The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1871-03-03
How Ben. Butler AdOrns His Residence.
A TILT BETWEEN TWO RADICAL CON
GREsSMEN,

brought out Mr.. Farnsworth again in
an attack upon the architect of the
Treasury Department, and he men
toned the incident of two expensive
mirrors being "toted" about to adorn
and beautify the house of distin'
guished member of Congress in Wash
ington City; and that one of them,
costing some $4,000 had been broken
or lost in the transportation backward
and forward.
Mr. Eldridgc (Dem., Wis.,) asked
Mr.. Farnsworth to what member of
Congress he referred was he Demo
crat?
Mr.. Farnsworth replied that his poll
tics were of that uncertain kind that it
was difficult to tell what they were.-
He had been Democrat, and every
thing else by turns, but nothing long
Laughter.
Mr.. Butler (Rep., Mass.,) replied to
Mr.. Farnsworth's insinuations. There
were some things, he said, which man
could not avoid. For instance, he
could not avoid when going along a
street, having a nudes spatter filth
upon him. The member from Illinois
had accused him of being interested in
granite contract for the Boston Post
Office, but his colleague on the Post.
Office Committee (Fitch) had informed
the House that there was not the
slightest evidence connecting him with
it. Then came some item about furni.
ture, and thereupon the mud machine
went at it again, and the House was
told that furniture belonging to the
Treasury had been used by him but.
ler). There was not word. of truth in
1t. The accusation was that the Secre-
tary of the Treasury, the supervising
Architect, and everybody who had to
do with those appropriations, were all
corrupt, and this charge was made by q
man whose majority had dwindled ten.
fold from 1000 to |, 400, and against a
Methodist preacher too. Laughter. |
He had but one observation to make,
and that was that he who accused all
the world, convicted only one, and that
one himself. He who ran "a-muck"
against every man, only showed that
his own heart had all the qualities with
which he desired to invest every one
else He was like the man who, being
drunk himself, saw all the world stag
geriDg before him. The member from
Illinois saw nothing but wrong fraud,
and malfeasance in everybody else
Laughter
Mr.. Farnsworth said that he had not
stated that the house of the member
from Massachusetts had been graced
with mirrors belonging to the Treasury
but as it seemed the coat fitted that
member, he would now say that it had
been proved before committee of the
House, and was susceptible of proof
again, and that members (Butler's)
house was graced with mirrors belong.
ing to the United States Government,
and that some of those mirrors had
been lost in their transmission to and
from the Treasury. Ho held in his
hand document which would prove
to any unprejudiced jury that the mem.
Der from Massachusetts was interested
in stone-quary from which the gran
ite was taken for the Boston Post Office.
1t was as well understood in the city of
Boston as any other fact that was noto-
rious there. The quarry was universal.
ly called "Butler's Quarry" The tes-
10 Shnu,n1 hnt
named French, distiller, former of.
ticer on the staff of the mem ber from
Massachusetts, but who could not get a
commission from Governor Andrew on
account of his notoriously bad charac-
ter, had been taken down into the
members district and used there in
connection with quarry. That man
had come on to Washington because
his distllery had been seized for viola
tion of the Revenue laws, aud went to
consult the member from Massachu-
sets, who was usually consulted in
such cases. He had happened to men
tion that he had some spare moneys and
to ask how he should invest it, and the
member from Massachusetts, advised
him to buy stone, quarry. And it
had happened that he was about the
very day when the first appropriation
of 100000 was made by Congress for
the Boston Post-Oflice. This distiller
had never owned Il stone quarry, and
knew nothing about the business but
he went and purchased an old aband-
oned stone.quarry, and Immediately
afterwards, under the advice and assist.
ance of the member from Massachu-
sets (Butler), he procured a contract,
although he was the highest bidder, for
the granite for the entire building Of
Boston Post-Oflice, although there was
statute which made IL high misde-
meanor for any officer of the Govern.
m ent to make contract beyond the APP
preparation already made. lie was not
to he told, under these circumstances,
that the member from Massachusetts,
was not interested in that contract.
An item for contingent expenses OF
the House being under consideration,
Mr.. Dawes explained that the princi-
pal cause of the exhaustion of the con-
tingent fund was the payment of con,
testants for seats in the House, who
had received during the present Con-
gress s7S, 900, besides S2S,0OO paid for
expenses in connection with those
cases.
The President has signed the bill
granting pensions to surviving soldiers
of the war of 1912. and to widows who
were married to soldiers of that war at
the time of their enlistment. As most
Of the widows of the heroes of that
struppla vnra marrinI after th a uor