Discomfited, but Persistent.
By Editor
Our Washington correspondent informs us that Dr. Crafts, of Reform Bureau, or "Christian lobby," fame, is much discomfited by the extensive airing given to his franking frauds by the press. He complains that the publications and criticisms for which certain influential journals are responsible have caused "certain philanthropic Christians," who have hitherto liberally supported the bureau's "reforms," to cut down their contributions. Mr. Crafts wrote and telegraphed to the papers about it, but they paid little attention to his explanations. His attempts to reconcile his position with strict integrity, while they deny some minor detail of the reports, are acknowledgements of his use of certain Congressmen's franking privilege to send out the bureau's matter free of postage. Even if he had their permission, such use is clearly illegal; and the doctor has always been such a stickler for law enforcement—especially the enforcement of Sunday laws. His explanations and modifications of reports do not affect the main charge of fraudulent use of the franks; in fact he defends this course, on the ground that the assumed good work justifies the means used to further it.