National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1875-02-15

here would overlook them, in consideration
of the great good that has been done"
In reply to these just remarks, Mr.. Thur
man, of Ohio, said;
"Mr. President, am quite sure that my
friend from Pennsylvania has never read the
testimony taken before your committee OF last
wear, or he would not have made the speech
we have Just listened to. He says that these
contractors expected to be paid in good, honest
money, as understand him, whereas that tes-
timOny shows that allowances OF from 10 TO 20
per cent were made in letting contracts be-
cause of the deprecated medium in the form
of green certificates and yellow certificates, and
every other sort of colored certificates, in which
these persons expected TO receive their pay.
This whole subject was considered at the last
session when the bill was passed. 1t was
brought more particularly to the attention of
Congress by a message from the President upon
that subject; and it was on full explanation
and after the report made by the committee, a
report in which the committee were entirely
unanimous, that the provision remained in the
bill as originally reported-the provision for
the conversion of the floating debt into the
bonded debt provided for by the bill and that
bonded debt was fixed with the rate of interest
of 3.G5 per cent. upor computation made with
the utmost care that such bond would fully pay
the contractors fair and reasonable cOmpen-
sation for their work. And now the Senator
from Pennsylvania says that they expected to
be paid in good money when they made their
contracts, whereas the fact is directly the re-
verse, and the contract price of the work was
enhanced from IS to % per cent. because they
were not to be paid in good, honest money.
Zone thing further while l am up. My
friend from Pennsylvania says, as understand
him, that in thirteen years from this time
Shepherd will be canonized here in the Dis
trict of Columbia. My friend forgets that in
bo
saints, a hundred years must elapse, q full
century after the death of man or woman, be-
fore he or she can be made saint; and al
| though this is a fast age, do not think we
have become so fast that in thirteen years
from now Gov. Shepherd will be canonized as
a saint in any part of the United States. Mr..
President, l am quite sure that five years from
now no member Of the Board of Public Works
will be a saint in the District of Columbia.
When the flfty-two miles of wooden pavement
in this District shall have Totted, as it will in
less than five years from this day and become
worse than an old corduroy road across a
swamp, and when the people Of this District
| or the Government of the United States will
be called upon to eXpend some SlO,OOO,OOO or
SIS, 900, 900 to replace that rotten pavement, l
do not think that any member of the Board of
Public Works which laid it here, and which
taxed the people of this District to lay it;
which imposed on the Government of the Uni
ted States an expenditure of millions OF money
to lay it, will be canonized as saint in the
minds of any part of the people Of this Dis
trict."
To this Mr.. Cameron replied as follows;
81 am sorry to consume a moment of time
longer. | only desire to say that my good
friend, the Senator from Ohio, was, believe,
one of that committee which investigated all
these bad doings in the city of Washington
1, l., fI,o ~
that committee | did not see word which
spoke derogatory to the character for honesty
of Mr.. Shepherd. Not word of that kind, |
think, is in that report. l said that in thirty
years he would be canOniZed, not in thirteen;
but think it will be in much shorter time
than thirty years, for we move faster in this
country than elsewhere. A man who showed
| himself so superior in the ability required fol-
| the post to which he was called will not have
to wait many years before he is appreciated.
1.-THE Senator talks about the wooden pave
| ments here. At the time they were COM
menCed there was rage all over the United
States to build wooden pavements. They had
| long been used in Russia, and their failure
there was not known here until we made them
| part OF our system of paving. They have
failed in Cincinnati, and they have failed, be-
Iieve, in Columbus, Ohio; they have failed in
San Francisco and they have failed in Chicago,
but they had not failed when the experiment
was tried here.
"But everything that is created perishes. A
pavement no more than a man or q woman
lives forever. Pavements have their day, aud
they are useful in their time, but they die. All
the improvements which men project die and
give place to something else. The wooden
pavement already has given way to the con-
crete, which proves itself better than wood,
and after a while that will perish and give
place to something else. But in all time, with
the improvements begun here, this city will go
on and prosper, and every year become more
beautiful. l have a pride in believing that
in a very few years this will be the most beau
tiful city in the world. Look at this capital
now : there is nothing like it in any part of the
present civilized world. 1t is more beautiful,
more grand, and more convenient in all its APP
pointments than any other building of the kind.
Look around these streets everywhere. You
can ride over them without being iostlcd or
hurt. How was il before Mr.. Shepherd took
charge here? The Senator from Ohio and l
came here about the same time great many
years ago, and he will remember what set OF
struggling and dirty villages there were here ;
how difficult it was ordi 1arily to get from the
Capitol to the White RLuse or the pu6hc
buildings beyond 1t is no t. ouble to do that
now. What has all this cost Comparatively
nothing. AS | said some time ago, l. re assessed
value, and the real value of this city $ many
hundred per cent. more than it was u lore
these expenses began, and the grumbers \. e
getting the advantage of theJa. We had bet
ter act literally, and we had better act so that
In the future our acts shall be approved Of
81 know the Senator from Ohio is one of
the most humane, one of the most benevolent,
and one of the most just men in this BODY. and
yet he is little governed by politics, l am
sorry to believe. Laughter. He cannot
believe that anything which comes out of a
Republican head or heart is quite right. If
Mr.. Shepherd had been a good Democrat, |
dare say my friend from Ohio would have pat
ted him on the shoulder and said that is very
nice" Laughter
This brought Mr. Thurman again 10 his
feet. He said:
"Mr. President, would not say a word in
prolongatiOn of this discussion upon the point
suggested by our venerable friend from Penn
sylvania If it were not for one remark that he
made, and that was that he had looked into
the report Of the investigating committee last
year and found no condemnation, as l under
stood him, of Governor Shepherd"
"Mr. Cameron. Yes"
''Mr Thurman. Well, sir, l have heard a
great deal of that sort of thing heretofore by
people who have not looked into the report
with their glasses on, although they ought to
he ~e worn glasses if they could not see other
believe ere is no specific charge against in
IividnaIs. a, d why not? The report was made
,oward the eloNe of the session. The COM
nfttee felt that tn %Y had a great duty TO per
rorm to relieve this District from govern
nent that was utter y bankrupt and had
proved itself totally inch. Gent ana ll-sulted
o rule over this people; anu with the patriotic
purpose of passing a bill THAI should relieve
he people from that government, we deter
mined 10 avoid every question that could excite
discussion or excite passion on the floor of
ither House Of Congress, and to put our report
lpOn public grounds and public considerations,
o that it might he the unanimous report of
he committee, no member foregoing his own
onvictiol either as TO the guilt or innocence
f individuals and that accounts for that
eport.
1--WE did not consider ourselves grand jury
o find an indictment against particular indi-
duals. We considered ourselves q joint COM
nittee Of the two Houses Of Congress TO per- |
Orm much higher duty than to prefer indict- |
nents against individuals-to perform the duty |
f reporting to Congress whether the then |
government of this District was the best gov |
rnment for the District, or whether another |
nd different government ought to be inau-
.urated in its stead. That was our highest |
luty to perform, and we performed that duty.