unhappy condition is recognized. There is not a man, woman, or
child in our country possessed of any brain but knows that Benjamin
Harrison was elected President by open, wholesale bribery. Mr. Foster
advertised this in his well-known circulars wherein he called for
funds, and quoted Senator Plumb as saying that the manufacturers ought
to be squeezed. And why should they be squeezed?--because, he said,
they are the sole beneficiaries of the one measure at issue in the
canvass. This was followed by Senator Ingalls' famous advice to the
delegate at the Chicago convention, which said, "Nominate some such
fellow as Phelps, who can tap Wall Street." This was followed by the
Dudley circular directing the purchase of "floaters in blocks of five
or more," and assuring those dishonest agents that the funds would not
be wanting to close the purchase.

Under this exhibit of evidence the fact cannot be denied; but to make
it conclusive, the New York _World_ has gathered from all parts of the
country clear, unmistakable proof of wide-spread, clearly planned, and
openly executed purchase of voters.

The chair of the Chief Executive has followed the seats of Senators to
the market, and that highest gift of the citizen has been sold to the
highest bidder. The great political fabric of the fathers, built from
woful expenditure of patriotic effort and blood, is honeycombed with
rot, and remains, a mere sham, to shame us before the world.

Of course we are not so silly as to attach blame only to one party.
The difference between the two lies in the fact that the one had more
money than the other, and a stronger motive for its use. The
Republicans being a "combine" of property interests, depending upon
the government to make those interests profitable, were impelled to
exertion far beyond the Democrats, who were struggling for the power
only that a possession of the government brings. But we are forced to
remember that the votes purchased came from the Democratic party. Said
a prominent Democrat of Indiana to the writer of this: "We had enough
money to purchase the State had we known the nature of the market, and
possessed agents upon whom we could rely. The agents of our opponents
were preachers, deacons, elders, class-leaders, and teachers in
Sunday-schools, and could be relied on to use their swag as directed.
Our fellows put our money in their pockets, and left the voting to
care for itself. And then, again, while we were on the loo