The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1873-05-23
Gen Garfield and the Rack Paw.

Gen GarfzId and the Back Pay.
The editor of the New York San says
that the man who is more responsible for
the back salary robbery than anybody
else is President Grant He had no NOR
al tone nor any high sense OF honor to
restrain him from openly making an ur-
gent effort t. have his own salary raised.
He knew, just as well as Ben Butler
knew, that it could not be done without
corrupting members Of Congress; and
the p'ainest and easiest method of doing
this vas to allow them to ilch five thous
and dollars apiece out Of the Treasury
and call it back pay.
But next to Gen. Grant the most cul-
pabIe man in Congress in come 1tion
with this intoIerable swindle is Gen. Gar
field of Ohio For he is the one man who
could have prevented it; and if he does
not know that he is thus guilty, he is
the only man Of any prominence in Con
gress, familiar with the rules aRd orders
Of the House, who does not know it.
We say nothing that every leading
member of the House does not know to
be true, when we say that a single word
from GenaGarfeId against the report Of
the committee of conference who finally
approved and thcs consummated this
measure would have killed it, and that his
dissent and opposition to it would not
have delayed the passage of the Appro-
priution bill an hour.
Gen. Garfield was the chief and indu>
entail member of the committee of the
pay to $500 after the House had voted
to reduce It to $500 In fixing the pay
at So, 800, the House had shown great SEN
sitiveness and great apprehension of the
consequences. The body was full of
culver and doubt on the subject, and was
very closely divided 1t was while things
were in this condition that the Speaker
appointed the committee of conference.
In that committee Gen Garfield had only
to say that he refused to agree to the
robbery to have stopped and killed it
then and there.
1t is at this point that Gen Garfield
puts in his defense. He substantially
and we presume unqualifedly admits,
since there is no doubt on the question,
that he could have killed the bill; but he
excuses himself by saying that he must
have killed his general appropriation bill
at the same time. 1t is right here that
we take issue with Gen Garfield We
assert that if he had come back to the
House on a disagreement in committee,
and avowing his hostility to the measure,
IN the then existing temper Of the House
he would have been promptly AID overs
WheImingly sustained. The House haG
neither the time nor the disposition to
raise an issue. They did not want to
discuss nor make any noise over the bill
They desired merely to smuggle itthrough
quietly. If they couldn't do this they
were ready to drop it. Had Gen. Garfield
opposed the bill, the next step in order
would have been the appointment OF a
new committee OF conference expressing
the dissent of the House, which commits
tee would have been so constituted by
parliamentary practice as to adhere to
this dissent The transaction need not
have occupied thirty minutes, and within
another half hour the new committee of
conference would have reported the Ap-
preparation bill, about which Gen. GAR
field expresses so much apprehension,
without the obnoxious feature, and it
would have gone through without a rip
pie.
Now, either Gen. Garfield knows that
this is Il strictly accurate statement, or he
/ does not know it. If he is ignorant Of it,
then he does not know what every lad
! ing man in the House then knew and
| knows, who has any familiarity with the
rules and orders and business Of the
! Iody. We bring the responsibility Of
this measure directly home to Gen. Gar
field on the basis of the facts now detail
ed 1t is idle for him to try to escape it.
for it is the actual truth in the case.
Gen. Garfield knows his own motives
and on that subj act VIC stall have no con
troversy with him. But if he did not act
as he did because he was under pressure
from Gen. Grant, and because he wished
to please him, then We are mistaken
that is all. And if the bill did not ge
some votes in the Senate for the same
reaton, We are under still further de-
fusion.
We repeat that the measure was pass
ed, first, by reason Of the pressing urgen
cy Ct the President himself; and second
| II, by corrupting the members with az
allowance OF five thousand dollars ahead
The chief agent IN this disgraccful bust
ness was Ben Butler; but this fact doe
not relieve Gen. Garfield from his IN,
questionable responsibility for the sue
cess Of the scheme of robbery at tn
critical point of its fortune.
JACKSON ILrus.-wo clip from tn
Wig and Tribune Of last Saturday III
following items:
Sheriff May with a guarl, started for
Nashville on Wednesday with SIX prison
crs for the penitenGary.