Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1873-11-06
COMMUNICATIONS.
FROM wAssss>GroN.
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EDIroHs COURIER 1T would seem
that the recent bank panic and Tia,
money stringcncy arising from il, viii
: not be destitute of some good effect
II is stated that The Government will
this week. make The first step toward;
returning to specie payment, by paw
ing ont about 100000 in silver.
presume the clerks and other cmplove,
of the Departments will receive 8
large portion of this silver, aud Al
they are not provcrbiai for boarding
up money, it will be immediately
placed in circulation. The present ii
naucial difficulties have caused mucl
embarrassment here among coutrac.
tors and others interested in the yer,
extensive improvements now gona
on in the city, and since the suspen.
sion of the three banks which went
down in the crash. the system Of Ger.
| tilted checks has been partially adopt
cd.
| On Tuesday evening Of last week
the irrepressible Andrew johnson ia.
yored the citizens OF Washington with
one of his characteristic speeches al
the Metropolitan Hotel. He had been
here for about ten days looking after
a deposit of $4,000 which he had at
the banking house of Jay Cook &c Co.
when it collapsed, and his friends and
admirers rendered him a screna,lc at
the hotel,and the sercnade brought out
a speech OF about two hours in length.
Ex-senator Foote, of Mississippi. a
short time ago wrote series of very
interesting "reminiscences which were
published in the Daily Washington
| Chronicle, of this city, in which he
throws the blame of the execution of
Mrs. Surratt upon Mr.. johnson, who
was then filling the Executive office.
II was, Of course, expected that in
his speech on last Thursday night he
would have something to say in regard
to the matter, but he did not mention
it. As Mr.. johnson has aspirations
to get back to the Senate from Tennes-
see, it is probable that these develop
ments in regard to Mrs. Surratt's
taking off may injurc him in the esti-
nation Of his Ku-Klux constituents al
home.
| Ills speech was very rambling and
| incoherent, and was mostly composed
of self.laudation, and condemnatory of
| Congress. He talked a great deal about
the Constitution and the way is has
been torn to tatters--how he tried TO
preserve it while he was President
how it was dragged from under his
feet and tramplcd in the dust by y
two-third vote of tho Radical Con-
gress, &c.
4 1t was the first time | had ever had
the pleasure of seeing Andy and hear
ing him speak. There are second and
third-rate lawyers in every county,
seat in the West who are superior 10
him in logical arguments.
| 1t seems that the Anti-Monopolsts
and Democrats combined have been
turning political matters topsy-turoey
i'll Iowa. notice by the press Of
Iowa and elsewhere. that many rea-
sons are assigned for this somewhat
| unexpected political revolution, such
as local disaaections, &c. but am in
| clined to think the true cause has not
been mentioned For tho last Two or
three years the producers Of the Great
Northwest have been appealing in
vain TO Congress TO regulate in some
way the eNhorbiiant railroad tariff by
which two-thirds OF their crops have
been gobbled mp by the railroads to
get the other ono-iilird TO market.
| But il appears that members of Con-
| gress with dead-head railroad passns
in their pockets, are not the men TO
look TO for relief ia Llat ,,,arter. III
Is true that they have occasionally
made buncombe speeches in Congress
for the purpose of wheedi;pg their
constituents into the belief that they
desired to do something, but such
speeches have generally amounted 10
| nothing more than the mere slams.
And then the great Mobilier scandal,
| aud the crowning work OF iniamy-
| the s'back pay steai'--were the ONLY
things remaining 10 arouse the people
| to reflection. Aud the logical result
of their reflections has lust been fully
| developed in the recent elections in
| Iowa and Ohio. Every true Republi-
| can, who is such from principle.
| must have blushcd for shame
when that foul scheme Of
robbing the u. 5. Treasury--tlle "back
pay steal was perpetrated, for it is an
indisputable fact that the Republican
majority in Congress could have de-
feated the scheme had they so willed
it.
Appropos TO this back pay swindlc,
there are some statistics which might
| be interesting to the readers of the
| COURIER:
A recent examination OF the books
of the Secretary of the Senate, and the
Sergeant-at-Arms of the House. de-
velopes the fact that only sixteen mem
bers of the Senate have covered"
their back pay into the Treasury.
while tifty-six have retained ii. Nor
rill, of Vermont, turned his portion
| over to his State to assist in the lilui-
dation of the State debt. OF the num-
Der who kept their "swag" eighteen
are Democrats and Liberals. The
Democrats and Liberals who returned
the filthy lucre are Bayard, Casserly,
Thurman, Sumner, Schurz, and Fem
ton. Out of fifteen ex.Senat0rs Of the
last Congress, bnt two are credited a.
returning it.
or the House of Representatives
two hundred and eight members drew
it. Thirty.six we've conscience smi,-
ten and turned ii into the Treasury.
Seventy -nine philanthropic members,
wishing to do something grand, and
and At the same time put little p0iit-
ical wind into their sails,gave the back
pay 1" the schools of the
counties in their districts. and
other charitable purposes. OF the
number who drew it, ninety
five were Democrats, and three Liber-
ais. One hundred and fifteen who
hold on to it like grim death" are not
members Of the next Congress, and OF
these sixty-five are Democrats and
Liberals.
| Ii is to be hoped that no mem Der OF
Congress who voted for the back pay
steal, or who, virtuously voting asains,
it and yet took it, may ever again be
honorcd with seat in Congress.
HAWK-Eyr.