Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1873-05-22

| We cut the following from the Vidette.
The letter tells its own story. Gen.
Packard is entitled to a fair hearing.
| LAPoRFB, May Z, 1878.
| L. KEENE, EsQ-DeGr Scr; | have
received marked copy of the Valparaiso
messenger containing certain resolutions
passed at meeting of the Patrons of
dusbandry, held at Valparaiso on the 9th
q lay OF April; and as | presume it came
from you, as Secretary, in obedience to
one of the resolutions, | treat it as !
would a letter: and as l never fail to
| answer when written to, so | send you
q brief response, not as an answer to the
statements of the resolutions, but to state
a fact or two which | presume was un-
known to the gentlemen who composed
the meeting. 1t would be rather hard to
compel me to refund $4,000, not having
received any such amount of back paw"
ana all the rest OF my pay having been
consumed III necessary expenses as | went
along. That there is any injustice III the
matter cannot be true, because the Con-
stltution expressly auth orizes Congress
each Congress-to determine its own
pay, without any limitation as to the
ume when it shall so determine, whether
on the first day, the middle day or the
last day Of Il Congress; and it can scarce
ly be possible that this provision of the
Constitution was unknown to the people
when the A2d Congress was elected.
But It / should obey the demand and re-
fund the additional pay which l received,
It would not relieve the people of this
district from the payment of the interest
on three cents annually for each inhabit-
ant, because the expense is borne in
common by all the people of the United
states. Hence my individual pay refund
ed and the people Of this district would
be relieved Of the payment finally only of
their proportion of what | have received.
This amounts to little over $12, which
l will gladly deposit at any convenient
place for the benefit OF the 100000 people
OF the district 1t cannot Justly be said
that | am responsible for bringing the
whole expense, that is the interest at six
per centun on three cents for each one
of our 40, 0G0 900 of people on my con-
stituents, because | voted against attach
ing to the appropriation bill the PROPOSE
ton to make the salaries $500, and vot-
ed that 1t be S6,500 which, ali allowance
being cut off, an object which have been
endeavoring constantly to reach, you will
readily see would not have increased, but
would rather have diminished the pay.
The mileage, the stationary allowance,
and the ranking privilege, now all re.
pealed, were worth to members not less.
probably more than 81 500 per annum.
True, | voted for the appropriation bill
on its final passage, because | believed
then, md | believe now, that it would
have been a great mistake to defeat it
for this, among other reasons, that it con
tanned provisions which will save to the
government the interest and perhaps the
principal of all the bonds issued to the
Pacific railroads.
make no complaint of the action of
the Oranges. l. only wish they might
know all the facts before they condemn.
That the salary of member of Congress
has been, or is now, too high admits at
least of a difference of opinion. have
been farmer, and speak with me knowl-
edge of the subject when l say if my sole
object was money, should at once obey
-he demand to resign; and would come
)ack to my early occupation Of cultivat-
ng the soil
Yours very truly,
JASPER PACKARD