The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1852-04-19

papers of the District. But Il seems the Wash
inqton Union il determined 10 insist on all. The
editor of that print applied to the Joint Com
mittee. on Printing, and even pressed this de-
mand on Mr.. BoRLAHD, a Southern Rights man,
as appears from his explanation in the Senate
AZ follows
But never understood until recently that tiie
proposition to give this printing to Doneiso" " :
Armstrong was placed upon the ground whicn
| now find Il placed by the committee that 49, inc
exigencies of the public servlce' or the Necessity
for having the work done at once ana promptly.
The main if not only consideration suggested
hv Mr. Donelson himself to me, and his active
friends TO induce me 10 support that proposition,
wa. the necessity of it TO sustain the Union az q
marty press; it being alleged that in no other
wav could the paper be sustained and kept up.
Sir the appeal was distinctly, and repeatedly,
and openly made to me, a. party man. 10 DO
this as a party measure, whereby patronage
would be given to that paper, which was q
losing concern, and could not be sustained
except by profitable jobs Of public printing.
Appeals were made to me upon that GROUND,
and that ground alone, not merely in connec-
ton with this printing but when Mr.. brights
tee on Printing to give to Donelson "
Armstrong the printing Of the seventh census,
the appeal was made to me upon the same
| ground by the active friends of the Union, ana
!! by one of its conductors in person. mean Mr..
Dopelson. was told that it was necessary ID
order to sustain the paper, that it must nave
| that printing Nay, sir, was told-and am
sorry TO have to saw it. but it is necessary TO my
| full ustificatiol,-I was told by one OF the most
active friends of that press-one VINO had i!S
interests specially in charge in regard TO thls
pstronage-that unless the printing was given
| to Donelson g. Armstrong, aud that, too' WIN
| in three weeks. the democratic party would be
disorpanized and disbanded. The gentleman
| who told be 80 said he had agreed, with some
6fty others of the House OF Representatives.,
that the proposition should be made Test o'
the Democratic party organization, ana I''a',
unless it were contormed to, the party "o"iu
be disorganzed and disbanded.
This is an extraordinary development. The
application was enforced by the twofold expe-
dents of bullying and begging. The editor OF
the Union did the begging the paper coulo
not live without the job. Now, this Is degra-
dation to which we did not suppose that even
party organship would descend. Before we
would humiliate ourselves, by asking of mem
bers of Congress, the means of the very exist
ence of our paper, VIC would cultivate potato
patch on the outskirts of civilization. What
dignity, self.respect or independence, could an
editor have, to be thus subsisting ON the favor
Of Congress? The bullying process, it seems
was conducted on behalf Of the Union by an
active friend, who threatened that if the paper
was not supported out of the public treasury
| the partv would be disbanded in few weeks
and some fifty members of Congress had
pledged themselves to this scheme of Disunion
or Disruption! Now, is not this beautiful
development to be made of paper that only on
Saturday last denounced us for menacing Con-
gress because we declared publicly in the paper
that we would endeavor to prevent reunion
of our friends in party that undertook to
! prescribe us in advance?
But it seems that the begging and bullying
policy failed. The Democratic party rejected
both petition and demand So coalition was
formed of Wings and Democrats, to divide the
spoils equally between the Republic, Wing
organ, and the Union. The terms of this Goa
ition are remarkable. The Printing Commit
tee offered the job at the prices proposed by
Mr.. RrvEs, practical and responsible man.
fThe allies demanded sixty-nine per cent more
! on the most important parts of the work The
value, the dignity, the power Of organship, have
heretofore been uncertain quantities. They
are now ascertained and set forth in figures
and estimated at sixty-nine per cent. more than
the price of work by a practical man! Well
we suppose that large portion of the Demo
Gratis would have paid this premium for the
organ, but they were rather staggered with the
demand, to take in the bargain, Wing organ
at the same price. That was cutting the fa'
too thick. So they rebelled And the Wings
themselves evidently thought this was running
the thing into the ground. So they exploded
And the consequence was that this interesting
pair of organic allies were reduced to minorit,
in the House of their friends-a rebuke, col
lapse, catastrophe, an ignominy that never be
fore occurred in this country in the progress o
" bargain, intrigue and management" jobs
speculations, and coalitions.
We beg to contrast the halfmelancholy, half
ludicorous career and disaster of the co.organs
with the course we have pursued. Private con
versations have been resorted to, and disclosed
to convict us of improperly or inconsistency
and in vain. We have said nothing, proposes
nothing in secret, that we had not previousl
) declared in public-in our columns. A recti
tude of principle, and prcfundity Of diplomac
have, it is now manifest, governed all GU
movements. We commend our course wit
equal complacency to our friends and foes. w
proposed no monstrous coalitions, we neilhe
begged, nor buled, nor chartered We de
manded no sixty-nine per cents.
The editor of the Union, in the depth of hi
modification and despair has been anxious t
find some accusation to make against US
Misery loves company. So he has at lengt
| Il