The southern press., 1851-04-04
To the Editor Of the Republic !:


ton of mistake into which you have fallen in
regard to the motives of the controversy into
which have been forced by Mr. Ritchie
The Republic errs in supposng that conflict
of feeling, having its origin in the division Of the
Democratic party created during Mr.. Polks ad-
ministration, has the remotest conEexion with
the controversy into which have been drawn
by Mr. Richie. Every member of Congress
knows that have never entered into any of the
feelings which have produced alienation-that |
have pursued the even tenor Of my way, sup
porting, as heretofore, the regular nominee of
my party, and preserving, without shade of
difference, all the intimacy and kind feelings
with which have been honored by members of
both sections with whom my business for many
years has brought me in contact. | must do
Mr.. Ritchie the justice to say that he is not ami
mated in his war upon me by any wish to- in
crease the differences in the party. He has
found that the share he has had in producing the
breach has, by no means, tended to recommend
him to either branch, and he has seen, with re-
gret, and complained of it in his press, that
was sustained by all sides in both Houses,
while all his entreates could not carry any of
his propositions through Congress, though
backed by influences which must have prevailed
if it had been possible to bear up and carry
along such load of iniquity. No. there is no.
thing OF party conflict in the issues which Mr.
Rtchie has brought up in his warfare with me-
The sole motive of his attacks on me--first, Sc
cretly and insdiOusly, ard, at last, openly, in
brOadside OF the UniOn-was the disappoint-
ment of pecuniary speculation, which the mere
existence of my press in Washington, without
movement on my part, most innocently occa-
stoned Mr.. Ritchie's scheme in bidding the
contract at a previous session and throwing il up
at the next, without notice of his intention, was
to leave Congress no alternative but to employ
him on his own terms.
This was to break up the contract system.
When the committee proposed to permit me to
offer terms to be considered with new ones pro-
posed by Mr.. Ritchie for himself he perceived
that his well-laid plan was blown up He there
fore refused to surrender what he calls his "ill.
starred" contract, if was allowed to bid for the
new one. To acquiesce in Mr.. Ritchie's exclu-
sion of all competition, was, on the part of Con.
gress, a surrender of its law and to this the
committee would not consent. Mr. Rtchie
could not attack Congress for maintaining its
own authority and the public interests; but he
told Mr. Hamlin, a member of the committee.
who informed him | was invited to bid, that he
would not resign his contract, if | was allowed
to become his competitor. To Justify his re-
fusal to make the surrender he had himself pro-
posed on such n ground, rendered it necessary
that he should make me odous, and this he at
tempted.-First, secretly and insidiously, by in
snuating to members of Congress then by
Productions spread abroad by reporter en-
ployed by him, who wrote letters for publication
in q Philadelphia newspaper; and, finally, BY
open denunciation in the Union That he was
not prompted by party animosity is manifest
from his assigning as motive personal ill-will,
growing out of an injury which he said had
done him, which he did not specify The source
of this feeling was doubtless the wrong he had
done me in Withholding the interest he owed on
the deferred payments for the Globe office, and
the money he received from the subscribers
who were supplied, at his request, with the Con-
gressional Globe, instead of his Register of De
bates which, after being paid for, he failed to
print 1t is clear that party feeling had nothing
TO do with it, 1t is obvious, from his readiness
to agree with the antagonist party press of this
city, to fix the price and divide the printing. that
he can merge all party feeling in private interest
Ills motives are merely mercenary, which | will
make evident on some future occasion.
While my hand is in, let me overreach lit
tie on your courtesy to expose garJling oil
documents which the Union has resorted to in |
the series of numbers with which it is now
spinning out the remnant of its term of limited |
existence. The garbled extracts it makes from |
some testimony given at the request of commit. |
tees of Congress in lS40 and in 1916, present |
ing such information my experience in print |
ing enabled me to afford in regard to the prices,
the manner, and the best system of executing
the Congressional work. The questions before
the committees were, whether the election Of
printers, the contract system, or the establish
ment OF national printing Office should be re-
commended; and if the first should be adopted. |
what prices should be fixed In the papers sub |
mitted by me all these topics were discussed, |
and my opinions frankly given. In one of these
l say:
ut is my opinion that the prices fixed by the
joint resolution of Congress of 1919 do not af-
ford more than fair compensation for the print
ing of Congress--I mean when it is executed
according to what ! consider to be the letter
and spirit Of the resolution, and with the neces-
sary despatch If the printing of Congress
should be sent to the printer legibly written,
with anything like regularity, and he were to
work on it the regular working hours only
think the prices of 1919 would give him pro-
fit OF from 25 to 37i per cent, on such works
rs is required for the legislation of Congress"
This is extracted from my testimony delivered
to the Committee on Printing in 1910, which is
filed in the clerks office of the House of Rep
resentatives, and published and to be found in
the printed volumes of the documents of that
day in the Libraries Of Congress, in every Exc
cutive department, and wherever such docu-
ments, bound and unbound, are preserved and
vet this is the "mare's nest which the editor of
the Union pretends to have discovered when he
insinuatcs | had concealed it after had pur-
loined It This, says the Union, is the "recent-
" discovered document which SO much pains
have been taken to suppress" shall recur to
this on some other occasion, and show up this
dramatic piece Of imposture now con6ne my
self to an explanation of the point which the
parbled extract is introduced to establish aganst
me by keeping back another portion of the con-
text, which makes its meaning and truth appar-
emit
The purpose for which this garbled eStractsi is
mt from the context is TO make the impression
hat considered the prices of 1919 as not more
han adequate for all the printing of Congress,