Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1873-05-22
CREDIT MOBILIER CRAFT.
How n First Mortgage Became a Second
The Pacific Railroad Bill of 1864
Leaf of Congressional History.
the New York Tribune.

AC61 u klLSIOTYs
CFrom the New York Tribune.l
The Credit Mobilier scandal could never
have existed had 1t not had for a base that
most extraordinary bill which ever passed an
American Congress, entitled IAN act to amend
an act to aid in the construction of a railroad
line from the Missouri river to the Pacific
ocean, and to secure to the Government the
use of the same for postal. military and
other purposes approved July 1, 1862.
This gigantic sch enc of plumber. bribery,
robbery and fraud was conceived in the sum-
mer and fall of 1863. The Congress met on
Monday, the eth day of December, 1863.
Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, was elected
Speaker. The '.iron-clad OATH was admins
tered to him by Mr.. W~ashburne, of Illinois,
the Father of the House" In the new
House were many men of conspicuous ability.
Mr.. Thaddeus Stevens, of Pennsylvania,
called bv his friends the "Great Commoner."
was tbs acknowledged ''leader of the House.
as well by his ability as by virtue of his posi-
ton as Chairman of the Committee of Wavs
and Means. Mr.. Stevens was then in health
and vigor, and welded an influence in the
House superior to that ever exercised by any
member of that body. Of rare ability, great
experience, bold. dashing, reckless, skillful in
debate and terrible in invective end sarcasm,
only a few men in the House cared to grapple
with him, such as W~ashburne, of Illinois:
Holman, of Indiana; Spalding, of Ohio, and
Randall, of Pennsylvania.
THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE AND ITS CHAIRMAN.
TIL jobbers and lobbyists had planned
their campaign with great skill and care, and
they were on the spot in force at the opening
of the session. On the 18th 11@.v of December,
1868, Mr.. Stevens, frori the Committee of
Ways and Means, reported certain resolutions
for the distribution of the President mes
sage" and one of those resolutions provided
for the appointment by the Speaker of q
special committee OF thirteen on the Pacific
Railroad. On the Following day the Speaker
announced the special committee, and it is
due to the gentlemen thai their names should
be known to the country:
Stevens, of Pennsylvania, Chairman; Wilder,
of Kansas; Steele, of New York: Price, of
Iowa; Cole, of California; Noble, of Ohio;
Donnelly, OF Minnesot ia; Mcbride, of Oregon;
Steele, of New Jersey; McClurg, of Missouri;
Cakes Ames, of Massachusetts,; Yeaman. of
Kentucky; Sweat, of Maine.
On the 18th February, 1864, Mr.. Stevens re-
ported the Pacific Railroad bill to the House,
and it was referred TO the Committee of the
Whole on the State of the Union. On the I'd
OF June, Mr.. Stevens, finding that he could
not well get at his previous bill, which had
been referred to the Committee of the Whole,
reported another Pacific Railroad bill and
moved that 1t be made a special order in a
week from that day, and from day to day I'M
til disposed of. Mr.. Holman, of Indiana. OBJ
Jected and the order was not made, as it re-
quired unanimous consent. Being defeated
in that attempt, on the 9th of June, Mr.. Stew
ems reported the bill. which the Speaker de-
clded would come up as unfinished business
the next day.
THE PREPARATIONS BY THE LOBBY.
Mr.. Stevens having procured his bill to be
made a special order for the 10th day of June.
it was determined that it would be better to
undertake the job Of passing it at a night ses-
sion. Those who are familiar with the wav
In which 1onlS1af1ra i0hS ~ tso,,t +I.o,--lf
Congress know that night sessions are al
ways deemed the most favorable. The bill
had been thoroughly lobbied by all the means
known to the most shillfUl. There was no
longer a question as to the passage of the
bill, but some of its provisions were SO mon
strous that many timid members declined
voting for it in the yeas and NAYS. 1t was
known that two or three members were in
tensely hostile to the bill. Washburne. of Il
hnois, and Holman, of Indiana, were reck-
oned upon as certain to give trouble by their
violent opposition, by resorting to dilatory
motions, and by calling the yeas and NAYS.
Thus 1t became a matter of the first import
ance that the House should be rendered SO
unanimous for the bill that there would not
be enough members in opposition to call the
yeas and nays; and the manipulators adj
dressed themselves to that object. On the
10th day of June, the bill was first brought up
by Mr.. Stevens, who offered certain amend
ments. An amendment was offered by Mr..
Holman, of Indiana, declaring the road to be
a public highway, and that the road should
transport the troops and property of the
United States free of toll and ether charges.
A discussion followed, leaving Mr.. Holman.
who had been making an able speech, entitled
to the floor when the bill should next come
up. After a debate of an hour, the bill went
over to a future day, its friends then giving
out that the next time it came up they intend
ed Ito put it through"
H NIGHT WHEN THE BILL WA PUT ON ITS
PASSAGE.
The hour of final trial came on Tuesday
night, June 81, 1864. Old members of the
House still speak of it as a most extraordinary
scene. In the House, a few years afterward.
Mr.. WashbuTne, of Illinois,. made a graphic
speech that lives in the memory of all present,
III which he described the scenes of that night
session. The Capitol and the Hall of the
House were brilliantly lighted. The lobby had
packed the galleries and the "gilded CORR
doris" All the doorkeepers, clerks and Other
employees of the House had been seen" and
were marshaled by William S. King, the Post
master of the House. Some effort was made
IN the early part OF the evening to keep out OF
the hall all persons who were not privileged
Among the privileged persons present were
many e1-members of Congress, called from
different parts of the country; having the
privilege of the floor and an acquaintance witt
members and a knowledge of the rules, they
pAN ~ JOUDcI6 DIS Lie DoSL OIL al
lobbyists. But as the evening wore on. and
the debate in the House became exciting. the
doorkeepers relaxed their vigilance. and the
hall of the House was filed with lobbymen
who boldly came in and occupied the vacant
seats of the members.
TACTICS TO CUT OFF OPPOSITION.
At 7:30, the Speaker took the chair. The
proceedings of this celebrated session will be
found IN the Congressional Globe of the Thirty
. seventh Congress, vol. 2, page :, 14S. But the
report in the Globe gives no adequate idea Of
what took place during that sitting. While
Mr. Washburne, of Illinois, was resisting the
passage of the bill by making dilatory motions
and the House was likely to be found without
a quorum, Mr.. Colfax suddenly left the Speak.
er's chair and called Gen. Schenck, of Ohio. to
take his place temporarily, being a man. as il
was said, not afraid Ito take the RESPONSE
blllty." In order to address the Speaker more
readily, Mr.. Washburne had left his own seat
and gone down to a seat still further in front
On making an important motion, question OF
order was raised upon him. that he could only
address the Speaker from his own seat. anc
the question was Instantly sustained by the
occupant of the chair. Mr.. Washburne pro.
tested theoretically against the decision as un,
heard OF, and proposed to appeal, but as Id
was not in his own seat the Chair refused t.
entertain his appeal. He then started bacl