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About Hesperian student / (Lincoln [Neb.]) 1872-1885 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1876)
M Our 1'oliticul Virtue. ihivs, wi'li I ho achievements, deeds and thoughts of ii Viui Jiurcn, Harrison, Polk, Wo need no example to substuntlulu tills assertion. Merely notice, yourselves, who Tler and oilieis, who shed their lambent1; formerly tilled our positions ol trust and light upon Hie Presidential chair ol a still I honor in our government, in our com. litler day. F'ok al ii in n common-senso view lay for a" moment a'l prcdjudioo aside, and you will readily pi reeive that the ties of nature and the dictates of policy demand that we cheriah with veneration and grate. ful recollections the memory of those men nioiiwcnllhs, and who to-day hold the same positions. Can we then with a clear conscience, .say that each day our political virtues are becoming purer, while we observe the man who to-day holds the helm of our government, while we sec him floundering who have laid the foundation of this great , in the vast flood of corruption, surrounded republic hy men whose characters are tainted with Vlicn wo commence to ridicule and ox-1 atiociouscrimes.w hose heartsaie hardened pose the vices 'of tho.-e men, when we treat . by nefarious plots against theireountry and then. 'as if they had no virtues, and when we immortalize their Mus and follies in satirical anecdote, as is lroque:ll done, it whose imaginations are dazzled by visions of diadems in treasury vaults? Can we, citizens of a free governnu'i.t, shows plainly thn we are losing that Hue with free thought and free speech, stand principle which should form an element ' by and see our country cairied into the of every American citizen. 'yawning chasm of innovation and over- Yes, we are living in an age too deep!;, overwhelmed by the vast Hood of e.onun tion to notice and cherish the deeds, to hold in grateful recollections the Miller, ings and trials our forefathers euduied in laying the foundation of this powerful na tion. Wo are all willing to admit that there was glory in tho stubborn and Arm resolution with which our country during its infancy, under the guidance of 'a Washington, fought for and maintained its rights; but now we ensuus our.-clves with tho thought that no such foolhardy, thrown by men destitute of sufllcient wis dom, of dccMon of character, of inflexiblo integrity. I again ask you, oldening all this, can wo boast of our political virtues. It is a self-evident fact that, in these late years, our ollleials have become corrupt in the extreme. We are gradually learning to heed not the cry of eoiruplion. Ac counts of defalcations, swindles, lorgeiii's. and briberies, which at one lime won: startling in the extreme, and which sent a shudder of fear through our veins, aie insane risks made under the guidance of i now read as they appear in the columns the commanders of a Inter day have marred of the press, with that degree of coolness their warlike renown. Hut, then, why and unfeeling which alone should wain should costly glory be sought when a I us of the terrible future. Weare nnwablr . . f ..I I. i . .....1 n ' . i. - ..I . I . . . ... cneapcr amoiu can uu loiuiu : As wo co sailing down the stream of time, tossed hither and thither by the turbulent waves, wo readily forget the past in our ambitious desire for spoils, and look with a longing into the distant future. Would we but stop and notice tho vast dillerence between tho early life of this republic and its later, wo would bo startled in the extreme. Formerly, our J ablest men held our highest ofllccs, while now they do not, and eonfcssvdly, can not. ' principles which they professed to mni. lo see for ourselves that an aseeitained de sire for ofllce is a demonstration of unfit, nessj that the present holding of oJllce is prima facio evidence ol'unworthiness. Wo llnd our positions of trust throughout our land tilled with men who are each day ac cumulating wealth and honor and tilling their storehouses to the tunc of our conn, try's disgrace. Men whom we send lo our State and National legislatures, have deseited tho 1