things in the
management of the Legislative canvass is the
dereliction of tho Executive Committee in"
regard to the abatement of the nuisance that
exists in the First Senatorial district. The
members of that Committee (dr' at least a
majority of them) have been informed by a
prominent West-Side citizen'of certain things
in Geobqe White’s Aldermanic : career that
render it their duty to disprove or remove
his name Without further delay or ceremony.
With the information. in their possession
they will reflect discredit on themselves as
honorable and trusted men if they don’t pro
ceed at once to place some name on tho ticket
whom the voters ■will support They have
puddled and muddled over this matter al
ready too long, cud have acted as if they
intended to sacrifice a Senatorial seat in order
to uphold the sanctity of a “regular nomina
tion,” which, by the way, White has not
received. What do conscientious Kepub
licans care about regular nominations when
notoriously improper names are presented to
them for their support? Is it necessary that
The Tribune should speak any plainer, and
give publicity to what a responsible citizen
has told some of theirnumber? There is not
a man on the Committee who remembers
Whites record in the Council, independent
of the transaction alluded to, that believes
for a moment he can come within 2,000 votes
of on election for Senator. Then why are
they throwing away the seat by their putter
ing procrastination and timid irresolution?
22.00
o-OO
.50
.s 1.30
3.00
4 THE TWO COOK COUNTY TICKETS.
“ Wo ask the attention at every voter in
Chicago and Cook County' to the striking
contrast between the two tickets submitted
to them to be voted for at the coming elec
tion. (We omit the Fiat and Socialist can
didates, because their candidacy is more nom
inal than substantial.) The vote of the
county will be mainly divided between the
Bepublican and Democratic parties, and
voters will have to choose for their future
officers men on one or the other of these
tickets. Here is the list:
OPct*. Retuhliram, Demnrrnu.
Sheriff John Hoffman. Charles Kern.
Coroner 0. L. Mann. K. F. Cook.
Stale Senate—
Dl,trlct 1 IcXWkt. George Everhart.
Senate Hist. No candidate. 11. F. Sheridan.
Senate Diet. 5 ...W. T. Johnson. .M. .1. Dunne.
Senate l»!st. 7—W. J. Campbell. Win. Doupp.
Representatives—
i D. W. Clark,
<W. H. Thompson. M. J. Wentworth.
( D. J. Lyou.
Kep. Dirt P. T. Barry.
Bep. Dlst. 3.... iJ. B. Tajlor, ifOoma^Cloonan,
K . n r,.„ t 4 IK. B. Sherman, M. M. Miller,
Kep. l,lst * 4 --? L. H. Blabce. James E. Murray.
P.CP. Din. 5.... j K-»3 a , i-
Rep. Dirt. 6----j "l. Ba°umpan. A - s«ton
•Rpn tu» 7 JOeo. Stru.rkman, B. F. Webiier.
Bep. Din. 7.. L . c . Collins. Clayton Crafu.
Commissioner*—
r«tr nistrirt ) Ptcwart, Pat M. Cleary,
City District... j a E C obura. Mike Malloy.
Commissioners County Districts—
Evanston, etc ...C. S. Avars. X. Morprr.
Lake, etc W. H. Wood. P. J. O'Connell.
Several Towns ...Adam Ml tier. William skelly.
The comparative merits and qualifications
of the candidates for Sheriff have been dis
cussed extensively dnring the last week, and
j will be hp to the hour of election. Kern
was elected Sheriff two years ago owing to
a serious defection from Clough in the Re
publican ranks. He has borne himself in
office that he has enriched himself, and con
cluded that, despite all opposition in his
own party, he would force his nomination
and secure his re-election by the free use of
money. The history of the Convention at
which he was nominated was wonderful even
in the history of Democratic Conventions.
With a largo majority of the delegates op
posed to him, by the free use of money he
paralyzed his competitors and then bought a
majority of the delegates. Such a nomina
tion has, of course, necessitated a very
Dlst. 1.
liberal expenditure of cash to pur
chase support at the polls. All this
spent money he expects to recover from
the office, if re-elected, and all the income
he can draw from the Sheriffalty, regular
and irregular, must be paid by the taxpayers
of this county. To elect Kern Sheriff is to
authorize the payment to him, out of the
public funds, o£ all the money he has expend
ed to procure lu£ so-called nomination, and all
that he will have to.invest to get re-elected.
It will be a public indorsement of corrup
tion in elections, and the payment of the
corrnption fund out of the public treasury.
Maj. Hoffman, the Republican • candidate,
is an old and respectable citizen, and will
make an excellent Sheriff, and will not ask
for a re-election.
Gen. Mann, the Republican candidate
for Coroner, is so well known and so uni
versally esteemed that it is a waste, of time
andof words to enter into any comparison
between him and his opponent.
Chicago is more deeply interested in the
character of the persons to be elected to the
next Legislature than in all the other offices
to be filled. This city needs much and im-
portant legislation, and in the whole list of
Democratic candidates for the Senate and
the House, there are not more than three
who have the remotest idea of what a Legis
lature is, what its duties, or what it is to
meet for. With the exception of Messrs.
