Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1876-10-05
UNCLE JIMMY'S RECORD.
100000 Worth of Books Stolen and
no Report Made of Them--The ''Sta-
tionery" Business---What it
Means aud Don't Mean-.A
Little History for
"Reformers.v


The correspondent of the Chicago
Tribune writing under date OF Sept.
20. from Washington. says:
Uncle Jimmie Williams, Chairman
of the Committee on Accounts, on
the contrary, was occupied several
weeks in the investigation OF the
charges that books wee stolen. The
Committee found that books to the
amount OF over 100000 were stolen.
But Uncle Jimmie Williams en-
joined upon his Committee the ut
most secrecy, to conceal the fact from
the public aud from the House. He
also declined to make report upon
the subject from his Committee to
the House. The difference between
the Democratic and Republican Ad-
ministration was this: That, In the
Forty third Congress, a few books, of
the value OF possibly 800. were stolen
by some negroes, bag at time,
from mail-wagons passing between
the House of Representatives and the
Post Office: but these bags, and the
books in them, were very nearly all
of them discovered, and the thieves
caught and punished. Uncle Jimmie
Williams and the Democratic House,
however. have had 100000 worth of
books stolen from under their very
noses. The theft has been proved
and the thieves have been identified,
but Uncle Jimmie Williams and the
Democratic House have not only
taken no steps to recover the books
or to punish the thieves, but have
violated their caths as honorable
men, sworn to do honest service TO
their country. by attempts to conceal
the whole subject from the public.
Uncle Jimmie Williams claims, like
the blatant egotist that he is, that he
is to be without rival in economy.
What will the people of Indiana say
as to the honesty of a man who would
pursue such a course with regard to
books stolen by members OF his own
party?
CONCERNING "PENKN1vEsr AND "HARD-
WARE"
Uncle Jimmie Williams has devoted
the whining vigor of his ungrammati-
cal oratory to the attempt to explain
that "penknives purchased by the
House OF Representatives are not
stationery" He has also sought to
prove that the purchase OF penknives
by the Clerk of the House was cor
rupt act. Mr.. Williams ought to
known enough about the practice oil
the House, which he pretends to crit
icise, to know that he is not telling
the truth when he says that such an
act is corrupt Congress, at every
session, has allowed $l25 to each
Congressman for what is called "sta-
tionery." That term stationery" in
cludes the various articles which are
| for sale at wholesale stationery
store. Penknives. Notwithstanding
Jimmie Williams gawky sheer, are
usually found at stationery store
These knives are bought by the Of
ficials of the Document room, at the
lowest possible price, and ere charged
to the members at the exact cost. A
member can draw anything that can
be purchased in any market almost
at the Document room. and have 1t
charged to himself, to the extent oil
his 1925. A good many members
have been in the habit Of annually
making purchases at the Document
room of various articles in excess OF
the $125 voted to them They have
paid for them out of their own pock7
cts. as the records of the Document
room will show. The reason for
these purchases is, that they can get
such articles cheaper at the Docu-
ment room than they can at the re-
tail stores. The only persons who
have any right q complain of this
practice are the retail storekeepers.
The custom certainly imposes 30 adj
ditional burden upon the taxpaying