Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1863-04-09
HoLCoMB ON MILEAGE.
Mr.. JuDsoN HoLcoMB appears in the Argus
of Goth ult., with long letter in reply tc
WEBB,n which contains the following =


WEBB" which contains the following -
Now as the assertion made by the Brad ord REPORTER
and often reiterated by Others and lastly by Mr.
WEBB that had taken pay Clerk of the House Tor
500 miles travel when at the time he il was hold
ing an office worth about 500 per month"
The act of 1855 made it my duty assistant clerk OF
the House to attend for ten days at the opec ing OF tue
session of 1850 and fixed the compensation for such ser
vice at three dollars per day. and the usual mileage
performed the duties faithfully the law required ana
npOn consultation with the heads OF departments they
decided that received mileage for travelling from
Towanda, my place OF residence tc Harrisburg and as
would have been compelled under the law to come
there, | was entitled to mileage, and accordingly
made my account follows which is true and correct
copy of the account file in the AuditorGeneras CT
flee, viz =
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
To 10 days service retiring assistant Clerk !
of House of Representatives. session 1860, $4,000
To travel 400 miles circular, Is cts, 90 ,OO
The above account is correct $4,000
e. II. RArcH, Clerk H. Il
Auditor Generals Office, State Treasury office Jan
Harrisburg JAN 10, 1860 9ary q, 1860
JACOB Fry, Jr., Tho NICHOLSON,
Audito r-teneral for ELI SLIFER, St. Trs.
For the Justice of the foregoing account l have the
approval of the accounting officer the Commonwealth
acting under oath who knew all the facts and the copy
of the record proves that both the REPORTER and Mr.
WEBB, stand convicted of putting in circulation false
hood.
We copy this extract from Mr.. HoLcoNB's
letter entire, that be may have the benefit Of
all his specifications of errors against US, as
well as of all the proof he brings forward to
prove himself guiItless of having taken money
from the public treasury to which he was nei-
ther in law nor equity entitled.
The only occasion in which we have alluded
10 Mr.. HoLCoMBs receiving mileage for walk,
ing yer from the Treasury Department to the
State Capitol was last fall, aud then only Incl
dentally, in remarking npon the charges made
against Mr.. LAPoRrE. We then stated the
distance charged by Mr.. HoLcoMB at 500
him that he only charged aud received pay for
400 miles We have no reason to doubt the
correctness OF the account be publishes, aud
we make the correction cheerfully. The fig
ures We gave were said to have been taken
from The BOOKS at Harrisburg. But whether
400 or 500 miles is of little consequence The
qracnmcn of oar charge was that Mr. HoLCoMB
had received mileage as Assistant Clerk of the
House, while at the same time he was drawing
pay as Clerk in the Treasury Department
He admits and proves the truth of our publi,
cation, but reduces the amount taken from $75
to $50. He is welcome to The benefit of the
discrepancy. 1t VAS not the distance charged
that makes the cu!pabiIity and dishonesty Of
the transaction to have taken $75 from the
treasury would not been mere outra geous 10
principle than the amount he actually did re-
ceive, and the public will fail to see the nice
distinction he cndcayors to make
We call particular attention to Mr. HoL,
COMBS excuse for this charge. If he had not
resided at Harrisburg, he says, he would have
been compelled to come there to open the ses
sion. Certainly and then he would have
been entitled to and should have drawn mile
age But unfortunately for bis defence he had
been for some time residing in Harrisburg, as
a Clerk in the Treasury. VIII he derry that
for the very ten days charged in his bill above
he also received pay as a Clerk in the Treasu
ry, amounting to about $50 more Wouldn't
the pay he received from shat CIerkship, for
the ten days h9 was opening the session of 1850
have been sufficient mileage? The excuse he
gives for this grab in:o the Treasury, is the
common one with all public pIunderers
We should not have noticed this matter had
not Mr.. HoLcoMB graveIy charged " that both
the REPORTER and Mr. WEBB stand convicted
Of putting in circulation Il false1ood" He is
very careful not 20 state wherein the falseho2d
consists The account he publishes proves
that what We stated was substantially true
We repeat that he is entitled to the bene6. Of
the discrepancy in the distance. 1t matters
not whether he charged 400 or 500 miles for
travel he never performed. The turpitude of
the transaction is the same, in either case, and
a charge of falsehood brought against any one
will net avert the disgrace of the matter.
Mr.. HoLCoMB sets himself up as a conserya-
tor Of the political morals of the County The
Republican party of the County has become
too corrupt for his association. He has head
ed and brought about diSorganizaton, because
his over-virtuous scrup!es woald not permit
him to be associated with men who were po-
litlcalIy dishonest He has a much higher
idea of his political iucorruptblity than his
associates in politics for the last few years
and we do not believe the public look upon
him as immaculate But we will leave him to
the attention of our friend WEBB. who has
blunt way of speaking truthful things
ALL HAIL CONNECTIcUT!