New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-06-02
A CANCELLED SYPHER.

ings had opened with a Storm. b. Storm
of Pennsylvania. 1t having been minated
that at time when the Pacific Mail Steam
ship Company was distributing thousand dollar
bills to Congressman in loose and reckless
manner, Mr. Storm had deposited one thou
sand dollar bill with the Sergeant-at Arms,
that gentleman rose to a question OF privilege
and stated with great earnestness of
manner, not unmixed with Indignation,
that not only had he never deposited u
one thousand dollar bill with the Sergeantat-
Arms, or had one thousand dollar bill
changed by that functiOnary, but that he had
never owned a one thousand dollar bill. Upon
his honor us man and n Representative he
said he never in his life had q thousand dollar
bill that being poor man, it was too much
for him ever to have had without being able to
recOllect il.
Following the hush that fell upon the House
upon Mr.. Storms pathetic statement that he
had never had a thousand dollar bill, and that
he was not in the habit of raising the wind in
that way Sypher rose. There have been
good many of them in Congress first and last
this one was from Louisiana. He had been
Syphored into the House on what was called
pr,ma ftcie title-a title which WAS entirely in
dependent of the votes east, and rested simply
on the Syphering capacity of the returning
board. He had been sitting there like any
other Sypher ever since the session began.
There was kind of pride of ancestry
and name in his port and presence that
seemed to say all the time and everywhere,
81 am Syphcr." The name fitted HIN like
the paper on the wall. His autograph vas his
autobiography. He sat in his seat like n
Sypher, but he drew pay like unit. His pro-
cess of enumeration was short, simple, and beau
tful. II began with Sypher and ended with
Number One. He sat on his primd fdcie title
till the end of the session and drew his pay
with n seasonableness and regularity most de-
lightful to contemplate, and a few hours be-
fore the final adjournment, the House voted
that he had no right there and never had. So
he took the remainder Of his pay and went
out, giving the man who had actually been
elected an opportunity to hear Speaker Dlaine's
valedictory. 1t was little sad but Sypher
had been paid for his time and Congress had
enjoyed his society, and the General Govern
ment felt about it very much as the Western
farmer did who drove his hogs ten miles to
the market town and sold them there for less
than he was offered for them at hoi:e. "Well"
said he, 81 had the company of the---hoss
clown here, anyhow"
But, as we were remarking- Sypher rose.
The same thing had been intimated about
Sypher as about Storm, that he had been hav-
ing thousand dollar bill changed at the Office
of the Sergeant at Arms. II was whispered
that the Pacific Mail had bought Sypher with
this thousand dollar bill 1t was false, of
course. Besides being absurd. For that would
he giving three cphers for one, and even the
Pacific Mail managers were not doing that
kind of business. But Sypher rose. And rose
to privileged question. And Sypher calmly
stated that his name had appeared as having
had a thousand dollar bill changed at the
Office of the Sergeant -at-Arms. Then said
Svpher, with certain magniiicence of manner
in marked contrast with that of the gentleman
who "noyer had Il thousand dollar bill in his
"life:"
That is fact. Lave had several one thousand dollar
bills changed there and have received number OF one
thousand dollar bills from the sergean'atA Arms since
have member OF this House ii my account forthis
Congress examined it will bc found 10 amount to be-
tween 81 900 and $4,000 and there has been Pa
cfc NJ all subsidy that have knowledge Of in his Con
grcss II has been custom to do my banking business
through The sorgeanta Arms Of the House; have drawn
my drafts homo through him. and have paid drafts
drawn on me through him. II you will examine my
account there you will find that rms up to consd
cradle amount-cycn moe than lobbyists newspaper
men or others the habit Of receiving for their in
auoncr upon lobby measures
This was a kind of waving of thousand dollar
bills in the face of an American Congress to
which that decorous and economically inclined
III hn ri.la nl
the whole country turned as it were upon o
pivot and contemplated Sypher with awe.
And everybody said, with Il sort of catching
of tie breath, as when capitalist of UNI
usual resources bursts upon the view, Look
lat Sypher! Behold IL man who not only
knows n thousand dollar bill at sight, but
"who has been familiar with them from his
L" earliest infancy who played with them in the
cradle, and in his early manhood in moments
"of conviyialty has lighted his cigars with
them. Look, look at Sypher! the thousand
dollar bill handler !" And the whole American
Congressman excepting the man of ample
private fortune, Mr.. Benjamin F. Butler
turned in its chair and gaze on Sypher.
It grieves us to say that Sypher went into
bankruptcy the other day. Went into it as
the unthinking horse rusheth into battle-went
into it, in fact, as he went into Congress
ciphers behind him, ciphers in front of him,
ciphers at right of him, ciphers at left Of him,
ciphers all around him, himself grand CEN
trail Sypher, for the contemplation of his
creditors and the admiration of the
world. His partnership debts amount to
! $4,000, and the partnership assets foot
up less than $4,000. His personal debts
amount to $4,000, and his personal assets to
1852. Beautiful, beautiful Syphcr! How he
burst upon Congress with his thousand dollar
bills! How he dazzled everybody with the
long tail of ciphers he attached to the dollar