Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1876-09-27

session. He is prominent member
of the committee on appropriations
and was put forward by the com.
mittee to defend the policy of reduc-
ing appropriations, and in the course
of his speech he told the House and
the country why he proposed to cui
down the appropriations. He said
~ shall strive in all my acts to build
up the ruined South. 1 want you,
before this Congress adjourns, (ad-
dressing the Republican side particu-
lary) l want you to assist me in two
or three schemes directed to that end,
which / believe you will do, because
your interests imperatively demand
such course"
Mr.. Hale: "Will the gentleman
state what the schemes are that his
people desire p
Mr.. Singleton: "Well, I am not
afraid to tell 1T anywhere. One is the
Pacific railroad"
| Mr.. Hale: s.The Southern Pacific
railroad" ?"
Mr.. Singleton: Eyes"
| Mr.. Hale: "Is not the refunding
of the cotton tax another object which
the gentleman desires? ~
Mr.. Singleton: "Well, Idon't pro-
pose to discuss that now when the
proposition comes before the House
l will give my views upon it.
Now, mark you, they have not at
tempted to take off farthing of burr
then they have been talking about
all these years. And their leadeG
Stands up IN the House and gives the
reason why they are cutting down,
which is not to cut down burthens,
but to build Southern Pacific Rail-
road and to pay the cotton tax,
which amounts TO eighty-six millions
of dollars, being tax which the
Government levied to help put down
the rebellion-a most righteous taxa
most just tax. But as sure as you get
a Democratic Congress and a Demo-
cratic President, every dollar of it
will be paid back. No doubt of it..
1 have never met Southern member
of the Honse-and we have discussed
this question again and again-that
did not claim that it was the duty of
the Government to refund this tax.
Why these gentlemen have presented
to Congress claims, amounting in the
aggregate to more than your national
debt, and they are there pending to-
day. They have not acted upon them !;
it would not be wise to ctupon them
before the presidential election. Per-
haps they may not act upon them
while we have Republican Senate !:
but that they have shown a DISPOSE
ton whenever they do get into power
to allow and pay the great sum of
Southern damages, is beyond all con-
troversy. So they do not relieve you
from the burden of taxation. They
propose to accumulate a fund in the
Treasury to be used, as Mr.. Singleton
says, to build up the ruined South.
INVESTIGATION.
| But they tell us they have investi-
gated. And that is so. Now, inves-
legations are very good things when
conducted in the proper manner
You may always rest assured that
when a party investigates itself it is
doing a good thing. But it does not
require much moral courage for a
confederate committee to prosecute
an investigation against such re-
publican as James G. Blaine. APP
plausc.l 1t does not require much
courage in any party to investigate
it opponents. But how have these
investigations been conducted? am
sorry to say the country don't know
how they have been conducted. The
country never will know how they
have been conducted. Only men
who have been inside of those COM
mittee rooms under lock and key can
ever know. l say without fear of
contradiction, that for unfairness, for
bitter partislnship, for a disregard
of every principle of law and rule of
evidence necessary for the protection
| of innocence and the punishment of
guilt, these investigations have hard
ly had a parallel. in my Judgment,
since the days of the old star cham
Der in England. Now nobody will
charge me with opposing investiga-
tions. l believe that every public
official ought always to be ready,
armed and equipped, to meet any
charge that is fairly made, and when
he has fair chance to defend. But
when, without charge or specification
a partisan committee goes into it:
room and locks its door-when the
man they are investigating has had
no notice of any kind or character as
to what they are doing; and when
they scour the country from one end
to the other, and bring forward dead
beats, and tramps and lunatics from
the asylum, in order to bring in some
thing that may blight the good name
of hOnored officials, it is disgrace tt
civilization, and ought to bring thu
mantle of shame into the face of ev
cry honest man. [Applause.l Thi
is the manner in which they investi
gate. They introduce eighty-two res
olutions; not aimed at any body, nol
setting forth any charges. Nobod.
knew who was to be accused :nobod,
knew what complaint was to be made
But they sent out a drag-net from
ocean to ocean i'm order to find some
thing with which to smirch the goot
name of some republican official
But what is the result? Have yol
found that one single dollar has beel
stolen from the treasury! If SO, il
what case? You can find in the cap
itol at Washington, five or ten thou
sand pages of printed testimony i
some of these cases. apprehen,
that everything that would do +
hang an accusation upon has bee
brought to the attention of the pee
pie, and say to-day, that as to TAX
ing fraudulcntly one dollar of publ
money by any official in the lane
they have failed to produce the proc
There has not been such a thing pro
ven in all these investigations. Tax
, the Bclknap case, about which $
much has been said, and what is it
+ Is it alleged or proven that he dt
fraudcd the governments Natat al
The whole story is this; That pei
, son who lad received an appointmcI
afterwards gave money as prescn
! or gift to him or his wife. That
: all. Besides that what have they
What is the net result of your eighty
. two committees of investigation, col
. Quoted as they have been in spir
a of malice without a parallel in Amel
lean history? They have not attemp
ed to make charges against anybod
: else except the Secretary of War;
They came in after long investig,
n tion Of the affairs Of the Navy ID,
partment-a great part of which ws
y with closed doors-in the absence {
the Secretary Of the Navy, in whic
!. they filed large volume with test
J. mony, or what purported to be test
!. mony, but which would have bee
4 rejected by any magistrates court
II the Union. What was the result I
O it all? Not an attempt to impeac
. him, but a resolution to refer the ma
% ter to another committee to inquil
!. and report at the next session whetl
!. er he ought to be impeached or no
+ That is, to hold it up to the America
n people during the presidential eau
o paign for political effect. That ougl
: to disgrace any committee or any le
!. islative body on the face of the cart
!. If Geo. NJ. Robson was found gull
q Of no defalcatiop, after six months
N Investigation, they ought to have sa
" so, and if he was guilty they ought
have said so, and not left him han
c. ing with charges half made, nobot
responsible for them, merely in 4
ir nature of an inuendo, until after =