Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1876-09-14
ELEVENTH DISTRICT.
VANCE AND COUSIN JOSEPH.

ELEVENTH DISTRICT.
VANCE AND COUSIN JOSEPH.
Investigating the Public Printing
with Experts from Gallipolis-A
Cheap and Pleasant Way of See
ing Neutrality-suspicious. but Re-
lations Need Apply Something
for the Voters of the Eleventh Dis.
trict.
Especial Correspondence of the Cincin-
natl Gazette
WASHINGTON, Sept 2.
No letter from any public man has
appeared for long time past which
excited more ridicule or contempt
here, even among Democrats, than
the boyish complaint of Representa-
tive Vance, of Ohio, to Senator An
thony, that the men at the Govern
ment printing office were raising
money to defeat him. For months
he, as Chairman of the House Com
mittee on Public Printing, had con-
Quoted one of the most unfair inves-
LEGATIONS of all those which dis
graced the last House. He had
worked, early and late, outside of all
limits, which should have controlled
him as member, and had apparent
ly made his attack on the printing
office matter of active personal con-
cern. He was not in any sense a
fair investigator, but was in every
sense most unfair prosecutor. And
after all that, when he heard that the
men in that Office were taking meas
ures to help defeat him, instead OF
facing the matter, and holding him
self ready to defend his course, he
writes to the Republican Chairman
of the Senate Committee on Prin-
ting, and asks him to stop it. This
is probably the first time in the his
tory Of our politics, when a Demo
crat has written letter over his own
name, asking Republicans to sus-
pend work looking to his defeat. If
the printers choose to save money to
use in legitimate way to secure this,
they had a perfect right to do SO, as
the Constitution now stands. At the
same time they were doing the
Democracy Of Ohio a service; for
the simple reason that Vance is not
the kind of representative to bring
them credit.
WORKING FOR FIRM.
The point about the Vance investi-
cation, which ought to retire him to
private life, is that from first to last,
it was earnest, active work in the in
terest of great Washington firm.
1t is a wealthy and an honorable firm,
but still the spectacle is not edifying
of member of Congress exerting
himself, early and late, in the inter
est of any firm, no matter how great
or how respectable.
In the first instance, Mr.. Vance
was as unfair in his methods of in
vestigation as it was possible to be,
and one single statement will suffice
on that head. Throughout the in
vestigation, until within two days of
its close, the Public Printer was not
allowed to have particle of the tes-
timony against him or to be present
by counsel. At that time about
thousand pages of evidence had been
taken. The Printer was then mott
fed, on a Thursday, that he could
look over the testimony, and could
introduce his witnesses on Friday
and Saturday. And this where an
investigation had been running for
two months as a prosecution, the de-
fense were to be allowed two days to
examine a thousand pages of evil
dence, and to introduce its testi
mony!
Everybody in Washington under
stood, before Mr.. Vance had been at
work fortnight, that his investiga
ton had, for its main object, taking
away the printing of the Congress
sional Record from the Government
office, and giving 1t to private firm.
There seemed to be no concealment
about this. Mr.. Vance took house,
the next door but one to the resi-
dence of the members of this firm.
He was with them constantly. To
use Washington phrase, they "ran
him." This was nothing against
them. Any firm here is glad to be
able to 'run' a member Of Congress.
It is always convenient, and some
times profitable. 1t is doubtful, how
ever, whether the good people of Mr..
Vance's District sent him here to
any firm, however honora-
Die. That he did it is shown by his
report. Though not instructed by
the resolution of the House, under
which he was acting, to go further
than to fully investigate the public
printing Office, and, in addition, to in
luire whether the printing Of the
Record could be done
cheaper by private parties, he made
4 report formally committing Con-
yress to a contract with the firm of
Franklin Rives for period of six
years. He went even further than
this, and, with his report. presented
10 the House a formal contract be-
tween the Secretary of the Senate
and the Clerk of the House, and Mr..
Rives, and asked the House to ap-
prove it.
To accomplish these things, Mr.. |
Vance. as a part of his report, sub
mitted bill carrying his idea into
effect. The section regarding this
contract was as follows:
"SEc. =. That from and after the |
close or the first session of the Forty
fourth Congress, the printing and binaf
Congress, in the same form as they now