Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1873-08-20
Butler and HOar.

Butler and HOar.
The letter of Gen. Butler in defense of tn
salary grab is of great length, but both i
and the reply drawn out from his colleague
! Hon. George Frisbie Hoar of the Worceste
. District are very entertaining reading. VI
have endeavored to select the most interesting
points of each letter.
FROM GEN. BUTLER's LETTER.
! Salaries have been fixed six times il
CoDgress-in 1889, in 1876. in 1916, il
1856, in 1866, and 1873 f; and each time
back pay was given to the beginning o.
the term for which the Congressman voting
it were elected. In every Legislature in this
State-and so faras | can ascertain, in every
other State wherein the pay has been raised
there has always been shack pay" to the
beginning OF the term for which the members
of the Legislature voting it were elected
Since 1864 every principal executive and
Judicial officer in this State has bad his salary
raised retroactively that is, going backward
tor longer or shorter period, and every one
has taken it. As an example, in the year
1866 the salaries of the Judges of the Su-
preme Court were raised one thousand dol
lars year, to take effect from the first OF
salary"
1t is a fact worthy of remark that very
little objection was made in the debates in
Congress to the increase of salary being
| made applicable to the present Congress. The
question discussed was what the amount
ought to be, rather than whether it should
be made applicable to one Congress and not
to another. l do remember, however, that
MIR. Hawley, of Connecticut, spoke very flu
| emily upon the subject of our raising our
| own pay, as if it must not always be 80 done.
That member, hear, has refused to take his
increased pay. But as he was elected to
serve only three months in place of an able
Representative of that State who had de-
ceased, and as his back pay would amount to
| but little more than his mileage, which must
be deducted, his words did not produce so
much effect as they might have done if they
| would cost him more, and if his course while
| in Congress had not convinced the House
that his talk was the veriest demagogy.
| In 1918, however, | find that John Nc
Lean, of Ohio, afterwards the honored and
pure Judge of the Supreme Court for SO
many years, and thrice a candidate for the
Presidency, voted for his own g back pay"
Richard NJ. johnson, raised to the Vice
| Presidency afterwards, voted with him and
| Timothy Pickering, whom both the country
and the Commonwealth delighted to honor,
and whose memory is one of the glories of
old Essex, where you and | live, ''stole" his
back pay by his own vote, in company with
Daniel Webster all of whom are now to be
branded for so doing as l" thieves" by the
newspapers, which declare that public men
now ought to receive such designation for
doing the same thing.
| In 1866, the salary of members of Con-
gress was again increased to $4,000, or 81
per cent, retaining mileage, stationery,
postage, newspapers, and other allowances,
. to be computed from the first day of the
present Congress" or back pay for sixteen
months ; SO by that the " back salary OF
each member was nearly doubled.
| The bill passed by vote of 81 yays in
the House to 50 nays, two members from
Massachusetts, Banks and A. Ii. Rice,
voting in the affirmative two members,
Boutwell, and Eliot, voting in the negative,
and six members. to wit, John B. Alley OF
the 9Th district, Ames of the I'd district, j.
D. Baldwin Of the Sth district, ii. l.. Dawes
of the 10th district, Samuel Hooper Of the
4th district, and VIM. b. Washburn, now
his Excellency the Governor, of the 9th dis
| tIiCe, uio Ho0 foeo, US III SohSiOoeionoi
parlance-quite as elegant as - buck the
tiger''-" lodged the Vote To these add
Elihu B. Washburne and Henry D. Wash
| burpe indeed the whole Washburne family
lodged"
Every member of the Massachusetts dele
cations for 1886 and sc, including Mr..
Sumner, Mr.. Wilson, Mr.. Boutwell,, Mr.
Baldwin, Mr.. Dawes, Governor Washburn
Elhu B. Washburne, and all other members
OF the House and Senate for those years,
took their Increased back pay and all
allowances, and were not denounced by the
newspapers or anybody, but all were re-
turned to the House, reelected to 1.-THE Sem
ate. made Governors, Secretaries of the
Treasury, Ministers abroad, or promoted to
| high Offices by election and appointment.
| How is it, then, that all these "back pay
stealers, ""salary grabbers' and 'swindlers'
have been sustained by the peopleP Why
were they not g stamped with infamy p
What difference In the cases can be shown,
save that the Congress of 1873 gave up its
mileage and franking privileges, while the
Congress of '66 retained all their tperquis-
ties. How has the contract been changed
Was not each Congress elected under lower
pay established by law ?
The country may we'll thank God that nc
more of its public men can be frightened out
of their propriety by virtuperation and sense,
less clamor. For | repeat again, in my iudg
ment, DO man believes that one of those whc
nave returned their pay, did it for any other
motive than because he feared it would moi
be popular, and might endanger bis future
to take it. Nor does this argue that the,
may not be good men, or courageous in action
Peter, on whose steadfastness, as on a rock
Christ founded his church, who overpoweree
by numbers, alone of all the disciples drew
! bis sword in defence of his master, and smots
the servant of the high priest, when he fount
himself among the servants Of PLATE, on tn,
unpopular side, denied the same master fo
whom he had fought, and who had wrought
a miracle to repair the wrong he had done
until the cock crew shame on him thrice
then he went out and wept bitterly, as thos
who have yielded what they believed to b
: right, because they thought it unpopular
will hereafter lament what they have done
| am further impelled to say this, because
have not heard of one of these gentlemen
who has refused to have his increased pa,
for the future. [ wish | could believe thos
who have returned their pay were actuate,
from none but motives of conscience, for the
would have my highest resepct, howeve
much | might criticize their acts. By s.
doing, they have criticized my motives an
2 my judgment in action, and they must par
I don Inc Ii | remark upon theirs.
l should not dare to attribute the return Q
their pay to tie treasury, save to conscienc
alone, were it not for this fact, that hereto
lore no human being has ever acted as if b
thought it against conscience, or in any Wa
wrong, to take increased pay for service t
the government retro-actively or prospective
ly. 1t has been done by all classes of me-
everywhere who have gone before US, sine
che republic. and not one dollar has eve
been returned until March, 1873. Why ha
a not this been done before, or why is it don
now? Because never before has there bee
any considerable cutlery against taking tn
increased salary by the press. Never ha
- tfho hpon bcfo oil n