Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-09-21
Misstatements and Demagoguery Ex-


Gen. l. r. Sherwood our efficient
Secretaryo of State, spokea at Cambridge,
last Tuesday, and in the course of his
remarks took occasion to expose the
demagogueTyand misstatementsO of the
Democratic candidate for Congress,
in that district, Gen. George Morgan.
We find asummary in the State jour
nal which we copy.
Mr.. Sherwood said: 81 had the
honor to hear Gen. MOrgan's Della
ware speech wherewith the Demo-
cratic campaign was opened.
Morgan headed this speach REFORM
He attempted to prove that the Grant
administration was corrupt, that the
President had appointed his relatives
to office, that his cabinet officers were
Keeping carriages, foOtmen, horses,
DC, for their private use, and paying
Tor the same from the public treasury.
Gen. Morgan dwelt tediously long on
this topic, and stated that he knew
such was the case. Gen. Sherwood
stated that he had written to thevari-
Gus departments at Washington. and
was authorized to say that Morgan's
charge was ~false-utterly false-and
must have been known to BE- so by the
author. The charge made by Morgan
that the Secretary Of the Treasury re-
ported only 1000 clerks, when he had
in reality over 5000, was also pro-
nouneed a base fabrication. On this
point Sherwood said: "By referring
to the report of the Secretary of the
Treasury to Congress, December 9th,
1869, page 6, you will find the follow
ing statement:
"In March last there was employed
in the Treasury at Washington 2,S4S
clerks, messengers and labOrers, at q
monthly cOsto f S295, 92S 81. Atpres-
ent the whole number of such en-
ployes is 2,44l, and their monthly pay
amounts to S23S, $50 81, showing a de-
crease of expenses at the rate of $751;
SIS o. per annum. It was found nee
essary, however, during the period
mentioned, to increase the force in
the Internal Revenue Office, and in
the office of the First Comptroller.
This increase in the aggregate is at the
rate Of $50, 446 perannum. This state
ment does not relate to the force en-
plOyed in the Bureau of Engraving
and Printing"
The Secretary Of the Treasury, you
will here notice, expressly states that
this force does not include those in
the engraving and printing depart
ment, and yet Gen. Morgan deliber-
ately included the 500 odd employed
in these two departments in order to
make a case. We learn through the
Treasury Department that these men
are all employed by the day and are
paid precisely as printers and engrav-
nwE ora Maid nv nwHW - naHnh NfaIn-aW
So this nicely arranged tale of Gen.
Morgan's is shown to be false.
Again, Morgan claims that many of
these clerks are Overpaid. This charge
is rs false as the others. Not a dollar
has the present Secretary of the Treas
uTy expended unless specifically auth
oriZed by law. I learned that 80 of
the 2,4O0 clerks in this department
have been paid extra compensation in
sums varying from $500 to $1,000 per
annum. In 1865, Congress after due
elaboration, appropriated the sum of
$3.50. OO0to enable Secretary McCulloch
to make such reasonable addition to
the compensation Of the men upon
whom he must wholly rely to conduct
the important business of the depart
ment, as would guarantee their ser
vices to the Government. Mr.. Nc
CullOch accordingly selected a few
trustworthy clerks, and paid them in
addition to their salary sums ranging
from 500 to 81 ,400. Mr.. Boutwell,,
holding that the law does not con
template that clerks in the depart
ment should be better compensated
than heads of Bureaus, restricted the
maximum payments from this fund
to $1,000. This makes the highest
pay of any clerk in the department
$500. The pay roll of the depart
ment shows this to be so.
It can be demonstrated that every
charge of corruption made by Gener-
al Morgan against General Grant and
his Cabinet is false. 1t cannot be pos
sible that Gen. Morgan believed what
he was saying. He occupies the high
position of a memberof Congress, and
his facilities for information have been
such that the charge of ignorance
cannot be made against him. It
must have been notifying not only
to Gen. Morgan but the Democrats Of
Ohio, to have opened the campaign so
utterly pOverty-stricken in principles,
to resort to a raid on Gen. Grants
kitchen and the beggaTly paid clerks
in the departments. But TO be bafled
even in this dirty business is humili-
ating in the extreme.