Dunne, She.tidan, and Wentworth, not one
of them has the remotest knowledge of the
City Charter, or the State Constitution, or
the Eevenne law; not one of them has the
capacity to draw a bill, or knows what a
bill is, if shown to him; nor under
stands or comprehends an act of legislation.
The nominations of that party for Eepresent
atives in the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth,
Sixth, and Seventh Districts are utterly dis
graceful, when the character of the offief, the
duties to be performed, and the experience
and knowledge required, are considered.
The nomination of most of these men,
so notoriously and disgracefully unfit for the
office, was bad enough, but the election of
them would be a public calamity.
The Eepiiblicans are afflicted in the First
Senatorial District by a candidate who is the
peer of the least fitted and least competent
and most disreputable candidate on the"
Democratic ticket. George "White, whoso
election would bo a disgrace to the State
Senate as well as the First District, is deter-
mined to defeat or disgrace the Eepublicnn
party. If on election-day there be any
other person a candidate for Senator in the
First District it. is to lie hoped that the
voters will see to it that the Eingster "White
is defeated, no matter who the other man
mav be.
With the exception of this blot the Eepub
lican Legislative ticket is especially credita
ble. Many of the candidates have experi-
enco as post members of the Legislature.
Several of the nominees are lawyers of credit,
and are familiar with the legal and financial
embarrassments of the city, and will be able
to make an intelligent effort to obtain such
remedial legislation ns will extricate the City
Government from complications which can
only be relieved by legislation.
It is only necessary to call attention to the
names of the four candidates for the office
of County Commissioner to be elected in
the city. The names of Cleary and Mui>
nor have* become familiar to the public as
members of the ruling niajprlty: of that
profligate Board during the last-three years.
Their record is odorous with- extravagance,"
waste., and'shameless disregard of j taxpayers’
interests. ; It is useless to rehearao the
action of that Board, —the public are too
familiar, with it to again elect Mui-loy
and Cleabx. Mr. Stewaet, ex-Alderman of
the Fourth Ward, and Mr. C. E.' Contras
are the opposing candidates, and are well-
known business men, who enjdy public
respect and confidence. ——
W’e are fully aware that there are thou
sands of Democrats who concede: that the
Democratic ticket,'with a few is
weak and disreputable, and ought to bo de
feated. There is noDemocrat, not personally
THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE: SUNDAY. OCTOBER 27, 1878-SIXTEEN PAGES.
interested in the fortunes of some particular
candidate, who is not willing to admit, oven
ten days before the election, that the ticket
will be defeated, as it ought to be. Thou
sands of Democrats, disgusted with the mob
like character of the Conventions, and
the worse than mob-like conduct of
those who have managed the party
nominations and proceedings, will give
their silent votes to crush out the entire
Democratic ticket, good and bad, and thus
teach these self-appointed managers that the
voting public have some rights, one of which
is to reject the rule of corruptionists and
disreputables at the polls.
Never in the history of Chicago politics
was there a ticket of candidates nom
inated by any party so generally incompe
tent. disgraceful, and unworthy of either
party or public support as the Democratic
ticket now before the people of this city
and county. .
WHY A CHANGE OF SHERIFF IS AD
VISABLE.
In all public offices of a local character,
•where there are large receipts and expendi
tures of public money, nothing is more con*
ducive to proper administration than prompt
settlements and strict responsibility. The
business of the office of Sheriff is largely
continuous, extending beyond the term.
The officer is officially a parly to a largo
number of suits, and is defendant in actions
on his bond for his conduct and for that of
his deputies. He has settlements to make
with litigants, and to close up the business of
one term will take at least two years after
the term has closed. If the Sheriff have
any ambition to Dll the office again ho will,
if not elected his own successor, labor indus
triously to be able to present a clean record,
not only as to the discharge of his duty to the
public, but also to those individuals whoso in
terests may have been in his hands. The office
of Sheriff in this county is a profitable one,
netting the incumbent, if not a candidate for
re-election, at least $25,000 or $30,000.
With that compensation ho can afford to
step aside, at least for two years, and give
time and opportunity to ascertain bow far ho
has been faithful to his trust, and how far he
has settled oil his official accounts and liabili
ties. The people of this county have already
experienced the costly folly of re-electing
men to office when there are largo accounts
to be settled and large balances to bo paid
over. The connty has also experienced the
benefits resulting from rotation in such of-
fices. when outgoing officials have been cut
off from the opportunity of settling with
themselves as their own successors. No bet
ter rule could bo devised in all cases where
the office is one of large income and expendi
ture than to have but one term. After that,
if the officer' shall ha able to show clean
hands and a clean record, such evidence of
his official fidelity will of itself commend
him to popular favor if he should again ask
for the office.
