Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1840-05-22

dollars And another bill in which
people are charged for grinding Mr.. Val
Buren's table knives-and for two knife\
blades, the sum of 81 29 The people
are also charged eight hundred and fifty
nine dollars, for the services of q horse,
cart, and gardener, to aid in raising Mr..
Van Buren's vegetables
The White House, with the exception
of the East Room) was handsomely fur
nished while Mr.. Adams was President
of the United States. Gen. Jackson
spent $500 for furniture during the
eight years that he occupied the White
House, and Mr.. Van Buren,, the first
year of his administration, expended for
the same purpose upward of $4,000!
Mr.. Ogle said he was aware that Mr..
Van Buren, was great advocate gold,
and he supposed that eating with gold
knices and forks gave him "hankering"
that way!
Mr.. Lincoln repeatedly interrupted Mr.
Ogle, in the course of his remarks, and
informed him that the report of his speech
was published in the Globe, was taken
by a reporter and published without his
knowledge or consent he never saw it,
until it appeared in print, and had no OPP
portunity to revise it; and he wished it
understood that it contained very many
Inaccuracies, some of which he had poin-
ted out to the gentleman from Pensyl.
vana. The report, he repeated, was q
perversion of his Language, and contained
expressions which he did not use He
dsavowed the spirit oft, entirely.
Mr.. Ogle said he was glad to hear tho
gentleman make this explanation. He did
not believe that any man could stand up
before his constituents and justify tho
foolish extravaganza of the President. He.
did not believe that any man could justify
him in his aping of foreign courts-in tho
purchasing of French furniture, of gold
plate, of artificial flowers, British COACH
es, and other things of that sort. He did
not believe any man could justify him in
charging his common household ex-
pcnses to the people while he was
receiving the largest salary paid any
public officer in the nation. President
Washington, he said, lived in a plain
house, in plain manner-and he paid
for his own rent, and his food and family
expenses. And there was no law to JUS
tify Mr. Van Buren, in making such char
ges against the people, as he had read
from the reports. No other President
ever did such thing. If we permitted
these charges in one instance, there would
be no end to them-no limit, whatever,
but the limit Of avarice. Instead of Il
salary of S25 900, the salary of the Pres
idedt might be increased, by his own
will, to 100000. He considered this a
monstrous abuse ofpower, and one that
ought to be Immediately checked.
Well, then, here you have specimen
of the facts, figures, and arguments, pre-
sented by Mr. Ogle to sustain the famous
GoM Spoon story. The spirit of this
story is the charge of extravaganza, and
a mean abuse of power for pecuniary adj
vantage. MIR Ogle has talked three days
on this subject, and will soon present
to the public the entire mass of facts
which he has collected, with receipted
bills, and the certified documents to
sustain his charges. have only gath
cred few items from the speech which
he delivered last evening-and this was
scarcely a third of the whole. Then
how does the Gold Spoon story stand
now? Is not MIR. Van Buren, "vain
main?" and does not his vanity lilo
within a narrow circle 2" Read again
the extract givon above from one of my
former letters, and see if it be not literally
true. declare again, that MIR Van Bu-
rem has filled the White House with ex-
travagant French furntnre-that he is
an an aristocrat in feeling and in practice
that his public table is garnished with a
pyramid of foreign jewclry, and other eX-
pensive and improper ornaments-that
on extraordinary occasions he uses SER
vice of gold plate-that he rides in an
English coach, constructed in imi-
tation of those used by the nobility of
Great Britain-and that while living in a
style of princely magnifcence, he meanly
charges his common family expenses
his towels and gardening-to the people
of the United States. Here is a gold
spoon story somewhat enlarged-and tho
more you investigate it, the worse it will
appear.
1t is to be regretted that a man Of
Gov, Lincoln's good sense should have
lent himself, for an instant, to Justify such
monstrous extravagance-sucha fragrant
abuse of power-and such gross VIOLA
ton ofevery princlpleof the democratic
creed. But as understand this explain
alton, he has not done so. He declared,
most explicitly, that the report of his re-
marks in the Globe was perversion of