American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-09-20

see am justified in laying them before you. II
The facts are contained in This official report of tn
tempts t. justify all this. If he does not succeed
he at least shows where the money goes.
| l would like to show you, from the report of tn
| Treasury Department itself made nearly two year
that the defalcations of officers in the Interna
Revenue Department then exceeded two million
of dollars There had been IA report showing tn
defalcatIons TO be twenty million and odd dollar
but that was because their accounts had not bee
settled. aud to CORRECT this misrepresentation re
port came Congress to show the real state Of tn
case. from which it appeared that the defalcation
amounted 10 the enormous sum Of over two mill
iops of dollars,
Now. how many Of these defaulters are in tn
penitentiary. where they ought to be: Not one
ample of discouraging defacationf Look at TIL
defalcation of Payu,;ister Hodge, In his office n
Washington right under the eyes OF the rresaen
s,On.ooO In one SINGLE Payir,aster's accopnt. VI
had been embezzng the public money for years
and the committee that investigated reported tina
ii would have been utterly impossible for the de
facation TO have taken place if the Department
had done their duty in supervising his accounts
stock speculations until he became ruined MAI
tried bv a Courismarrial. found guilty.. and wa
| sentenced to imprisonment in the Albany Pcniten
| tary for. think, a term of ten years.
Now This was a case OF all Others, that Ough
| to have been made an example of, because the de
faications occurred right under the nose of tn,
| President Ii was defalcation in the army Of
the United States, which ought to be the enibodi
| ment of honor, as for the rtGst part 1t is. And
what became OF hims Why, the man wa,
| President pardOncd him out and he now walks
| the streets of Washington free man Grant
| himself. Had il been some poor devil who stole q
few dollars to pay his rent. or buy bread and mea,
for his suffering family and had been sent 10 the
! out his term to the last day and hour But when
| il is a great man like Paymaster Hodge, man
W yan Hss,u 10 the Is
fsteal the money OF the people to the extent of
nearly half million of dollars he is not allowed
to lnger in the penitentary but is set free by the
3, President himself
| Now. when the President of the United States
worst defaulters this country ever. saw, there is
very little hope you will have good government or
| an honest Administration till there is change.
On another occasion, in the case of the Assist
anti Treasurer of New York. there was embcZ-
element of over one hundred thousand dollars in
stamps. and the man who embezzed them is as
| free TO day as he before he committed the
great fraud ,
Ancthtr case rieh in the Treasury OF the United
Slater. There embeZZlement right in the
Office of Spinner. the Register of the Treasury, of
of sixty one thousand dollars. The money is gone
Spinner from all responsibility. and venture to
say the Republicans will pass Y: If those things
allowed to take Dare right uuder the eye OF
The administration and the President. what hope
have we of an honest Administration without a
changer
must have one word on the salary-grab; if
don't do so it will be said lodged it. L would
prefer leaving hat affair to OF hers. You know OBJ
posed II from FIRST finally voted against
it, l voted against the conference report and
therefore vo:ed against the appropriation bill it
self did not wait for the public clamor to tell
me that should not take that back pay. Within
two or three days after it's passage.indeed, l be
lieve on the very day after the bill became a law
by the signature of President Grant resolved;
ard sd did MY COLLEAGUE iii the Senate-to his
honor, be 1t said-that dollar of that money
the department decided that it was necessary Is
cover it into the Treasury that is. to put ii en-
that moment did cover it in that way And /
shall 90 back to Washington next winter to en-
deavor to repeal that law with just the same earn
nes,ness that voted against IL from beginning TO
end.
