Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1876-09-22

Competition OF the House and Char
acteF OF the Men BfOugkt to the
Front
In the present Congress there are 50 sx-
Confederate army officers and "a officials OF
the ex-rebel government.
There are IS Democrats from the section
formerly slaveholding, and SO from the other
States. In all there are 4S committees, in
GLIDING the special Committee on the centen-
NAL. Thirty-three of these are regarded as
leading, but only score are Of real impor-
tance. OF the As chairmanships the former
slave States, Us In numberr) with less than
two ffths of the population, have "a. These
include all the important ones, after Ways and
Means, Appropriations, and Banking and Cur
rency. Nearly every Northern chairman Of
committee is handicapped by strong Southern
democrat as the second man on the committee.
Inc section indicated has so of the second
places, making in all 54 out Of SIS Democrats
from the former slave States who are put in
leading positions. To auAlyze little closer,
the Ten ex-reeel States have Is chairmauships
and II OF the second positions. For the hrst
time In theshistory of the Union not single
Craftsmanship has been assigned to the repre-
entatives frcm New England, embracing Eve
out of the thirteen original States. Examiu.
ing the distribution still further, it will be
found that in addition to the New ENGLAND
States the Northwest and the States west Of
the Mississippi are left "out in the cold"
Of the employees of the House 81 Union
soldiers, many of them disabled in the service,
were discharged, and, as far as can be ascer-
tanned. A Confederate soldiers were ap-
pointed. The names of many of the employees,
such as extra messengers, folders and extra
committee clerks, cannot be ascertaired, for
the reason that they are paid upon vouchers,
instead of regular roll. great number of
| these are ex-Confederates. The character of
many of these employees may be illustrated
by brief summary of few instances.
The clerk, Mr.. Adams, admitted that he
had labored to oppose the legislation of the
House relative to the reduction of his own
salary.
The veteran journal clerk, John NJ. Bar
clay, who had held the position for thirty
years, was forced to resign. One C. H.
Smith, of New Hampshire, was appointed to
succeed Barclay, and proved to be not only
incapable, but dishonest. He was caught
using his position to secure business as
| claim agent, in anticipation of the passage of
| the bill equalizing soldiers bounties, and lie
was no doubt counting upon aiding the pas
sage OF the bill by using the influence Of his
| office. He was Investigated, threatened with
dismissal, and resigned in disgrace.
Clerk Adams appointed bis uncle, Green
| Adams, chief clerk. Green Adsms was
| formerly auditor of the Treasury fer the Post
| Office Department. While in that position
1 he oh fr1nr 2harr no 70
the value of s5,392.76, and paid to Green
| Adams out of the amount 81, ,51752.
Morrison appointed as clerk of the Commit
| tee of Ways and Means J. P. Hambleton,
This man was q cotton-claim agent and
lobbyist, and, besides, was an unusually bitter
and vituperatiVe rebel. He named a son
John Wilkes Booth, for the assassin of Abra-
ham Lincoln. This charge having been
made, he denied it intemperately. The
charge having been proved, Morrison was uu-
| able to stand the pressure, and Hambeton re-
| signed.
Wherever the Democrats have gained con-
trol in the lately rebenous States, whether
by fraud and intimidation or otherwise, those
Of their own party who remained true to the
Union during the war are sent to the rear, and
conspicuous service in behalf of the ''lost
cause" is the sole test in the bestoWal of
offices. A striking illustration of the truth
| of this assertion is the case of John Hancock,
native of Texas, aud a Representative in
the present Congress from that State. A
Union man at the beginning of the war, he
strongly opposed secession, and, refusing to
take the oath of allegiance to the Confederate
State Government, he was expelled from his
seat in the State Legislature. For his stead
fast loyalty to the Union he was subsequently
driven from his State and remained in the
| North during the war, when he returned and
again united his fortunes with the Democratic
party. At the recent election for United
| States Senator in Texas he was a prominent
| candidate. His distinguished ability and
| earnest devotion to the interests of his State
were conceded, but counted for nothing. The
party caucus decided that he did not correctly
| represent the views of the Democrats of
| Texas, and his only competitor, Governor
Coke, who had served in the rebel army with
| the rank of general, was chosen. Still more
recently he was a candidate for denomination
| for Representative in Congress. His record as
Union man was again the fatal objection; he
was set aside, and NJ. D. c. GiddiRgs, who was
colonel in the rebel army, was selected as
| his successor.
The following, from the editorial columns of
the GreenEille Is. c. Enterprise, will best
desribe the treatment received by Republicans
at the hands of these unrepentant rebels:
"The Democrats everywhere have by words
branded the Republicans with infamy, and
called them thieves and scoundrels. 1t i'll be-
comes Democrat who thus speaks to asso-
ciate with men whom he thus denounces.
Governor Vance once asked Ben. Hill how It
was that Georgia had got so far ahead of
North Carolina in putting down Radicalism.
Hill replied, the reason was very obvious.
When man of social position joins the Radi-
| cal party in Georgia, we not only brand him
with infamy, but we put him in coventry, and
all social intercourse with him is broken of,
But in North Carolina you meet him aud treat
him as you formerly did. In onG1ease he feels
his infamy and is deferred, and in the other
case he does not. This remark is worthy of
all consideration, and let every true Democrat
act on it."
The fierce denunciation and ostracism of such
men as Longstreet and Mosby, who rendered
faithful and gallant service to the cause of
the COnfederacy, and who now zee that the
only hope of restoration of fraternsI feeling
and consequent peace and prosperity for the
Southern States is in a frank and unreseryed
acceptance of the issues of the war, has no
doubt deferred thousands of Southern men
from openly opposing the mad policy and aims
of the Democratic party,