Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1873-04-10
Our washington Correspondence.
WASHINGTON, D. c., April I'd, '79.

retroactive legislation initiated by Butler
Of Massachusetts,, by which some Sl,OOO,-
600 of the money Of this heavily-taXed
people were taken from their treasury,
Immediately after the adjournment fthe
42d Congress, and divided among the
members Of that delectable body, would
apply with equal propriety to an act for
giving extra pay to the members Of the
4Ist or any other preceding Congress,
even back to. the 1st Congress-for that
matter, even to all the members of all
preceding Congresses, or their heirs. The
. only difference would bs in degree and
application. There would be none i9
principle. If this kind of legislation is
constitutional, the organic law needs a
little more " tinkering,,.' or we shall
wake up one fine morning and find But
Z Ter and his gang carting away from the
! public treasury!onr sentire pilss having
acquired the right to do ., the night be-
fore, by the simple process of majority
vote, and the approval Of a coarse grain
ed, underbred president to whom had
been awarded, for his official signature,
lions share of the booty.
Never before was there such a bare
faced breach Of trust committed bya Leg
islative body, perhaps because mover be-
fore was there congregated under one
roof, o representative body containing so
many unscrupulous men under leader
educated and qualified for the infamous
position by lifelong association with
criminals, and enriched by his shares OF
the proceeds of their crimes turned oyer
to him for defending them-tor having,
in other words, time. time and again,
consented to become, for pecuniary con-
sideration, professional accessory af-
ter the fact'' to any crime on the calendar.
Ben Butler has done more toward de-
bauching Congress than any other ten
men have done, collectively, since the
formation of the government. He takes
to thief, swinder or q murderer as
naturally as duck takes to water. He
has converted the House of Representa-
stives into @ criminal court room, and in
troduced into 1t the slang, the tricks and
the cunning of the Old Bailey: He has
: been the professional defender OF every
mitted by members of Congress ever
since the House has been polluted y MS
presence-from the sale of cadet ships to
the Credit Mobilier swindle. No other
man would have dared introduce the re-
troactive clause in the salary bill. The
thing was too barefaced for any man but
professional criminal or a criminal law.
yer to attempt. Just look at the facts.
Butler and his accomplices had con-
tracted to work for the people of the Unl.
ted States for period of two years, each
workman to receive certain yearly sala
ry and other stipulated allowances. EN-
ployers and employees understood the
terms. It is not contended that therewa:
any misunderstanding. Not word re-
garding the insuficiency Of the compen'
sation agreed upon was raised. Had any
one of them even expressed simple dis
satisfaction on that score, he would have
been set aside quicker than lightning
The market was glutted with eager aspi-
rants for the positions. Hundreds Of ablel
and honester men than many Of those
chosen would have been glad to do thu
work for half the wages. But the meI
selected were all anxious to serve, ant
many of them moved heaven and eartl
to secure their places. The terms of thei
contract were more favorable to then
than to their employers; for they wer
not even required by it to complete thei
term of service, it being understood tina
they should have the privilege of termi
mating the eengagementat any hour, with
out assigning any reason for the act, an'
that they should receive pay for as Ion;
as they had served, while their employ
ers bound themselves to retain them OF
the payroll for two years, however in
competent they might prove themselves
provided they conformed to certain rule
and regulations which they were gener
ously empowered by said employers t
establish for themselves. 4 contrac
more Ineligible, more generous TO EN-
ployees, could not have been devised
And so the latter apparently regarded ii
for not whisper OF dissatisfaction wa
heard until within few hours of tn
close of the session, when, instigated b,
this man. Butler, who had previously Sc
cured as a pal the President of the Uni
ted States by bribe of $4,000 stolel
money, thev suddenly ignored their con
tract, took the bold, piratical ground tina
they were entitled to as much money u
they wanted, seized upon Sl,n00,000 G
their employers funds, for the ecOnomi
cal and Just disbursement of which the.
were theconfidential and wellpaid agents
divided it up among themselves, and i'll
continently adjourned amid the eXccra
tionS of an outraged people. That's al
there is about it.
IL has been so long the fashion, all owe
the North, to depreciate the business ca
pacity Of Southerners, that many OF tn
latter have at length assumed as an aXi
ON the proposition that they are natu
rally inferior in that respect to men borI
and bred north OF Mason and Dixon:
line, and are waiting for the Infusion o
Northern blood" so complacently claim
ed, by New EnSlanders especially, to b,
n sine Q,.d NON to material progress i'm thu
South. Now, this is sheer humbug, ant
is doing more to retard progress there
than all other causes combined. Th,
comparatively stagnant condition of af
fairs at the South is NOT the consequence
OF an inherent incapacity of its native
citizens to grapple with and overcome
natural obstacles to material progress
nor does it arise from any influence o
climate or soil untavorable to the phvsi
cal development Of the individual, or to
the successful and rehlunerative prose
cution of the industries. The condition
of the South is simply and solely the le
eitimate result of the circumstances by
which the people were surrounded fol
several generations. But, those cironm
stances no longer existing; their influ
ence is gradually disappearing, and al
ready those men who have wholly Of
partially emancipated themselves from i
are displaying, in business enterprise
CAPACITY and energy that challenge ad
miration, and justify the belief that,
few wears hence, when the young Soutl
shall have adapted itself to the new or
der of things, we shall hear no more o
this senseless twaddle about the innat
superiority of Northern men for buSines
pursuits Two men, for example, t,
whom the people Of the United State
are largely indebted for having trans
formed the National Capital, within
few wears, from dirty, Struggling. neg
lected, overgrown village, the butt ant
by-word Of travellers and writer's. int
one OF the most delightful cities in Amer
ica. were born and bred on the Southern
side OF Mason and Dixon's line. One O
them. A. R. Shepherd, Vice President o
the Board of Public Works, is nativ1
of washington, and has never resided
nor done business anywhere else; yet i
is safe to say that not one among th,
most successful men of the North had, a
his age, (for, Shepherd is young man
conferred more substantial benefits OF
his fellow-citizens than has this sam,
Washingtonian on his. The other t.
whom refer is Col. JamesA. .IMagruder
Treasurer Of the Board, q Marylander by
birth, but resident efthis District from
his infancy. 1T would beno easy matter
to find a man, who possessesmor varied
unalifications.than Magrhder for the sue
cessful prosecution of large public OF
private enterprises. Even those of his
neighbors whom he has offended by his
r,n;cIr temper and positive character, look