Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-04-06


When two men are equally good, the poll
tics OF the men turn the scale always. He
alluded to remark of Mr.. Slocum's that
when he and President Grant were lieuten-
ants there were no politics among the Off
GERS OF the army. He congratulated Mr..
Slocum and the President on having got
out of that slough of ignorance ofpolitics.
Mp. Beck made several speeches charging
that enormous sums had been used as
A Corruption Fund,
and alleged that the War Department and
Navy Department had covered I'D the
figures and evaded giving Ineligible &C.
counts of what had become of the money.
Mr.. Dawes defended the Departments,
and reminded the House that the accounts
OF the War Department which Mr.. Beck
wanted furnished, amounted to pile one
mile long and ten feet deep. Laughter.l
Mr.. Butler remarked that there were ten
or twelve
Committees of Investigation
in session, "a voice-"Fourteen," and no
one had yet been able To show that single
dollar had been spent against the proVi-
sions oflaw.
Mr.. Slocum-Did not A. T. Stewart tes-
tify before the Senate Committee on the
New York Customhouse, that Geo. Leet,
President Grants staff officer, charged
double rates for storing goods in New
York?
Mr.. Butler: Did that come out of the
treasury / am talking about the treas
ury.
Mr.. Slocum: No one asserts that they
steal directly but they steal indirectly.
Mr.. Morgan: What became of the $780,
600 stolen by Hodge and gambled away on
Wall street?
Mr.. Butler: Oh, yes, when I ask for any
thing spent in violation of law they tell me
about a defaulter, a defaulter who came
down to US from former administration
and who carried on his career of crime until
a Republican administration caught him
(exultant laughter on the Republican side).
That is all.
MIR. L. Myers: And Republican admin
istration punished him.
Mr.. Beck repeated his charges against
the War and Navy Departments, alleging
that
sI3,OOO,OOO
had been spent by the War Department in
the last five years without appropriation,
without order of Congress, without action
of the courts. 1t was spent largely for pur-
poses of corruption and
To Keep Men Loyal.
He did not know what it had taken to keep
the gentleman from Massachusetts (Butler)
loyal, He knew that in 1861, when he and
Butler were Democrats together, it took
more trouble to keep the gentleman from
Massachusetts loyal than it did himself,
and if it was ascertained what the gentle
man was worth now and what he had been
worth then, the question might be answered.
All he knew was that this money had gone
in ways that Congress knew not of.
szMr. Butler called the house to wit
ness that be had endeavored TO keep
within the proprieties of debate, and
to deal with general principles. He
asked Mr.. Beck whether it was becom-
ing man who occupied the place which
Henry Clay had once occupied, to fling a
vile SANDER at an opponent for want of bet
ter argument. He told the anecdote of
countryman listening to an argument car
ried on by learned doctors in Latin, who said
he knew which side was getting the worst
of the argument when he saw who
got mad first. He had served
with MI. Beck on the Committee on Appro-
priations for one Congress, and he called on
him to say whether in all his official action
he had not endeavored to protect the Urea
sury as well as he (Beck) did. he would
tell the gentleman what it would cost TO
make him (Butler) loyal-the first gun fired
on the American flag at Fort Sumter. Then
without counting the cost he had come into
the field. He wished he had met the gen.
tleman from Kentucky there side by side
with him, and he should have been equally
well pleased if he had met him on the
other side. Laughter and applause on the
Republican side.
Mr.. Morgan made a speech against the
administration, charging it with corruption
and extravaganza. A speech which
Mr.. Dawes said he bad heard twenty
times in the House, and seen it in Demo
cratic papers all over the country.
Mr.. McCrary sent to the Clerks desk
and had read letter from the Secretary of
War, stating the length of time, number of
additional clerks and cost of supplying in
formation, which Mr.. Beck's resolution
called for, the time required being at least
twelve months.
The Committee then proceeded with the
consideration of the bill in detail.
On motion of Mr.. Garfield an additional
section was inserted making it unlawful to
brand, mark or letter the body of soldier
and expunging the word corporal" from
the 43d article of war.
The committee rose and the bill was
passed in the House without revision.
Mr.. Sawyer, from the Committee on
Commerce, reported the river and harbor
appropriation bill which was referred to
Committee on Appropriation.
The House then adjourned. The session
tomorrow will be for debate only.