The Rock Island daily Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1872-1873, 1873-08-06
Enter Plat.

All, ha The debate draws to a close.
At length Platt steps into the arena
Platt of Virginia, james H., IT,, formerly,
and not very formerly either, Of Vermont
A good deal has been said, first and last
about the great stroke of craftsmanship Of
the last Congress, by which each member
was enabled 70 convey THE wise il call
81 600 before he stole-away A sober
minded people unfamiliar with marine
phenomena stood aghast rs the teutaces
Of the great deyil-tish went out and clutch
ed cammily the National Treasury. At
once the question rose whether the inver.
tebrate organism had a conscience as il
had manifestly sensation Into this high
debate MIR. Benjamin f. Butler, who runs
the main chance with ambiguous vision.
poured Il current Of playful irony not IN
mixed with postage stamps: Mr.. Shella
barger, who is now reforming the Civil
Service, contributed the deeorous logic and
elevated tone OF chivalric gentleman who
refuses TO put on airs by telling the trr.'
and being honest when his assoc; .'.n
lying and stealing; MIR. Ma. C.s w ''.
who sheds his money ., al It, 'i', 49,
uulust-more on on tne Juet anu '''
the mag ,erVor oi MS eloqueuTe uHu
Inv - bl MS SllFta N'hEhN' oAN ii''l' -
.,dred more of the most distinguished
men in the country sweled the food Of id
with arguments such as would only occur
To men engaged in defending transaction
the profits OF which they have already fob
bed The air has resounded with the tn
multi Of dispute, and all the time in doubt
full poise the scales of battle hung.
The fact is Plat himself had not taken
a hand in it. Platt has a judicial mind
aud $1,000 of the money, the. conditions
for disinterested and unbiased judge
ment. And we waited for Platt Plat
is a man who, from having a legible au-
tograph, may be properly accounted
the boon of Providence TO the human
race 10 which il is proper to add that
his farm is the Banking privilege
and his residence Petersburg, Va Be
sides being a member of Congress Platt
is Secretary or some such thing of the Re
publican National Committee In that
capacity he flung abroad his cheerful auto
graph all last summer and fall, deluging
the country with information and the paper
mills with stock. The name of James H.
Plat, j., written by himself or a clerk or
some other man, or stamped in fac sj1aiic
was seen and felt in the remotest hamlet
of our wide extended land, and it always
covered information Of the most thrilling
and interesting character. la the words
Of an eminent Postmaster, no man in the
country 'dissimulated so much informa-
ton as james H. Platt, Jr His name
was household word Everybody had
letters from him He was such constant
correspondent that everybody grew fond
of him, unless it might be perhaps the
Post Office people before the Civil Service
was reformed. Platt was success. Not
that he figured much in Congress how
could he when his time was so occupied
with the diffusion Of political information
but he was a success as a committeeman
and a secretary, and the way he kept
clerical force busy forging his frank Of
public documents was a rcireshment anC
delight 30 the Christian statesmen who's,
able utterances and beautiful thought
we're in this way flung over a benighte,
land
Thinking of this, OF course eyerybod,
has been saving for weeks and months ''wh,
doesn't Platt Just unsliug hisintellect and Sc
tie this back pay dispute2' But Plat wait
ed The occasion was not yet ripe.
Wa not till last Thursday that he gathere,
himself up, shook the wild tangles of hi
iusty hair, aud, bursting into the aren
with the war whoop Of one who has 60
his money and proposes 10 hold on 10 il
announced his purpose 10 grapple with tn
subject II was at Lynchburg, at "A Con
yention; the weather it was hot, tn
Convention was in its second day
and the discussion ran upon wha
the party believed in OF proposed % sa
that it believed in Milford was til
name of the colored delegate, who. labor
ing under the insane delusion that stealth
was theft, hurled into the convention
resolution mildly disappearing the bac
pay business IL created We are told
much confusion and excitement. judy
Shoemaker tossed the resolution on hi
horns with fierce denuneiaton, and IN
friends of the administration assisted ger
orally. And then entered Platt As h
was one of the ''so.called salary stealers
be sail ii wrs proper that he should sa
something ON this resolution. He coul
hardly have chosen a more felieitOus oper
ing No one in the Convention, white @
black could deny its force or pertinene,
He had voted for the salary bill six time,
he said, and should do the same again IN
der similar circumstances. Plat is a ma
not easily inundated. Courageous to
fault, he is the sort of a man whom nc
even the fear of contagiOn would dett
from handling the soiled currency Of h
realm lie had no apologies 10 offer
said nor any excuses TO make That's h
kind Of man Platt is. He had gone all IL
way from Vermont to Virginia, had live
in Petersburg eight years, had given h
whole mind 10 politics all that time ar
furnished franked documents by the to
and $1,000 year was no sort Of compe
sation for such a mind as his. He kne
that his abilities, his-well, 50 to spea
his intellect ought TO command mo
than $1,000 per aunum, and it was uud
the burning consciousness that the Unit
States had cheated him IN the trade; tb
he had given the government brains Of
uncommon order that we're well wor
$4,000 a year--to hiGl-and had only z
$1,000 for them--it was under the oppre
sion of this thought that he voted six tim
20 reimburse himself Moreover, he "a
he represented district that had pa
over $1,000 into the Treasury since I
war. lie did not say that this amount car
out Of his own pocket-Platt is too mu
man to make fuss about a triAe