Mr. Kern has been two years in a highly
important office. How he has performed
his duties, how his accounts staud, what the
liabilities he has incurred, are all a sealed
book to the general public, and must so re
main as long as he is in the office. To re
elect him is simply to make him his own
executor, leaving the settlement of his ac
counts until such time os the public may
finally secure a settlement by electing some
other person.
The wisdom of a change in office was
shown two years ago, when the voters changed
the County Clerk. We moke no charge
of defalcation against Sheriff Kern, but ad
vocate the general policy of making a change
at the end of every term in all such offices
as Sheriff, Treasurer, and County Clerk, and
will two years hence insist just as strongly
that Maj. Hoffman shall step out and settle
up, and be succeeded by some other person.
If Sheriff Keen, instead of being made
the custodian of his own official secrets,
shall, at the end of two years, be able to
point back to an honorable and faithful
record, and on honest adjustment of all his
accounts, the public will give him full credit,
and it will have its full weight in his favor,
should he then seek the office. At present
ho has no official record that he can prodace,
save such as he has kept himself, and of his
own preparation. That kind of evidence,
the people have a painful and costly experi
ence, is often wholly fictitious and delusive.
Let the people, therefore, at the coming
election make a change in this office of
Sheriff. Let Mr. Kern have two years in
which to close up his business and settle his
accounts, and let that rule be made general,
and applicable to all ministerial elective
offices where there is largo official income
and expenditure and vast and complex busi-
ness, and there will be fewer official defalca
tions and corrupt administrations, and more
parity, independence, and fidelity in the dis
charge of official duties.
THE COUNTY-BONDS SCHEME.
The Chicago 'Times, as the organ of the
County Eing, is making so lame a defense of
the proposition to issue $750,000 of county
bonds that the scheme cannot be more suc
cessfully antagonized than by reproducing
the reasons it gives why the bonds should
be voted.
One of these alleged reasons is that the
attacks of The Tribune on the job “are
conceived wholly in a spirit of partisanship.”
If there is any “ partisanship ” in this mat
ter, it is a partisanship for and in behalf of
the taxpayers on the one side, and for and in
behalf of the tax-devourors on the other
side. The Tribune’s “partisanship” is in
behalf of the people, and its attacks are
designed to prevent the people from voting'
the County Eing the privilege of expending
this $750,000 borrowed money in addition
to the $1,000,000 of tax-levy and receipts
from the public offices. This kind of “ par
tisanship ” scarcely furnishes a good reason
why the people should .concur in the pro
posed mortgage on their property when they
can prevent it by their votes.
Another reason given by the Times why
the people should vote the bonds is because
The Tkibdse calls it n “swindle.” “ That
is no argument,” says the Times. But it is.
the best kind of an argument, if true, and its
truth has been virtually admitted by the
Times. The Teibune denounces the scheme
to sell bonds as a swindle, because The Tit in
ns e contends that all .the way from §300,000
to §500,000 can be saved out of the excessive
appropriations for general expenses, in Which
case tffere would bo. money to go phwith the
Court-House without borrowing. " Only a
week ago to-day the 3 imes declared that the
Board can save $500,000 out of this year’s
tax-levy for general expenses; then it is a
swindle to squander this half-milliou and
borrow .three-quarters of a million more., and
tha fact' that it is a swindle is ohe'of the best
arguments, that can against the issue
of the bonds. . ..
Another reason given by Ihe Jimiej is,-that
“unless there be'sonie ■ money' borrowed,
tha [Court-House] job must stop.” This is‘
false, and has been admitted to be false ny
he Times. If, as that journal has asserted.
$500,000 can be saved out of the extrava
gant appropriations, then it ■will not be
necessary to stop the work on the Court-
House unless money be borrowed ; let the
$500,000 be saved, and the work will go on,
but the $500,000 certainly will not be saved
if the Board be authorized to issue bonds to
continue the work. Besides, this same
threat of stopping the work was made when
tho Board asked the people once before to
vote bonds. The people refused, and then
tho Board saved money enough from tho
general expense to proceed with tho work.
This can be done again, but the Board must
bo compelled to do it by refusing to place
any more money in its hands than it can
lawfully exact from the people in taxes.
The Times admits that “the Board is com
posed of swindlers who are robbing tho com
munity,” but denies that this is a reason why
tho bonds should not be voted. That is to
say, a gentleman of means who has employed
an agent to manage his estate sees that the
agent is swindling him, and that he proposes
to spend $500,000 more .than he ought to
spend during the coming year; and yet this
gentleman should turn around and borrow
$750,000 to enable tho swindling agent to
go on with tho construction of a certai
building. This is tho advice of the Times;
how many private persons would follow it?
“But,” it is added, “tho people who vote
the loan are the ones who, at the same time,
vote for the officials who are to spend tho
money.” But the Times knows that the Board
consists of fifteen members, that the people
only elect five this year, and that two of the
worst members of the Board are striving for
re-election. Whenever the people can elect
an entire new IJoard, and shall be satisfied
that they have secured au honest and eco
nomical administration of the county moneys,
then they will bo willing to vote any bonds
that may be necessary; but that is no reason
why they should vote bonds that are not
necessary, to encourage a dishonest and ex
travagant administration.
