St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1873-12-19
Judge Poland on the Grab.

of the salary bill of the last Congress
came up. Judge Poland of this State
gave notice of Il substitute which. he
thought. would meet the popular de-
mand. 1t repeals so much of the salary
act as increased the pay of senators and
representatives, and fixes it at what II
was Immediately prior to that act. 1t
requires that all moneys paid to sell
atOrS and representatives of the iSd
Congress under the provisions of that
act. whether for the i2d or 43d Con
greSs, shall be charged, and rcckoncd
part of their pay and compensation as
members of the 4}d Congress. 1t re
quires the treasurer OF the 'nitcd States
to mail to each meuIber of the 42d
Congress. not Il member of the Add. and
who received the additional compcnSa
ton, notice informing him of the re
peal of the law, with request for him
to repay the difference received by him
into the treasury.
At subsequent day when the same
hill came up, Judge Poland spoke at
length in support of his amendment. of
which the telegraph gives us the follow =
ing abstract:
He had been few days ago in com
panN with large number of gentle
men. when the conversation turned on
the subject. and they all cOnCurrcd
I'll. . tl,.,f -,
increase of salary had been utterly con
dcmnrd 10y the public judgment of the
whole people of the United States.
What did the bill reported hy the Spe-
cial Committee propose! 1t proposed
that all the back pay received by the
members of the I'D Congress and all
the increased pay received hy the mcm-
her> of the I'D Congress they should
hc allowed to keep. He asked the
House whether that was conforming t."
the public judgment on the subject.
Was that what the people We're demand
ing Was that going t" eati>t\ the
popular demand
( II WAS not what the public Judgment
had demanded aud still demanded.
What was wanted WAS this: that they
should he utterly wiped ont. So that II"
! benefit or advantage that anybody had
derived from it should be kept and re
tanned hy him. That. and that alone.
would satisfy the public demand. 1t
WAS with that view and for that pur-
pose that he had offered his substitute.
/ He proposed to vote for bill that
should carry ont the decision of the
| people on that subject. and utterly wipe
} al ,l.
/ hcnctit> derived hy the members OF
/ Congress under the act of the :}d OF
/ March. IS73.
He had voted against that measure.
/ He had held public office i'll his own
state. where salaries were very small
and the habits of simplicity and plain
economy which he had acquired in that
! way he could very we'll preserve III
/ Washington. 81 that S50nn Il Ncal
was ample compensation for his ser
vices. and furnished him with ampl,
means to live i'll the manner which ht
chose To live. Besides. he had thought
that il WAS Il very unfortunate time Il
make the increase.
The public mind had been for some
time excited in regard to the corrup-
tinn> of public men. The whole world
had been agog on that subject. and Ii,
thought he knew that that increase u
salary. and especially the Ietroactlv,
feature of the law would excite puhli,
condemnation and call dawn popular
cnn>urc on Congress after it became /;
law. The question arose. what WAS /,
hc done with the back pay The pres,
had begun To say that every one VIII,
took il WAS Il ruhhrr and thief. Tn,
idea that he WAS to Ice called Il thief to
taking the compensation affixed Ia hi
office WAS not very palatlhlc I" hm
1t did not commend itself to his .Iudg
mcnt. nor tn hi> conscience. neither die
he propose To hr actuatcd or influence
lay ANY threat of that Sult. and there
fore he had taken the money and >til
retained it. Other gcntlemcu> con
Scicmccs had been more tender than hI~
They began to he affected differently
and. one after another. many Ictumc,
their back pay tn the Treasury.
! The result of thai was that pcopl
. began /" say that these men We're COW
. ards aud hNpocritrS. and they did thi
. merely tor the purpose of curry ing pub
, lie favor That had brought him +
commune with his own judgment ant
conscience in regard Ia what he "ugh
, to do. whether he was on the one sid
. to he called Il thief and rnhhcr. "
whether he should subject himself /
be called Il coward and hyPorrite. Ih
| result of his Sclt-commuuing was thi
he should hc altogether more amcnahl
to the latter charge if he returned til
p, paN, and that he would rather retain
|, and subject himself To being charge
hy the public press as Il rohhcr and
, thief Therefore he had chosen to rt
tain what he had received under III
law and To make an endeavor to hay
f the law regulate the thing so that Ii
II, might Ice allowed to return the none
. to the Treasury, if that was the wi
:. of the people, without srIhiccting him
, self to the charge of being Il hyporrit
!, and coward. He claimed that althoug
they could not go back to regulate til
salaries of the members of the Forty
n Second Congress they had full p0wr
y over the salaries of the members of ia
, present Congress.
i The Original Rothschild.
!. William IN., the Landgrave of Hess
I (as rlector he subsequently adopted tn
I, ,f william, | \ chose Poi hill