The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1873-08-18

pie on this subject, taking the legislator out of
the class of persons whose re ward is chiefly the
honor of rendering important public service,
and who are to receive from the treasury only
q frugal and honorable maintenance, and trans
ferring them to the class Of persons aoho are seru
ina for hire! There are some classes OF our pub
lie servants, whose chief compensation for serv-
ING the republic is the having served her. Our
fathers in the first Congress- placed the salary
of the President at 900, sum equal Ito one
hundred thousand at the present day. They
fixed their own at the modest sum OF three dol
lars per day,L Hitherto the legislator has been
classed with the judge, the teacher the clergy
man, who expect nothing but frugal and hon.
orable maintenance. / think If the salaries of
the professors in Yale College were to be fixed
at 500, 900 year, the College would have a
much worse class of men in its tservice than
now. Woe to the country when places in Con-
gress shall become objects Of desire on account
of the money that is earned in them. l do not
think that place which pays $4,000 per year
for six months service, could properly be claims
ed to be one from which poor men are excluded.
Mr. Hoar defends his action (which scarcely
needs it, in taking his back pay and donating
it to a mechanical school so as to make it free
to his district, on the ground that his district
would be obliged TO pay its part of the back pay
of the congre ssmen who kept the money and
consequently it was right and just for him to
place it where it would do his district most
good. He could think of no better use for. it
than to make school that required tuition of
a part of his district free to all.
But. the portion of Mr.. Hoar's letter that will
be appreciated is that which delineates the
character of Gen. Butler. 1t is mastery
piece of work and by the aid of history sets
forth the Essex member in his true light The
following extract is given;
Gen. Buffers real grief arises from the oppo-
stion he is encountering in his plan to get pos
session OF the government OF Massachusetts, by
fraud on the republican voters A few office
holders of feeble virtue, whom he has succeed
ed in persuading that they are in danger from
his revenge if they do not lend themselves to
his schemes, lavish expenditure of the "com-
petent private fortune: these are the instru-
mentalities by which he hopes to cheat the re-
publican voters of Massachusetts out of the hon.
est expression of their will. l think Governor
Washburn an honester, ADLER and filter man.
Gen. ButlGrs rage at the press. the clergy land
most of the prominent men of his own party is
not strange 1t is the common cutlery of great
maletactOrs that mankind are in league against
them. Political newspapers do not often like
to break down the reputation of men of their
own party. 1t is rare that the religious press
of the country attacks honorable public men.
1t would be hard to name another man beside
General Butler so generally condemned by the
clergy. There is no other man whose life is
one prolonged quarrel with his associates in
public station. l commend to Gen Buffers re-
Elections whether the fault is not in him rather
than them. No. The reason that the press,
both religious and political, especially
the leaders of the republican party in
other states are agreed in their opinion of Gen.
Butler, is because that opinion is true. Gener-
al Grant ordered him to Lowell because he was
not fit to be trusted with command in the
field. Governor Andrew wrote of him to our
senators in 1861: 81 am compelled to declare
with great reluctance and regret, that the course
of proceeding under Major-General Butler in
this Commonwealth seems to have been design
ed and adopted simply to afford means to per-
sons of bad character to make money unscru-
pulously, and to encourage men whose unfit
ness had excluded them from any appointment
by me to the volunteer military service, to hope
for such appointment over Massachusetts troops
from other authority than that of rhe executive
of Massachusetts" because Governor Andrew,
serving the State with singleness and devotion,
deemed the exposure needful to the public safe
ty.
When General Butler proposed to pay off our
national debt in irredeemable paper, General
Grant sienced him with the ringing sentence
in his inaugural, 'Letit be understood that no
repudiator of one farthing oflOur public debt
will be trusted in public place." because he
knew that he was trying to tempt this people
to escape from the burden by mean and base
act. He has quarrelled with Grant aud Will
son, and Colfax and Blaine, and Andrew and
Sumner and the Washburns and Bingham,
and Schenck and Dawes. because he is quar-
relsome. They have been compelled, each in
his own way, to chaStise and punish him be-
cause he deserved to be whipped.
Among the unprincipled Adventures who
gained favor in the corrupt time of the Stuarts
and whose evil counsels brought Charles the
First to his doom, the most notorious was
Buckingham. Gaining favor by lending him.
self as the subservient tool in accomplishing
eX ISy cyl sJI RarpoSee vsfnSgsslffs ahtag RSg
into military employments for which he was
unit and from which he was compelled to re-
tire in disgrace; getting competent private
fortune by dishonest practices, which he law
ished in overcoming the virtue of timid and
venal men, his name is the shame of England.
Nugent says of him: ellis shrewdness in
judging of men was employed only to enable
him to found his influence upon their weakness
and vices; so that, when opposed to men of ca
pacty, or thwarted by what remained of pub
lie virtue in the country, he found himself in
conflict with weapons Of which he knew not
the use; and his counsels were dangerous, and
his administration unprOsperous His only
wisdom was the craft which he managed weak
or bad men, and his only virtue the courage
with which he overawed timid ones" Such
counsellors, fatal to a monarch, are full of per-
il to republic. Such men can only prosper. in
times of public corruption.
Gen. Butler has done, unless he has egregi-
ously imposed npon us, two things well. He
out Out-black guarded New York mob in 1864,
and with United States army at his back, he
kept down rebel city in 1862 Massachusetts
is not likely soon to stand in need of either of
these processes. But he never has accomplish
ed anything else of much Importance when his
point could not be carried by sheer clustering.
The story of all his other attempts may be COM
prised in three words-saodgger quarrel, failure,
Other men have aspired before now to the of
flee of Governor of Massachusetts. 1t is an
honorable ambition. They were content to
leave their claims to be set forth by others, and
were glad to waive them, if by so doing they
could promote the har tnony of the party. This
man seeks nothing but his own selfish ends, ut
terly regardless of the wishes, the welfare or
harmony of the greet party to (which he pro-
fesseS to belong. The people of Massachusetts,
have sometimes elected to this high Office men
who in some particulars are not deserving of
respect But the people respected them, AMI
choose them because they deemed them worthy,
and the persons so chosen endeavored to de-
serve the public confidence This man, if he is
chosen at all, is to be chosen without having
the respect of the men TO whom he looks for
support. 1t would be hard to find leading sup
porter of General Butler who will say that he
deems him honest, truthful, disinterested, or
incapable of using power to crafty both his am
bition and his revenge. The men whom Gen.
Butler will beat are the men whom he persuade
to support him..
have only stated what is known of all intel
lgent men. The people will recognize the fl
deity of the portrait l have drawn. All its
features are disclosed, unmasked, in the letter
which has called out this communication.