Tho Times further admits that the appro-
priations for 1878-73 are too high (it had for
merly stated the figures at $500,000 too high),
but says that is no reason why the bonds
should not bo voted. Wo cannot conceive of a
bettorreasou. If the appropriations are $500,-
000 too high, let that amount be saved and
devoted to the Court-House. Then no bonds
'will bo needed The proposition of the
Times is, that the present Ring shall be
allowed to squander $500,000 in general
expenses in order to secure an excuse for
borrowing $750,000 more, which will add
$45,000 to general expenses in the way of
interest, and further mortgage the taxpaj'ing
property of the donnty to the extent of three
quarters of a million.
This bond question is a very simple one
viewed in the light of the facts bearing on
the case. These can be best ascertained by
the comparison which The Tribune has
already made between the present expendi
tures and those of -an inflation period, when
the cost of every thing, was higher and the
ability of the peoble to pay much greater
than now. The 1 County Board will have
nearly $1,000,000“ in money for expendi
ture dunng year XS7S-79. The total
tax-levy (including the amount in excess
of 75 cents ouAsloo which is permit*
ted to be raised- for payment of in
terest on old debt) is $1,427,555, and
the receipts from l tlie various departments—
Sheriff’s, County ' Clerk’s, Recorder’s
offices, and the Courts —will bring the total
revenue up to nearly $1,600,000. Of this,
it is proposed to, tvtpeiui about $1,300,000 in
the support of AUe, county institutions and
officials, for the; interest on the total debt
comes within $300,000. The only plea on
which tho Board seeks to justify this enor
mous appropriation is that about $750,000
have been illegally, spent during the past two
years in overrunning the appropriations and
voting “ extras.” ' The property from which
this monstrous expenditure is to be collected
is valued at $101,757,430. In 1574 the tax-
paying property of the county was valued
at $318,822,573, of twice as much as now,
and yet in that year the Board exacted only
$570,000, or less than half as much as
now, for the support of couuty insti
tutions. Yet, in 1871, money did not have
more than two-thirds the purchasing value
it now has. The rule of the present King
seems to be that the expenditures shall in
crease in the exact' ratio that the value oi
the taxable property and ability of the people
to pay shall decrease. It is this infamous
practice which prompts the Board to ask the
privilege of issuing $750,000 of bonds at a
time when the tux-levy should yield ample
funds for building the Court-House under an
economical administration of county affairs.
The people are not to be deceived in this
matter. 'Whatever the result of the election
may bo as to party candidates, it is in the
interest of all property-owners, whether
Democrats or .Republicans, to vote down the
bonds. Not one dollar should be authorized
beyond the tax-levy until there shall be a
reasonable assurance that the present King
has been made to give way to a set of men
who are willing to disburse county moneys
on an honest and economical-basis.
THE IASI OF “FRAUD."
As George Washington lives in loyal
school-books as the man who couldn’t tell a
lie, Jim Anderson will figure in political his
tory ns the man who couldn’t tell the truth.
This fellow is out with another story. It is
the third complete statement, aside from the
running fire of side-speeches which ho has
kept during the past year, and each state
ment differs from all the others ns widely as
any two articles in the Chicago Times on any
given subject. This time he relieves Secre
tary- Sherman from all the responsibility- for
that apocryphal letter which he had previously
charged upon Mr. Sherman. This much is
probably true, but its truth is only used, we
presume, to further some lie of Anderson’s
in another direction. Anderson wanted to
turn the statement over to Mr. Shellabar
geb, Secretary Sherman’s counsel, but,
we believe, both Mr. Sherman
and his counsel refused to have
anything to do with the fellow. So far as
Sherman is concerned, the fact had been
well established in the minds of all impartial
people that he never wrote any such letter,
and even Anderson’s recent assertion to the
effect that Sherman is innocent will not be
sufficient to make anybody believe that
Sherman is guilty. The only importance I
which Anderson’s present statement has is
to further establish his character as a men- I
dacious and irresponsible adventurer, who
was the chief reliance of the Potter-Butler I
Committee iu the effort to smirch President 1
Hates and his Administration. Anderson is
tile corner-stone in the foundation on which I
the whole structure of evidence has been
erected; with which ,the Democrats have
hoped -to crowd Hayes out of the Presi
deney. ' Nobody wifi, now deny that he is a
very weak prop, and the edifice must tumble
down. The fellow is no more entitled to
belief now, though he may be telling the 1
truth, than he was when he made any of his '
previous contradictory statements. But his
conviction as a consummate and pro
fessional liar, which this last escapade
secures beyond cavil, reveals the desperate
and unscrupulous ambition of the Democrats
who catered into the conspiracy to impeach
President Hates through the agency of such
despicable creatures as Anderson and most
of their other witnesses have proved them
selves to be. We think Mr. Potter was
right in declining to be a candidate for re
clectiou to Congress. Ben Buteeb may also
congratulate himself on the fact that he will
not bo a member of the next House, and the
other Democrats who have been active in the
so-called “ investigation” had better resign.