Now who In heavens name is responsible fof
that laws Senator Morton Gays it was not a party
question at ALL and that the Republican party
not responsible for it, Why, they applied very
an 10 US IN % n1' Inc me
House OF Representatives.. Had they not a major
ity of three to and more than this. in the SEN
States. whose simple veto world have prevented
that di=graceful affair from becoming a law: How
ed: The majority of the Democrats in Congress
voted against that repeal, when all the Northern
ried by the voice of the Southern Democrats and
Southern Wings. when il was said that was not a
party measure, they replied the Democrats have a
majority of both branches. and you have the Presi
dent who the BILL therefore you
sponsible for the repeal of the Missouri Compro-
mise And they said it with such effect that where
the year before that repeal we carried Ohio by
tremendous majortty, the next election after the
repeal we were defeated by over $1,000 That is
how Democrats were held responsible when they
were in power That is how they applied it to us
But when leon COMES to the they say az
party having the majority in both branches. with
the President, is responsible for the legislation in
Congress.
Who believes that bill would have passed il
President Grant had hut hooked his little finger?
without breathing the vital air. 1t was known he
was in favor of it, But suppOsing he had not been
he had only to say Il veto this BILL and it would
Grant said approved. u S. Grant, President
of the United States, and it is put on the records
they net responsible for that thing;
could, if had time, show you by the votes
rests by the action of the party leaders, but will
not do so except i'll one single case. In that case
the gentleman has seen fit to come into this State
to instruct you how to vote
In the progress of that bill they dared not intro
duce this increase OF salary in an bill
III they had done ii would have been defeated.
They have moved it as amendment to the APP
preparation bill, and that cut OFF debate by moving
the previous question. In the Senate
limited TO tive-minute speeches, SO we had no
chance to talk. That was the cunning way they
acted
Now. the appropriation had passed the House of
Representatives and come to the Senate, where
it was amended i'll certain particulars. As it
came from the House of Representatives this sala-
ry grab was not in it, But these men were lying in
waii during the last expiring hours of Congress to
perpetrate this thing. So they waited until the
bill came back to the House of Representatives.
when Benjamin F. Butler moved this salary grab
az an amendment to an amendment made by the
Senate cIea-ing the salary of the President Vice
President Cabinet officers heads of bureaus di-
vers clerks etc, and finally members of Congress,
thus making it go back to pay them for two
years work which had already been paid for by
the House of Representatives
When the bill came back to the Senate there
was test vote on the amendment An amend
ment was moved by Mr.. Edmonds OF Vermont, TO
strike out all the House amendments except so
much as related to the Presidents salary. II that
amendment had prevailed. the whole effect of the
bill would have been TO raise the Presidents sala,
~, and single member Of Congress would
have had dollar additional pay. and his salary
would not have been raised at all. That was a
test vote, and had ii prevailed it would have killed
the salary grab, except far the President Of
the UEited States concerned, and it would
have cut down the amount of the grab from one
and half million dollars one hundred thousand
dollars That was pretty good reduction, and
say, was a test VOTE and everybody knew if it
prevailed there would have been an end to
WIS found the name of Senator Morton? He
voted against that amendment; he voted
to keep the salary grab in the bill, and
yet this Senator of Indiana comes here and tells !
you he opposed to raising the salaries. After
making speech in the Senate. the whole effect of
which justify the increase of it, after being
on The wrong side, he comes around here telling |
you he was opposed TO raising the pay of |
members of Congress; and not only that, but he |
had actually turned over his money into the pub |
lie Treasury. He was a long time doing it, 1t re-
Iuired good deal more kicking than an old man
ought TO receive before he came into that frame of
mind.
ispire to be considered leaders of the Republican !
party in the Senator Conkling, of New York, and /
Morton, of Indiana. Both of these men voted !
against that amendment of Mr. Edmunds and /
'oted to keep the salary grab in the bill. There
,lso were Senators Carpenter, Ferry, of Michigan,
Logan, of Illinois, Morton, Nye, Walker, poor
sawyer and Stcwart-au these were leading men |
If the Republican party; all voted for the meas
Ire, whereas had they voted the other way, the
grab would have been defeated.
The Republican State Convention, with con
stency Of logic that is most wonderful, resolved