The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1865-08-25
SIMON CAMERON.
A LETTER OF CONGRESSMAN
KELLY.
10 tire Union Men OF the Fourth
Congressional District.

70 the Union Men of tine Fourth
Congressional District.
long and successful career in crime en-
boldens the guilty. A recent illustration OF
this law of human nature impes me to violate
my lifelong rule of conduct and for once TO
notice political slanderer. l do not, how
ever, address you for the purpose of repelling
his inuendoes or falsehoods. Ny life has been
passed among you, and if it's record, familiar
to you all, does not repel them, have lived in
vain. My purpose is simply to pierce the mail
of ill-gotten gold in which the slanderer has
clothed himself, and give you glimpse at the
lOathsOme object it protects.
The papers of Friday announce that Simon
Cameron, of Dauphin County, was serenaded
by his friends on the preceding evening, at the
Girard House in this city, and availed himself
ofthe occasion to villify my colleagues and my
self, I" the Congressman of Philadelphia" in a
speech to the assemblage.
Twas but youth when I first heard the
name OF Simon Cameron, and it was as the
perpetrator of great crime. He had
been made the agent of the General Gov
eminent to carry large amount of
money, due them, to the Winnebago
Indians, and had taken advantage of their ig-
norance and helplessness to enrich himself.
Those of you who had then attained to man
hood, though you may not, after the lapse of
so many years, revive the burning indignation
with which you regarded the infamous swim.
dler of the poor Indians, will doubtless remem-
Der that instead of paying them the specie
which the government confded to him for that
purpose, he retained' it and gave them notes
of the MiddletONn Bank, of which he was an
owner. At their encampment in the remote
wilderness these notes were utterly worth.
less. The Indians could not use them for any
purpose there, nor carry them to Middletown
for redemption But what was that to Simon
Cameron Was not their loss his gain, and
was he not so much the richer by every note
that failed to come home for redemption,
though they did suffer and starve? And those
of You who are not old enough to remember
all this, now know why this bold, bad man is
sometimes spoken of by your seniors as the
great Wnnebago," and sometimes as ''Old
Kckapoo."
For more than thirty years have watched
the t0rtuous career of this man. and have nev-
er seen a reason to abandon nv first impression
of his character. Whether acting with the
Democratic, the Know Nothing or the Repub-
lican party-for he has in turn disgraced them
all-he has never been false to his criminal in.
stincts. He has endeavored to turn them all
to profitable account. His ambition is sordid
and panders to his avarice, and he measures
honors 6y the perquisites they expose to his
Q,
and is aware that they distrust him. His
speech of Thursday evening was not charac-
teristic of him. for he Is prone to the use of in.
struments. His habit is to point the stiletto,
but to employ another hand to drive it home
Though an active participant in the politics of
tury, during which long period he has pursued
the profits Of Office, of jobs of contracts, with
eager and ceaseless assiduity, he has never
dared to permit his name to be presented to
the people of his county or State as candi-
date for an elective office. He crawls to the
feet of the appointing power. He cares not
who may be king, 50 that he may :" still be
Vicar of Bray;" and to that end he Charters
with and corrupts weak and needy members
of Conventions and the Legislature of both
parties.
1 need not recite the disgracefnl facts attend
Jag the several canvasees tor the United States
Senate. Their nauseOus OdOr fingers in your
nostrils to this hour. In the first he bought the
votes of three Democratic members and in
the last bid twenty thousand dollars for the
one vote which would have elected him. This
last transaction was so fragrant that the Legis-
lature was compelled to take cOgnizance of
it, and, if justice be not lame a. we'll as blind,
the law and honor of our State will yet be vim
dicated.
The evil report Of his deeds r~'vsles the
country as a reproach to our s., les, un-
happily for Pennsylvania aa,: great in.
terests, the buzzard-winged ;I!i. .. Simon
Cameron is national. By .nuu.us of abiect
solicitation and corrupt bargaining he pro-
cured a mass of letters, certificates and re.
cantatioms, that imposed him upon President
Lincoln as the representative man of the
Keystone State. That was an evil hour for
Pennsylvania. You all remember how he Or
gained the Navy Agency in this city, and
feel the ineffable reproach he thus brought on
our Navy Yard and commercial and other
business men. In the course of his impudent
and ill-judged harrangue he said: "In the
olden time q member of Congress from Phila-
deiphia Would lave had sufficient influence TO
Naval Station at Leage lsland) without a dis
senting voice" Is that the assertion of sober
man and did he who made it forget that our
Congressmep in the Olden time in proposing
to locate government workshop in Philiadel-
phia, had not the terrible reputation of Simon
Cameron, the Pagan of the Harrisburg lobby
and ex-Secretary of War to contend with, and,
therefore, bad some chance for SUGGEST NY
colleagues and were less happy than they 10
this respect.
As have said. he begged and bargained for
the influence which induced Mr.. Lincoln to in.
vite him to a seat in his Cabinet. It was now
fondlv hoped by those who had not sounded
the depths Of his depravity, that, being old and
rich he would take advantage of so distin.
guished an opportunity to prove that he could
be honest, and could administer trust with
out turning it to his own profit, or handing the
fund over to his creatures, to be used on Joint
account How badly these hopes were disap.
pointed is attested by the breyity of his term
Of Office, and the circumstances under which it
closed.
In less than one year from the DAG on which
Simon Cameron was installed as Secretary of
War, Congress-though at that early day it
had before 1t but partial evidence of his crimes
indignantly drove him from that high Office.
Two-thirds Of the members of the Lower
House were friends of the Administration, and
would gladly have sustained each member of
it as they did It's distinguished head
You can imagine how painful it must have
been to them to find themselves constrained
by duty to proclaim the fact that the first man,
the head of their party, had been induced to
appoint as the successor of John Is. Floyd had
exhibited greater aptitude than he for his worst
tricks. But it became inevitable, for the old
man, Notwithstanding his boasted and reputed
millions believes that one of his name is never
rich enough until he has little more and, to
save their party and the country, the friends
a. in, fho had no