The lives of all these people will be made
uncomfortable in Washington this winter by
the jokes that will bo poked at them. With
the evidence of Republican corruption rest
ing mainly upon the shoulders of Jm An- i
derson, and confronted with the Tieden
cipher in Florida, South Carolina, and Ore
gon, we think the American people will
henceforth enjoy immunity from the Demo
cratic cry of “Fraud.” We understand that
Dana has issued an edict that the word shall
never again appear in the New York Sun,
in | =====
THE HEBESY OF THE EEV. DE. THOMAS.
“After the manner which some call heresy,
so worship I the God of my fathers,” was
one of St. Paul’s most notable and apolo
getics! sentences, that has often been quoted
by public teachers inclined to do their own
thinking and speaking. Somehow it has al
ways been regarded os one of the unques
tioned functions of the Church —Protestant
as well as Catholic, but not so much the
custom of the former as the latter—to gov
ern men's minds as well as their acts, and to
put their members in the right way of
thinking as well os of doing. Indeed, there
have been times in the world’s history when
n man’s belief was considered of infinitely
more importance than his acts; and in
this error the Chnrch has fallen qnite
ns often as any other organization
of fallible human beings. Hence some
of the most bloody and cruel wars
that have ever disgraced the annals of man
kind have been those that are called in bit
ter irony “ religious,” and some of the most
fiendish persecutions which have ever been
conceived by a bad brain and inspired by a j
wicked heart against innocent and inoffensive I
persons, have been perpetrated in the name
of God, and oftentimes in the firm belief
that His Kingdom would come upon the
earth all the more speedily as the result of
such labors. It is no new thing that ideas
govern the world. Galileo is not reputed
to have been a bad man by any historian,
and yet wo all remember the trouble and
vexation that came upon him because bo en
tertained certain opinions upon the (then)
uncertain subject of astronomy inconsistent
with the popular belief of his day and
generation. And the persecutions, the
cruelties, the indescribable and incredible
torments that one class of professing re
ligionists have inflicted upon others for
mere opinion's sake, are they not
all crystallized into the history of the race,
and sealed with the blood of innocent men
and women ever since the first religions
creed was promulgated ? Even after Prot
estantism had made its final protest against
the Church of Home, we find John Calvin
imitating the refined cruelties of the Inqui
sition by consenting to and advising the
burning of Seiivetcs with a slow fire cf
greenwood because he had the temerity to
deny what he could not understand and
what few theologians can understand to this
day,—a certain orthodox view of the Trinity.
The most singular phase of religious perse
cution, zeal, and bigotry that blackens the
history of the human race is the fact that
the fury of the Chnrch and the insane anger
of its adherents were never spent upon the
wicked and corrupt portion of society, but
generally against those of correct lives and
unimpeachable conduct, who held to certain
mental errors, as their persecutors supposed,
incompatible with the fashionable view of
the case. One would naturally sup
pose that a church or a sect which is
wholly engrossed with the idea of
reform, and dominated with the belief
that men are only kept out of endless per
dition by loading correct and godly lives,
would be content with that, and not waste
its energies in the vain and fruitless effort to
hamper the thoughts and limit the specu
lations of its members.
Wo all remember the great excitemenl
that prevailed throughout the United States
a few years ago in consequence of Bishop
Cheney’s now departure from the ways and
methods of the Episcopal Church, and a
le later the commotion was repeated and
increased by the arraignment and trial of
Prof. Swing for heresy before the court of
last resort in the Presbyterian Church. And
now the Methodist Conference has seen fit
to formally censure the Eev. Dr. Thojus,
of Chicago, for holding and promulgating
doctrines not in harmony with a strict
construction of its formulated creed.
As a secular newspaper, not much given
to the discussion of religious questions, and
yet quite deeply interested in the growth
and progress of religious ideas, and the lib-
erty of conscience, The Tribune is slightly
puzzled, and a little disheartened, at the
prospect of denominational toleration as it is
presented in the three oases referred to
above.
H Messrs. Cheney, Swing, and
Thomas had been bad men, lending vicious
lives, or guilty of wicked practices, corrupt
ers of youth, or destroyers of virtue, and
doing those things that are forbidden by the
laws of God and man, then wo can easily see
why they should be formally denounced aud
branded, and the fellowship of all good
Christian men withdrawn from them.
Or if they had been found guilty
of preaching false doctrines which are
pernicious and immoral in their tend
ency, then their brothers in the Church
would be justified in the opinion of all good
citizens in placing the seal of their disappro
bation upon their pernicious public conduct.
