New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-11-24
THE TDEEs Va. TREASURER SPIN
HBR.
EDITOR RRPURLIcAN;

| to attribute bad intentions to one who diff
fers with him as to party principles and
policies. Therefore your correspondent Is
10th to believe that your contemporary, the
TSmes, would Intentionally do injustice to
the distinguished Republican whose name
stands at the head of this article. But it
seems to him that that paper does misrepre-
sent General Spinner, even though con
scientious in SO doing. A recent editorial
charges the future policy Of the federal ad-
ministration to be a very general increase
Of salaries and unnecessary expenditures
for new public buildings, and asserts that
"Old Spinner, Of the greenback puzzle" is
to lead off in favor of this policy in his
forthcoming annual report. The inference
surely is that for him to urge increase of
salaries is a new departure. This is mis-
take. If he is to advocate higher pay for
federal officials, especially for those con-
nected with the United States Treasury De.
partment, it will be bue the repetition Of
what he has heretofore earnestly recon.
mended.
Your correspondent distinctly recolects
that some three or four years ago-the pre-
else year is not remembered-GeneralS Spin
ner read to him several pages from his then
forthcoming report in which he argued at
| length that official salaries should be largely
! advanced, at least those OF Treasury EN-
ployes. He referred to the statistics as to
| defalcatons and official bonds, showing
that the latter were really no security to
| se government, and had netted (if memory
is not at fault but a fraction of one per
! per cent Of total delinquences. In the con
| Versation which then occurred, he was more
emphatic. Perhaps he did not complain SO
much OF the crate Of ability as Of the
many iamentable departures from integ-
frity, incident to poor pay on the one hand,
| and the heavy brbes that unscrupulous
men were able and ready to offer on the
! other. His facts and arguments we've ceg-
! tainly more than specious.
Have there not been transactions III rhis
!; and other cities, strongly suggestive thaS
good might come from the change he pro
| po8ed2 Not 60 speak of anything SO recent
! as certain sugar cases. who has forgotten
! the days whea the tax on whisky was
TIVE dollars per gallonF And yet it
could have been bought in this city in
open market, thousands of barrels Of il, aG
less per gallon than the government eax'
So ie was in OtheH cities In truth there
were other cities where che ?rauds were
! more glaring and extensive than here. Gov.
| ernment then paid its agents and Inspectors,
! whose special duty il was to watch for
IN 4
! lars per day. Collectors, in some instances,
! we're NOS allowed enough to pay actual ex-
/ penses, while there was scarcely . practi-
tioneP ac the bar whose fees were not better
J than those OF She United StStes district At
sorneySo
While government &6e si!ua paying an
agent fge or cen dollars for watching, there
was many . dealer in tEhisky who could
afford to offer hundreds of dollars for lii
tie official obscurity Of vision as the proper
time: and when was human nature SO pure.
when was apoliticai parts 30 nearly imma-
culate that such offers were made in Tain
General Spinner thought if Che pay were
made better the picture Of official turpitude
would nos be quite so dark. and Sc reasoned
many othets With himo
Thus it appears Shas 20 favor Increased
salaries is no new thing with him. And vet
it is respectfully submitted that there is
not nov, &or has there been q federal Office.
holder more heartily in favor OF rigid
economy than is he. fIis sterling integrity
is the admiration OF political opponents As
well as Of friends, and should be the pride
of every citizen.
1t a because he believes there is policy
that is ''penny wise and pound foolish
and that she past has proved our federal
policy. as 90 official pay, 10 be OF that
character that he urges an advance. He
can not shut his eyes if he would, nor can
we, TO the inherent weakness of human ma
ture-its proneness to yield to strong tempta-
ton. We may lament the fact, we may
blush fof our party when one and another
falls, but Il is the part Of wisdom not to
ignore she voice OF all history. but
ratheY 20 guard against the evil
as much as possible by removing
temptation So Tar as We reasonably can,
But why waste words in defense Of such
man 3S ron. r. L. Sp1uuSF, 4IcdbutSI Va
the United States A statesman of the old
school, very decided and positive in his
views, earnest, sometimes almost abrupt, in
giving expression to them, his manifest sin
cerity always compensates for any seeming
harshness of words, and none know him
well but to love him devotedty. Millions
upon millions OF the public funds have
passed through his hands, and every dime
has been accounted for. Such Q man may
err in judgment, but if he does. no one will
regret is more than he. !
While the Times article is under consid- |
Grafton, permit a reference to one or two !
other points. According to that article, !
Congress is to be called upon to increase
the salaries of the President, members of |
his Cabinet, Supreme Judges, and then the
Presidents must have new house! In the |
opinion Of the Times, all this would be |
wrong. Other equally impartial, and fully |
as competent Judges, may think it would
be wrong in part and right for the residue.
The salaries of Cabinet officers and of
judges Of she Supreme Court might well
be advanced AS to the Supreme Court, it
is the conviction of many of the ablest mem
bers of its bar that mot only should the
judges be better paid, but the number of
judges should be doubled or trebled, with
division Of duties, giving to certain Of