Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-05-24

-Four Thousand two hundred and twenty
eight dollars Of the above amount was
paid tothe Publisher during the present
session of Congress, and every Rem re-
laies 10 the Georgia question. 1t was
shown that for $500 which Bullock paid
the publishers of the Congressional
Globe, that establishment had done more
work than the Chronicle hal for 81, 900.
A single instance may be given. He paid
the Chronicle 5000 for ], 600 copies of
pamphlet, and ii was shown by practical
printers that the ordinary price for such
work III Washington was 1920. Many
other like cases appear in the testimony.
Whether the charges are reasonable, or
whether another consideration than the
printing done and The papers and pamph-
lets furnished may not have induced Mr.
Bullock TO pay such prices, it will not
he difficult for the impartial reader of the
testimony TO understand. Gov. Bullock tes-
tilted that he thought it important for the
negro members of the Georgia Legisla-
tdre to make some formal expression of
their wishes with regard TO the Bingham
amendment, and come to Washington for
that purpose, and he photographed them
accordingly. Eleven Of the thirty three
or thirsy-four members came to Wash
ington as the representatives of the whole
of them, and two came who were not
members of the Legislature. He sent
them from 81, 200 TO 81, 500 to pay their
expenses, and only small portion of the
money was refunded The amount of
money made use of by him from the 9th
of March TO the 2lst of April was $14, 800,
and of this amount 81, 459 was paid to
Forney, $500 to the Globe, and the bal
ance he stated had been spent for his
personal expenses, and he refused to ac-
count for it. The $4,000 unaccouuted
for very likely covered good deal of
rascality. If it had not, Bullock would
have told the whole story. The finding
of the committee is summed up as fol
lows:
E'The committee feel constrained to
say, from the evidence before them, that
such means had been used and attempted.
However unwilling some of the wit.
nesses implicated in the transaction had
shown themselves to disclose the whole
truth, enough has come out to satisfy the
committee that P. ]. Alvey used improp
or means to influence Senators to vote
against the Bingham amendment, and
that Lewis Porter, an officer of the Gov
eminent, acted improperly in undertake
ing for pay to aid him in his purpose; X.
B. Bullock in paying d. G. Forney, pub
Usher of the Chronicle, having the pat
ronage of the Government, triple prices
for printing pamphlets, and for inserting
in his paper articles and speeches on the
Georgia question, and the said D. c. For
ney, in publish ,ng said articles and
speeches, with editorials, concealing the
fact that he was paid for the same double
and triple prices, did use improper means
to influence the votes of Senators on
the Georgia question. 1t is not unreasou-
able to suppose that q newspaper in
the position of the Chronicle, enjoying
to some extent the confidence of the Ad-
ministration and of the dominant party
in Congress. would have an influence
with Senators, while assuming to act in
dependently and from a sense of duty,
which it would not possess if it were
known that the insertion of many such of
the articles published bearing on pend
ing question were paid for at extravagant
prices by a person having an interest to
produce particular result. As there is
no L0aJ for Furnishing such attempts,
they must be left (and perhaps it is best
they should be left to the judgment of
the enlightened and Just public sentiment,
which will not fail to visit with its con-
domination any attempt Of the use of i'm
proper means to influence the vote of
legislative body
1t is clear from the testimony ELECTED
by the committee that efforts were made
and money expended to influence the
votes of Senators against the bingham
amendment The people of Georgia
viii now be confirmed as to the I'M
scrupulous meas resorted to tO'keep them
under military subsection.