The Star Of The North

Who is Responsible?

In view of the startling exposures of fraud made by the Van Wyck Committee, some of the Republican papers console themselves with the reflection that if corruption has occurred under this Administration, its own partisans have not hesitated to expose it. We don't see how this mitigates the enormity of the rude perpetrated by the chosen agents of the Government, or relieves it from the just odium of squandering the public money at a time when above all others its disbursement should have been jealously guarded. In the case of Mr. Cummings, every opportunity was offered for the perpetration of fraud. If the object had been to squander the public funds, no better plan could have been devised than to give him unlimited power to draw on a sum of two millions of dollars. This loose and irresponsible way of doing business invited peculation—and considering the character of the disbursing agents it is hard to resist the conclusion that fraud was expected and intended. And this is not an isolated case for it seems that the same loose system extended throughout all Government transactions. A multitude of harpies fastened their fangs upon the Treasury because the opportunity of plunder was literally thrust upon them. If the Republican party wish to clear their skirts of the responsibility of squandering millions of the public money, they should not merely expose the guilty, but repudiate and punish them, whether they occupy high or low places. This thing of exposing enormous peculations and then covering the authors and agents with a thin coating of political whitewash only excites derision and encourages future frauds. —American Volunteer.