But this is not alleged nor pretended. They
are all acknowledged to be moral, pious, de-
yont, zealous, discreet, and consistent. Pres-
byteriamsm is none the stronger or better by
the expulsion of Swing, nor will Methodism
be made more popular because the Confer
ence has slammed the door in the face of
Dr. Thomas. Not long ago Methodism itself
was a much-abnscd and despised heresy.
When the two Wesleys, John and Charles,
started on their new departure, they met
with the . most violent opposition, not only
from the Episcopal Church of England, but
from the populace, and mobs were hot in-
frequent. The Wesleys and Whitefield
were denied admission into other pulpits.
and often the power of the law was invoked
against them as disturbers of the peace.
They had to hold meetings in private
houses, in barns, aud often in, .the
open fields. Their followers were reviled,
despised, ridiculed, and persecuted. One
■would naturally think, from reading
the trials and tribulations of the founders of
that sect, that it would have learned the
lesson of toleration and liberality by sad
experience, and that the democratic policy
of its early founders would have leavened
the whole lump with the spirit of charity
and religious liberty. In Wesley’s day the
sole condition of membership, one account
says, was “a desire to flee from the wrath to
come and be saved from sin.” Dr. Thomas
is quite tip to that simple standard. In his
admirable sermon lost Sunday morning,
printed in The Tribune on Monday, he ex
claimed with an eloquence and religions
fervor that Wesley or Whitefield would
have admired and envied:
I have lived much in the broad life of humanity,
and lean permit no badge or name to stand be
tween me and the great brotherhood of the race;
nndl most stand, and Idostand. and for years have
stood, and by the help of Goi» I shall continue to
stand, in uncompromised loyalty to .Jesus Cuuist
and my deepest convictions of truth and right;
and I must study that my ministry be approved
unto God, and not unto man. 0 that lie would
give me more and more tho hearts of mankind,
and fill me more and more with the riches of His
grace and truth to build them up In righteousness.
Gladly would I pour out this truth like living
waters upon the thirsty land till my life shall end.
The early teachers of Methodism did not
carry about a Procrustean bedstead with
which to measure the length of their con
verts. The life and character—the “ daily
walk and conversation ” —were the essential
tests then, not mere matters of speculation
and belief, that admitted tbom into fellow*
ship with the saints. Methodism furnishes
one of the most remarkable histories of any
of tho religious denominations that have
sprung into existence since Christianity was
founded. Its origin was os humble os the
manger in which its great progenitor was
cradled, and its spread Is one of tho marvels
of religious propagand sm. Its strength ,
cohesion, unity, and popularity to-day ought
to incite it to cultivate liberty and encour
age the spirit of inquiry among its preachers
and members. It cannot afford to prohibit
investigation nor shackle the freedom of
speech.
Mr. Jefferson was of the op'nion that
every State would outgrow its Constitution
| once in every twenty years, and need a new
one ; and why may not a religions denomi
nation outgrow its creed, and require an en
larged one that is more in accord with the
spirit of the nge ? Granted that the formulated
expression of belief and tho articles of faith
are the best that the wisdom and piety of the
times could possibly conceive, yet the idea
of progress should* not be repugnant to the
minds of the most devout and conservative
Christians. The world moves, and every
thing opposes inertia. Tho great army of
Conservatism lies encamped to-day upon tho
very ground that Radicalism occupied on
yesterday, and will follow on as fasc os it is
possible for it to travel with its surplus bag
gage. In its outward form, the Methodist
denomination has undergone many remarka
ble changes. Once it was a plain, simple,'
unostentatious sect, with no steeples on its
meeting-houses, and no ornaments of any i
sort on the bonnets of its female members.
Its ministers were the ignorant, uneducated,
but zealous and devout circuit riders, whose
home was in the saddle, and who made up in
devotion to Christ what they lacked in
worldly knowledge. Its members walked
with God, and illustrated by their lives and
zondnee the pure and simple faith they pro
fessed. In every, home was erected the fam
ily altar, and around it every member knelt
light and morning in prayer. What it is
now everybody knows. It is conforming
more and more to the ways*of the world.
In learning, ability, and scholarship, its
ministry stand in the front rank, and chal
lenge comparison with the ocher denomina
tions in the land. Its churches are as cosily
and well furnished as any, and their attend
ants are no longer conspicuous for the mean
simplicity of their plain attire. It is-a great
pity that their internal church polity does
not show a corresponding growth and de
velopment with these other outward signs of
culture, so that such an able, eloquent, char
itable, and devoted Christian minister as Dr,
Thomas might find sympathy, and encour
agement, and godspeed from its highest
tribunal, and not be placed under ban by its
unmerited rebuke and censure. When the
great Apostle had enumerated the cardinal
virtues that are to distinguish Christians in
all generations, he emphatically declared
that the greatest of all is charity.
HOW THEY MANAGE PANICS IN CHINA.
They have had a financial panic in the
Imperial City of Pekin, mysteriously begun
and speedily ended, and, as showing the dif
ference between the methods of Occidental
and Oriental civilization, tho .story of.the
panic is worth narrating.
