Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1874-01-31
sengers when on the business of the Senate

and vet these charges, being published by
responsible paper, go into all the country
press as absolute and incontrovertible facts;
and the calumny grows from year to year.
Therefore, sir, in order to crush out TINS
! fruitful source Of scandal, / think 1t would
be better that the stationery room should sup
ply absolutely only such articles that are re-
quired, as stationery, papers, pens, INK, etc,
/ Mr.. Morrill, of Me. | ask the Senator II
he understands that article to be an editorlai'
Mr.. Morrill, of Vt 1t is an editorial.
Mr.. Morrill, of Me. / ask the Senator fur
Their, whether he understands it to be fact
that fancy goods of the style he SPEAKS o.
gold tooth picks and the like, are Kept in the
stationery room at all F.!
Mr.. Morrill, of Vt. ! never have exanlin-
ed. and do not know particularly what arti'
clcs are kept there.
Mr.. Morrill, of Me. Does the honorable
Senator think it q nice thing for
us to spend our time in correcting these
false allegations that appear in the press OF
the different parts of the country and predi-
cate our legislation upon them' / never had
any gold tooth pick or any OF these fancy
goods, and do not propose to be disturbed
or moved from my propriety by the publica-
ton of any of these things that appear in the
papers. The idea of instructing committee
to investigate whether tooth picks ara sold
matter of fact, if any gentleman chooses to
send his clerk cut into the street he can get
one Immediately, and dare say he might get
the keeper of the stationery to do the same
thing. But that any of these things are kept
there for Senators at the public expense,
do not suppose any one who is not crazy or
foolish enough to publish such a thing be-
lieves and / do not think it worth while to
instruct a committee to investigate on such a
| subject.
| Mr.. Morrill, of VT l have seen this float
ing scandal for a number of years, and
know of no way by which it can be extin-
guished except by stopping it at the source.
Therefore, without being moved at all, so far
as am concerned personally, about it, | am
in favor of having the stationery room so
conducted that it shall be impossible for US to
be subjected to any more of this sort of sean
dial.
Mr.. Morrill, of Me. But my friend, by his
argument, is giving force to an application
that the thing does eXist-that We DO keep a
fancy concern down stairsAwhen there is not
one word of truth in it, as l believe.
Mr.. Howe. l agree with the Senator from
Vermont in the purpose at which he aims. 1t
would delight me hey ond measure to have the
stationery room, or any other room in this
Capital, conducted in such manner that it
could not be lied about. (Laughter). But
ask the Senator precisely how he would have
that room conducted in order to secure that
end?
Mr.. Morrill, Of VT. / propose to do it by
the resolution have offered, to exclude from
it everything except the articles of stationery
mentioned.
Mr.. Howe. And will the Senator guaran-
tee that it will not be lied about when it is
/ trimmed down in that way?
&c Noto Of oil
Mr.. Hamlin. / am not sensitive in relation
to this article, because think / shall not be
found as coming within the list of individuals
who have made any Of these purchases in any
way, either directly or indirectly; but think
for the papers that are disposed to publish the
truth, it may be well to affirm here that each
of US is, under the law, entitled to 1925 a
year for stationery and newspapers, and it is
part of our compensation. If we use it all
for these things, very well; if we do not, it
is ours by law, and the balance is received by
Senators. l may, therefore, receive the
amount to which l am entitled to-day for my
stationery; l may purchase my stationery
elsewhere if please, and when that money.
which is my own, is in my own pocket, if
| choose to convert it into tooth picks, it is
nobody's business; though l never do. But
| did not rise for that purpose. | rose for an-
other purpose, and one which, think, is of
some importance and needs contradiction to
the country. l have not seen the article
from which the Senator from Vermont has
been reading; but my attention has been
called to another statement, and probably it
is part of this very one, in WHICH it is al
legged as one of the wrongs of the Senate that
the expenses of the Senate were, in round
numbers, about $500, 600 for the year 1872,
and 81 900, 900 for the year 1873. Now,
whoever made that statement did have some
ground to base it upon, and this was the
ground: He took six months of the year
1872 on which to base the expenditures for
1872, and took the whole of the year 1873
on which to base the expenditures for 1878.
That is all he had to do, and he did that by
taking the report of our secretary, because
the law was changed by which be was direct.
ed to make up his account with the fiscal
year, instead of what had been done prior to
that, ending with the first day of December.
II the man who sought the authority and gave
the information had looked at the secretary's
report, or had sought to tell the whole truth,
he would have seen that the secretary, in his
report made in 1872, stated distinctly that it
was only for six months, and that the expen-
ditures were $470,000. Then in the next re-
port-as we can all see by reading-if he had
taken the next report he would have seen
that the report was for full year. One COW
cred long and the other short session, and
that also made difference. The statement
has gone abroad that we doubled the expenses
of this body between 1872 and 1873. The
only foundation on earth for making that
statement was, simply taking the expendi-
lures for half of one year on which to base
the comparison. l have thought, sir, that it
was well that l should make that statement.
l do not know but that the same statement is
made in the article which has been read
Mr.. Morrill, of Willis.
Mr.. Hamlin. That is the truth of that !;
and think for one you can Judge of the
truth of all, and from the falsehood of one
you can judge of the falsehood of ALL
The President pro TEN. The question is
on the re solution.
The resolution was agreed to.
GENERAL NEWS.