Litchfield enquirer., 1875-04-01
Barnum. Reform, and Back Pay

Barnums Reform. and Back Pay !
 It has been a noticeable fact all along that Mir. Wm. H. Barnum has never him. self denied receiving his back pay. Still, when the Farmer published letter from Sergeant-at-Arms Ordway stating that all the Connecticut Representatives had mo- tified him immediately after the passage of the Act that they should not draw their back pay, and that none of them had drdc,, it, that certainly seemed conclusive in MT. Barnum's favor. The Bridgeport Standard determined, however, to inves- tigats the matter thoroughly. Mir. Ord ways letter proved, of course, that Mir. Barnum had not drawn his back pay dur ing the session. Not having been called for, the money twas then ill regu- lar course turned over to the Warrant division and placed to his credit for two years. after which time, if not taken, it would revert to the treasury of the United States. At any time during that two years MT. Barnum could draw the money on the certificate of the Speaker of the House. without the knowledge of Mir. Ordway. The records show that all along through two sessions of the Forty-second Congress he (Mr. Barnum) took his pay on the cer- tifcate of the Speaker of the House, with regularity, amounting to S, 900 per yeur! On the 10th of March 1873, just after the close of the second session of that Con- gress, he drew S4, ,7O4, on Certificate No. 6,208, which sum was exactly the amount of additional salary ('Grab'') less mile age,-the salary by the ''Grab" law having been made s2,5OO more for each of the two years, or 5000 in all, Jess naileage; ;or exactly $4,7O4; ,chich he drew ct that tiDe." The official record thus estab- fishes the fact that MT. Barnum received his back pay. The next question was whether he ever returned 1t to the treas ury. Here the proof is equally conclu- sive against him. ''The gentleman in charge of the Treasury Bureau into which all returned monies go, replies as follows to the inquiry of the examiners, who after going over the records twice had failed to find any proof that MT. Barnum had ever returned the amount:
 March 25th, 1875. Hon. .Wm. H. Bar mum, 4th District, Conn. Has he return ed back pay? He has nerer returned tt to the Treasury"
 Mir. Barnum, therefore, pocketed his grab just about fortnight after he had notified Mir. Ordway that he should never touch it! And this is Reform!
 We earnestly entreat every Republican in this District to be at the polls on Mon day next and cast his ballot against Wm. H. Barnum. There is widespread dissat- isfaction in the Democratic ranks with him. his ways and his record. Dr. Hubbard is exceedingly popular wherever he is known-better yet, he is no politician, simply an estimable citizen. The Demo cratic majority in this District is, indeed, large; but the friends of our candidate are confident they can overcome it. Even if we cannot defeat Mir. Barnum, We can kill him politically. His one desirable political quality has hitherto been his availability. That availability has been steadily declining from the first: in '67 he ran S34 ahead of his ticket; in '69, 194; in Fl, 153; in '72. 275 behind his ticket! Whether successful or not, MT. Barnum's political career will close with 1875 if the Republicans of the Fourth Congressional District do their duty.