Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-03-22
: PIcAYUNE BUTLER.
Disgraceful Action OF the House
Radicals Giving Butler Hard

Kicks.
Correspondence Of the New York Herald.
WASHINGTON, March 17.-The actor
of the House in refusing to expel Tennes
see Butler, while at the same time il
thought him deserving of censure for i'm
properly disposing Of one of his cadetship
appointments, is not regarded here as q
yery brilliant display of legislative virtue
or consistency. MIR. Butler has been a
little more fortunate than the sainted
Whittemore. BY skillful management he
obtained delaysan occupied heintermedi-
ate time in working upon the feelings of
members. He has many strong friends
in the House, and this fact, together with
his own energy and perseverance, en-
abled him to secure more than one-third
vote against his expulsion. This was well
understood last night, and hence, when
the matter came before the House to-day,
and resulted in mere vote of censure,
very few people were ID the least bit sur
prised. Indeed, the entire proceeding
bore very strongly the look of prear-
ranged game. For instance, Logan de-
clined to make speech against Butler,
though the testimony against him seemed
quite as strong as that which drove Whit
temore to anticipate vote Of censure by
timely resignation. Logan's excuse was
that in doing his duty in WhittemOres
case he was rewarded with abuse from
his party friends, and that he now pro-
posed to let the House take the whole re-
sponsibility. He did not feel disposed to
endure another dose of abuse like that
which was showered upon him by Whit
temore's champions. 1t also appeared
that the Military Committee had agreed
that none of its members should
make a speech either for or against
Butler, thus leaving the case entirely
to the verdict of the House, without any
sincere effort to exact strict justice upon
the accused. These two facts taken to-
gether have led many people to the con-
clusion that the Military Committee did
not desire Mr.. Buffers expulsion at all,
and that its members were accessories to a
plot to insure his escape. Whether this
conclusion be correct or not, it is evident
that the feeling against the committee IS
very strong, and that Logan himself, who
was so vehement and denunciatory in
Whittemore's case, comes in for large
share of the abuse, so that he has not
come off much better than if he had prose-
cuted Butler with the same energy and
vim displayed by him in the Whittemore
case. The strong vote in favor of But
ler's expulsion-l02 yeas to 6S nays-and
the subsequent unanimous vote of cen
sure, are regarded as very little less hon
orable to the Tennessee member than if
he had been kicked out of Congress by the
constitutional two-thirds.
Correspondence of the Philadelphia Press.
WASHINGTON, March 1.-THE time of
the House to-day was mainly occupied in
dispOsing of the report of the House Com
mittee on Military Affairs in the case of
Hon. II. II. Butler, of Tennessee, who
was accused of selling cadetship. Gen.
Logan insisted upon the reading of the
evidence in full by the Clerk before vote
was taken. The resolution censuring
Butler was finally passed Although the
vote on the resolution of expulsion did
not muster the requisite twO-thirds it was
sufficiently large TO indicate that a ma
jority of the House, after hearing the
evidence, was in favor of expelling Mr..
Butler. The feeling is that there is little
if any difference between the case of
Butler and WhittemOre, and that the
House made mistake in not treating them
both alike.
From tie New York Times-Radical.
The House of Representatives yester-
day disposed of the case of Mr.. Butler, of
Tennessee, charged with receiving money
for the appointment of a West Point ca
Diet, by adopting a resolution of censure.
A resolution of expulsion was lost by
vote of 102 TO 68, thirds being re-
quired. The only justification interposed
i'll behalf of Mr.. Butler was, that the
money paid was used for political pur-
poses. We certainly are at loss TO dis
cover upon what principle the House can
Justify its action in this case. 1t seems
to US that the alleged application of the
money enhances the offense instead of
mitigating it. The practice of using
money to influence elections is demon
alizing and dangerous at best,
and Congress has established a
bad precedent in thus giving even
an implied sanction to it by making it an
eXtenuation of what is conceded would
otherwise have been a grave Offense. We
hold that the House had NO right to con-
slider what became of the money which
was paid. If it had been given to chart
table purposes, or even sent to the United
States Treasury, the offense would not
have been mitigated. 1t amounts to be-
stowal of patronage for price, and max
ing traffic of an Appointment in which
every young man in the country, and es-
pecially the meritOrious poor, are interest
ed. 1t stultifies the Government and the
institution at West Point by perverting
what is proclaimed to be beneficial mo-
nopoly. If Mr.. Butler was amenable to
censure he ought clearly to have been ex-
PEELED.
From the Philadelphia Telegrsph-Radical.
A great scandal was perpetrated in the
National House of Representatives by the
nOn-expulsion of Mr.. Butler, of Tennes-
see, for the sale of cadetship. The offense
was clearly proved against him, but when
a.vOte was taken on the question of ex-
pulSiOn the necessary tWO-thirds could not
be obtained, the count standing 102 ayes
to 6S noes. 1t is gratifying to know that
such majority of the House is in favor
of purging itself of the members who
have disgraced themselves and their office
by the sale of their votes and in
fluence, but it is shameful that
more than one-third of the members
should be willing to put themselves on
record as apOlOgists for such Offenses.
This may be considered as test case, and
it proves that, after all the noise that has
been made about the matter, the House
will not punish its members as they de-
serve for disgracing it and themselves.
The refusal to expel Butler fixes a suspi-
cion upon all who voted in his favor that
they are not guiltlcss in such matters as
were charged against him, and the action
Of the House yesterday undoubtedly re-
lieyed the mind of more than one member
who, since the investigations with regard TO
the sale of cadetships commenced, has been
sitting in fear and trembling lest his turn
should come next. 1t is disgraceful in
itself and utterly demoralizing TO the army
and navy that the appointments to West
Point and Annapolis should be matters of
bargain and sale, and the member of Con-
gress who will take money for his in1lu-
ence in matter of this kind will scarcely
be slow to accept remuneration for pro-
noting the various nefariOus schemes that
are urged upon Congress- at every ses-
sion. The country now has the sstisfac-
ton of knowing that sixty-eisht members
of the House of Representatives are at
least open to the suspicion of being ap-
proachable by corrupt influences, and the
adoption of vote of censure against But
Ter will NOT relieve them from the impu-