Tno first feeling of insecurity arose from
the famine and the financial pressure grow
ing out of it, which enhanced the price of
rats, puppies, rice, add birds-nests to an
extraordinary figure. Then certain of tho
palace eunuchs were detected in what is
called, in Occidental phrase, “ financial irreg
ularity.” In tho Oriental language, how
ever, it is pleasant to note that they were
called villains and thieves. These pestilent
eunuchs also circulated the rumor that the
Fire-God, who, we presume, is tho equivalent
of the reportorial Fire-Flcudof the Occident,
had been seen hovering over the palace.
This produced so much excitement among
the people that the Government called out
the entire Pekin field-force, and excluded all
the foreigners from the Imperial quarter of
the city. Things might have quieted down
had not the sun and moon commenced to act
in a manner that was alarming to the average
Chinaman. They became lurid and fiery in
their appearance, and the astronomers com
menced to discover all manner of disastrous
portents. The eunuchs joined in with them,
and sot up a more dismal howl than ever.
The people, who look upon any diversity of
solar or lunar appearance ns a sign of grave
calamity to the reigning house, were filled
with alarm. The Pekin field-force might
possibly charge upon the Fire-God and rout
him, horse, foot, and dragoons, hut none of
their longest-range blunderbusses or culver
ins could hit the sun or moon, nor was it
possible to appease them with offerings; of
rat-pies, the heavenly bodies not being fond
of that style of diet. Tilings grew worse
and worse. Those who could run away ran.
Some of the native bankers hid all their
available property and declared themselyes
bankrupt, and the Itegister, we imagine,
rapidly amassed a fortune, though there is no
statement to that effect. Other bankers
decamped with all their available assets,
after the manner of some Occidental
financiers, and left their notes in circulation.
The private fiat became worthless, and, as
there was no absolute promise os to redemp r
tion, the public fiat fell to half its value.
The effect supplies n very vivid.picture of
what our own condition may be if the fiat
lunatics get control. The Government, as
fast as the mouey depreciated, issued .more
of it, and stamped it, “This is a dollar,” or
wordis to that effect, by the authority of sev
eral thousand Chinese gods. Tho Chinese
having as many gods as they can possibly
issue greenbacks, there could bo no theolog
ical limit to the inflation, of the currency.
Notwithstanding, however, ttehetoZZT
divine authority, the more the stuff WtS
issued the more rapidly it (p...* 15
in value. The more it declined 10 ;!
value the more rapidly the ™
chants ran up prices, until at last it
about all a man could cany to buy an A If-*
rat, while a wagon-load of the stuff was
essaty to a negotiation for a superfine pnmT
pie. In addition to the official chaos a a
raercial panic was now in full tide.
naiely, there were no Communists bent uaT
improving the situation by destroying T
railroads, because they have no Communis?
and, cveri if they had Communists thS
have no railroads. The hoodlum of ti,
sand-lot is a type of civilization not vet
reached even by the Chinese. The Govern
ment at last waked up to the necessities of
the situation. The Emperor recently died
and went to his pig-tailed fathers, and the
Empresses, several in number, are in power
The aggregation of female cunning and good
sense saved the day. They discovered that
there was nothing unusual in the appearance
of the sun and moon if rain fell within three
days of the occurrence, and they issued •
document to that effect, in which they siid
., * , i lTe received memorials from the BcafWnv
the College, the Tutor of the Imperial -
and Ills Imoenal Highness Prince CurereSS’
us to practice virtue, to possess ourselves K/5
ness, anil to promulme an edict for the re-S,l
llshmeuc of order and the stamping nut of falA
mom and floating gossip. The memorials
thnt rain, haarallen abundantly, the aa uem erm!
are assured, nnd the famine refugees hare S
sent bade to their homes, and on these doirJlkl
mmda of our subjects may be at oerfect
They point out, funner, that the rcpre.e 0 “So?:
made to us by the Astronomical Board re~mS
the appearance of the heavens need excite
prehension, for the “ True Principles of
my’’state that when signs appear In tern??. o ,{
n the mono portending calamines thev mcanSem*
ing, and may be disregarded if within three
fall of ram occurs. tfnder these circemsmnc-s 5
is onr boanden dnty to lay the actual condihm M 5
things candidly before onr people in
nlar suspicion may be disarmed. We tW.fnSl
command that full publicity be given to tho ml*
mortal of the Board of Astronomy, that the tr?£
at the gates of the palace be restricted in the man
iter best adapted to promote quiet within, and
a strict supervision be maintamedover the eonirt.
in every part of the palace. e eQ “®*
Exactly as tbeso wise women expected,
tho rain come abundantly. Thereupon ths
Government recovered from its fright Tka
Fire-God winged his way to other 'quarters.
The field-force was recalled. The sunned
moon resumed their normal appearance.
The eunuchs sang smalt The bankets begin
to return. Honest money made its appear,
ance, and specie payments wore resinned.
