New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-05-17
AN EXCESS OF MAGNANIMITY.

ton to perpetrate any other offenses they
desire.
AN EXCESS OF MAGNAN1MITY.
The telegraph informs us that Senator
West, of Louisiana, moved to pass the
House bill which gives nine thousand
dollars to pay the expenses of the special
committee appointed to investigate the
federal offices in Louisiana. We should
have preferred some other Senator to
make this motion-some economical man
like Edmunds, or halfway Republican
like Christiancy, or Democratic aspirant
for the presidency like Bayard. 1t is
matter of some difficulty to understand
Senator Vests precise meaning for such
q step. If he meant to be very magnani-
nous toward his political opponents.
and give them a good send off in the
work Of careering after political gossip
for the next campaign, he should have con-
sidered the fund out Of which the money
is to be paid. The expedition of the COM
mittee is simply political venture, an
experiment, from which the Democrats
engaged in it expect to derive both per-
sonal and party advantage. The money
in the treasury of the United States is not
intended for such experiments. A good
round sum will be paid for the salary Of
the committeeman in any case, but will
not be included in the extra nine thousand
dollars. That appropriation will be used
to invite and tempt such witnesses as
Seelye and other discharged employees of
the federal government to come forward
and relate their private grievances. A
rate of pay per diem will be established,
with travelling expenses, which may be
used as bonus to intormers to flock to
New Orleans, as we have seen done at
Washington. A long examination will be
held, resulting, perhaps, in report,
which, like most of the reports of other
congressional committees, will be pub
lished in the newspapers, form the sensa-
ton of a day, and then be filed
away to become dust and rubbish. If
such q report be worth anything, it will
be valuable only to the. Democratic party
as q campaign document, and the bene-
fciaries ouk hit to pay the expenses. 1t is
hard enough for the people to pay the
salaries of the members of Congress who
have thus voted themselves leave of
absence from their duties at Washing
ton to look after the interests of the
next campaign, without being presented
with q bill to be paid in advance
for expenses which it may not be
necessary to incur. The money will be
promptly drawn from the treasury, how
ever, and discussed upon one pretense or
another, even if no important testimony
shall be elected. Not dollar will ever
find its way back into the treasury, as
Senator West must be well aware. In
less the President vetoeS the bill, there
fore, which he ought to dc, by the way,
Uncle Sam is already nine thousand dol
lars out of pocket, without the remotest
prospect of ever receiving value for it.
1t does not seem gracious in Mr.. West,
therefore, to ask Congress to arm COM
mittee of political enemies with so potent
weapon to be used against his political
friends in his own city, especially as it is
really q diversion Of funds to purposes
not strictly pertaining to the legitimate
expenses of the government. A lively
committee, whose salaries are already
paid, can purchase vast amount of am
biguous testim my for nine thousand dol
lars; enough, perhaps, to defeat the ap-
propriations for levees, reduce the pit
lance of fourteen thousand dollars, which
it is proposed to be allowed for the Mint
here to one thousand dollars or nothing
at ali, and even endanger the success Of
our party, by which we should be de-
prived of the valuable services Of Senator
West in the next Congress. His act of
magnanimity in moving the passage Of
this appropriation in the Senate will never
be entered up to his credit On the Demo-
cratic books, while his Republican friends
will be divided in opinion as to whether
it was the result of folly or mistaken mag
namity.