these people were permitted to have such opportunities for wholesale swindling, and that after they were detected, they were not only not brought to punishment, but some of them were even continued in office. Colonel Baker was indignant, and justly so, that his efforts were brought to nought through the interference of politicians, who were more afraid of having discredit brought on the party they represented, by the exposures which he made of corruption and scoundrelism in high places, than they were solicitous for honesty and efficiency in the administration of some of the most important affairs of the government. Baker was not only interfered with, and his plans balked, but his opponents even went so far as to persecute him, by bringing a charge of conspiracy, and by compelling him to defend himself in the courts.
I have known Colonel Baker to do some things that were scarcely defensible, but, with regard to this matter, I have the best means of knowing that he was entirely in the right, and that, had he been permitted to do as he wished, he would have effectually stopped rascalities of the worst kind, and have performed services that would have entitled him to the lasting gratitude of his countrymen. It was utterly disgraceful that he should have been subjected to persecutions for doing his simple duty, especially as his investigations were commenced, and for a considerable time carried on, at the instance of the very men who turned upon him so soon as his labors threatened to create a public scandal that might be disadvantageous to the political prospects of some of them. They were willing enough to hunt down, and to punish rascality, so long as they and their friends were not injured in any way, but so soon as Baker began to prove himself in earnest, and determined to bring the rascals to justice, no matter who might be hurt, the very men who had secured his services turned upon him, took sides with the rogues, and did their best to destroy him.
