, 1868-05-22
Plundersne the Public.

1t were not 90 highly 6gurative. Il Is a state.
ment OF the contingent expenses Of the House
Of Representatives, which Mr.. Mcpherson com.
municates in obedience to . resolution OF the
House OF Representatives,, passed on the 4th day
Of March, ls42, which requires "tbat the CLERK
deliver 70 the postmaster Of the House such
kind and quantities of stationery as from time
to time may be necessary for the use Of the
House, keeping an accurate account Of the
same, and also Of the quantity and value oil
that used IN the Clerks ofice aud that, here
aher, 10 annual reports now required by law to
be made by the Clerk, showing the amount oil
| expenditure from the contingent fund Of the
House, be be required to state accurately and
distinctly the quantity and cost Of stationery
used By the Honse and Clerks office separately. %
All this is stated in q very brief commuuicaS
! tion on the first page OF Mr.. McPherson's novel,
aud the remaining $50 pages are fled With 6g.
ures which will convey to the tax. payers Of The
country q startling view Of what radiealism
! consider "Stationery." It would take q good
accoutant q week to add up this bill, and
whether it amounts to millions, or only hundreds
Of thousands Of dollars, the items show that
full one'half, and probably two-thirds Of these
charges are downright swindles on the Treasury
and pockets Of the people. Radicalism and
robbery are synonomous terms.
The present bill of the House for the mere
item of Stationery" is only for single year.
" uOeb uOb Oh tue larger legitimate
expenses of the House-the pay of members,
printing Of public documents, and so on But
the mere carriage Of documents, mostly radical
electoneeripg pamphlets printed at the ex,
pense Of the people, amounts to S., ,562 so a
year, this carriage covering IL l5l loads of trash,
the bulk of which goes to wrap bundles in
grocers' shops and to baser uses. Thomas H.
Benton, and J. B. Clark, "trooly loil" of course,
have the carting of these "loads." If the arts
nf hat ~
are really furnished to the members of the House,
it is probable that nearly every member intends
to set up a stationery shop at the close of his
term as Representative. In a single session
4,74l,963 envelopes, costing $2,47s,73, were
furnished. This envelope business includes
fancy note-paper and envelopes to match, visits
ing cards, monograms, and paper collars aud
cuffs, not only for the members, but for their
families for present use and for several years to
come. 1t should be remembered that every
member is presumed to purchase all the station
cry be needs with money which be draws for
the express purpose. There are now 1914 mems
bers aud delegates from Territories in the House
In single year, according to McPherson's ros
nance these members used 726 gold pens cost
ing S2,627 "a; l,039 inkstands 2, ,726 penknives
costing $500 and 527 portmonnaies, costing
$l,O44,39. Among other items of stationery
are hair>brusheS, nail-brushes, toilet soap,
Martinique snuff by the dozen bottles, cork
screws and kid gloves. The kid glove business
is one of the sublimest of all the swindles. For
instance, "on account of the death and burial"
of Representative, there are charged twenty
FIVE and one-half dozen kid gloves, costing
S762, or about four pair to each member to
wear to single funeral. Other ''statnery'' ap-
pears in ronnd charges for coffee urns, sauces
pans, broiers, hour-sifters and fish kettles. 1t
may be remarked here that N. G. Ordway, Ser
geaut-atArms of the House, has very nice
thing of it. There is scarcely week when his
bill for two or three thousand dollars does not
appear, and his travelling expenses alone would
cover the entire cost Of the British Abyssiniau
expedition. Columns could be filed from this
one document to show the barefaced swindling
manifest in this list of the contingent expenses
of the House. Prominent among these swindles
is the Outrageous one of summoning witnesses
before some committee or other from New
Orleans or Alaska, and paying them for their
testimony at the rate of 5000 or $500 each, un.
der pretence that travelling expenses cover the
bill. Every 'loil' loafer the South who went
to Washington last year to beg for an Office, or
lie about his neighbors, as a radical dirty
work agent, was summoned as q witness and
roundly paid out of the peoples money. Re-
member, too, that this gigantic swindle is one
of the least of those constantly perpetrated by
the party in power. To support the government,
the old cant cry of radicalism, means being sup
ported by the country, at the expense Of the
people, and the right to draw 81 900 from the
Treasury is freely translated into the privilege
of stealing $5,O 900. If there were no other reason
for Kidding the country of the now dominent
party motives of economy alone should prompt
and compel it. The entire revenues of the
country are not sufficient to pay the expenses Of
the government and at the same time to fill the
pockets of thieves who are plundering the pubs
lie Treasury. York World.