Which Is the Greater Disgrace?
By Editor
Much has been said in the press concerning the disgrace to the United States Senate because one of its members has been convicted of receiving money for illegal services, yet, as his case has been appealed to a higher court, it is said the Senate will not take action until it be finally decided whether he shall really have to undergo the penalty of conviction. If he should manage to get clear through some technicality, his place would not be vacated unless he should choose to resign, altho he has acknowledged his guilt. Therefore, it is not in doing illegal things, such as abetting illegal corporations, that the great body feels itself disgraced; the really tender point, the heinousness of the crime, lies in a member's being unlucky enough to be convicted. And this rule seems to pervade nearly all, if not all, the law-making bodies of the world, as also other departments of the various governments. If the newspapers speak the truth, the exceptions are rare.