American telegraph. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1851-1851, 1851-11-24
Communicated
Tho Organization OF the House of Rep
resentattvcs.


To the Editors Of the american Telegraph:
GENTLEMEN: Two or three communications
have appeared in your paper in relation to the
organization of the House of Representatives,
and o probable change of the officers in the
Senate. The writer's evidently look more to the
| individual advancement of themselves, or some
favorite candidate for the various Offices than
an adherence to correct principles and sound
policy.
The officers of the House (for shall only
allude to it) should be selected with view
mainly to their qualifications for the various
positions to which they will be called, and not
to the advancement of any particular interest,
or with view of giving this or that person a
clerkship OF any other place within the gift of
said officers.
AS an old member of the Democratic party,
| and one who desires that it shall have at least n
| temporary respite from the agitatons which for
| the last two years threatened its demolition as
a national party, | desire to urge upon the
minds Of members what | conceive to be the
| true policy for them to pursue in reference to
| the organization.
Three-f ffths of the officers are now Demo-
cratic; that is, the Clerk, Sargeant-at-Arms,
and Postmaster. The first two of these were
| elected by the last Congress, the Clerk in the
| fifth month, the Sargeant-at-A Arms in the first
month of the first session, and the Postmaster
| was elected at the commencement of the 9th
Congress; and such has been his popularity,
| because he has discharged his duty faithfully
| that even n Wing Congress declined change.
| The question then is, Has the present Clerk
| and Sergeant at Arms discharged their duty
with similar fidelity? And if SO, shall they
| be continued, or will their party remove them
| to make place for others? These two gentle
men, it must be recolected, were not candidates
for the places they now hold, at the organization
of the last House of Representatives, but we're,
like Hercules, called in TO the relief of theil
Democratic friends when they found they could
not succeed with their regular nominees They
| are good and true men, and have the conf
dence of the entire party. Their removal
| is not sought on account of q faithless dis
charge Of their duty; or Mt least no such
charge has as yet been made. The grounds
urged for the dismissal Of Judge Young are,
first, that, when elected, it was understood that
| be would not be candidate for re. election /;
second, that he did not remove the entire Wing
force in his office; and lastly, "because Ito use
the language of one of his opponents) he has
been pensioner on his party all his life" To
the first of these / have only to say, that Judge
Young denies that any such promise was made
| by him, or by any friend with his authority
nor does he know that the condition of his
election was placed upon any such grounds
! by the friends Of any person aspiring to the
Clerkship at future time. If so, let all the
glory be theirs, for | am sure he wants il
not. To the second-that the efficient dis
charge Of the duties Of his office required the
retention of certain employees of the former
Clerk; and in this he has the written opinion
and request Of o majority of the Democratic
members To the last-that If the people Of a
State having seen proper to confer the highest
honors in their gift upon one of her sons is a
sin, then is Judge Young not sinless, but must
submit, with the best grace he can to be termed
a pensioner, but not an "invalid pensoner,"
as the sequel will show.
Judge Young can appeal to Democratic mem
bers of the House as to his standing in the
Democratic party from his advent as Jackson
elector, in 1923, to the present time, with test
monials from the lamented Jackson, Grundy
Silas Wright, Polk, Calhoun, and host Of
others, but must content himself with the YER
dict which will be rendered by the living.
OF Messrs Glosbrenner and Johnson it is
unnecessary to speak, for as yet they have no
competitors. The manner in which they dis
charge their duties is their commendation, and
l presume both will be re elected unless another
gentleman from Pennsylvania should be elected
Clerk, then, of course, the Sergeant at Arms
will fall, and two men, faithful and true, will
be sacrificed in order that one may be elevated
This is not written from any unkind feeling
toward Mr.. Forney or any other gentleman
for him have the kindest feeling, and have
always been his warm admirer, personally aud
4 politically-but because think Justice demands
that the course and policy which have marked
out should be pursued.
] An 0LD-TINR DEMOCRAT