Hard iron cash strung on strings toot the
place of paper bills as big as the side of a
tea-cbest. Prices fell to their legitimate
standard. The era of good sense and con
fidecco returned.
Now, observe the nice adaptation of means
to ends, the eternal fitness of things, and the
poetic justice that characterize Oriental
civilization. The Government was not con
tent with the return of good timei
The Empresses, wise women that
they were, determined to nuke an
example of those who had been instrumental
in getting up the Black Friday. So they
ordered the noisiest of the eunuchs and the
most dishonest of the bankers to be strung
up in a row by the heels. When the string
was complete, relays of able-bodied China
men were empowered to whip them with
bamboos. As the whippers were chosen
from those who had suffered most by the
panic, one may imagine the unction and
enthusiasm with, which they got even with
the whippees. At last accounts trade was
resumed, order was restored, and Josh loot
ed down from his airy hights with serene
and smiling face as he contemplated his
millions of happy pigtails. How much more
satisfactory is. Oriental civilization in its
methods than the Occidental!
Since the trial of Prof. Swing for heresy,
some years ago, a good deal of discussion has
been going on amongtheintcllhrentand thought
ful members of the Presbyterian Church In re
gard to its Confession of Faith. A large num
ber of good people join a Church without fully
becoming acquainted with its doctrine as ex
pressed in its creed, or, if they do understand it,
they take It with a mental reservation. During
the trial of Prof. Swing, the question of what
was essential to believe in order to be agood
Presbyterian became very prominent. Recent
ly, the Synod that assembled at Baltimore had
a very lively discussion relative to that article
which refers to the Pope of Rome as Anti
christ, the man of sin, sou ot perdition, and so
on. The question was whether they sboald E
affirm or repudiate that opinion, and after I
an earnest and animated debate they
shirked the responsibility ot it by re
ferring it to the General Assembly. Now
that the subject has been fully debated in a
denominational assemblage of prominent cler
gymen, and alter many Presbyterian ministers
have boldly assailed some section of the “or- j
tides,” it may not bo deemed sacrilegious for |
us to say that that portion of it relating to the, ■
Pope of Rome is repugnant to the spirit of re-, j
ligtous liberty which is characteristic ot the last |
half of the nineteenth century. The simple
truth about the matter is, that Presbyterianism,
like almost every other religious organization
in America, Is infinitely better, more liberal,,
kinder, and sweeter than its authoritatively
stated doctrines. Otherwise a large majority of!
its best men and women would break away from
it. It sadly needs a new suit of clothes; and it
is a hopeful sign when a Synod composed of ;
its best men, like that at Baltimore, begins to.
show signs ot shame at the sight of the old
ones. The noble work of such an aggressive
and respectable denomination of faithful Chris
tians should no longer be dogged by errors of -
belief adoptcil long ago.
The veteran campaigners of this county, the
Kepublieau and Democratic “whcelhorscs,” bad
a sensation yesterday morning when they read
in Kern's organ, the TVmrs, the editorial eiving
the platform on which lie proposes to make the
fight. or on whicii ids organ-grinder proposes h 0;
shall make it. And when they read it they
spoke to one another marveling, and they said:;
“ What new system is this of running a cam
paign! Is the wisdom of the fathers to go for
naught!” This card, or prommeiaraenta* °r
whatever it may be called, is so unique, that an
abstract of it must be given for the benefit of
the many who would not sec it in a paper of the
small circulation of the Times, ft is headed
“Foreign Know-Nothiugisin,” This Is meant
as a bint to the Irish. It goes on to say that
Sheriff .Keiix, though a candidate for re*
election, does not need the Irish vote.
Jfo Irish need apply to him or to
his ticket-peddlers on election-day for Kers
ballots. lie wants only respectable men—Gor
mans and Americans—lo vote for him.
is a gentleman; he docs not want the support
of Irish “sluggers, thieves, bummers, idlers,
broken-down politicians, and rascals and ad
venturers.” Kern is a law-abiding man; be
does not want the support of “Irish cut
throats and thieves.” Keu.v is an honest roan;
he does not want the support of Irish “lawless
savages.” Kekx is a reformer; he does not
want the support of, a combination .of
“thugs and. bruisers.” So says the Times,
speaking for Keux. These, “lawless thags,
bruisers, savages, and cut-throats ” are ail sun*
porting Kedob, says the Times, ami this is the
class, ot voters that Keux docs, not want..
“There are- some Irishmen,” says Kbks’s
organ, “who are not supporting Keiioe, and
they .are tolerably decent ,fellows.”,. Inso*
much as . the Boy .■ Mu.es will; -get the
pretty solid, vote of his countrymen. Irishmen
can see the general idea of them entertained bf
Keux and his hand-organ. The Journal says It
is rumored on the streets that KeiuJ haste
bleed heavily for all the puffs he gets in th*
Times* hut it is luird to believe that he paid fat
the insertion of tue proclamation headed **?» 0