The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1877-06-01
Butler on his Sarcasm.
His Advice to Marshal Pitkin of L Ouis-
lana,
WASHINGTON. D. O. M

WASHINGTON, d. c., May 20, 1877.
My Dear Pltkin: have yours of the 18th inst
informing me that when you were in WASH
ington, both the President and Mr.. Devens, the
attorney general, gave you substantial assur-
ance that you would rot be disturbed in your
Office as United Stites marshal, being native
of tie state of Louisiana and good Republi.
can. and against whom no official malfeasance
or personal dereliction from the path of right
had been shown, and who, therefore, came em
inently within the provisions of the civil-ser-
vie reform, which is the cornerstone, as un-
derstand it, of our Republican administration
L am certain. therefore that the President and
Encouragement would never have asked your
resignation of the office of marshal, as you say
they have done, in contravention of their as
surances and in disregard of the principles of
civil service reform. l am bound, therefore,
from what know of both these gentlemen, to
believe that they intend in good faith to
carry out their assurances and preserve their
principles.
One fault which L find with your letter is
that you do not make sufficient allowance for
political necessities aud entaDgleMents by
which good men are compelled TO do that
which they would rather not do 1t Is an open
secret here, as l am informed, that Col. Whar-
ton, your competitor, aided MIR. McVeigh, one
OF the commissioners at New Orleans, very
largely in getting portion of the members OF
the Republican Legislature to desert from
Packard and go over to Nichols, by which a
returning board Legislature was put under the
control of Nichols, and then that Legislature
enabled the commission to advise that, as the
Legislature had recognized the Nichols gov.
ernment, the President was bound to withdraw
the troops. 1t also asserted that $1,000 was
to be paid to the leading deserting legislators,
and only 5000 to others. disguised in the latter
case in the shape of mileage, so that Mr.. john
son, a colored man, speaking out of the
innocence of his neart, said on the floor of the
House, that all he wanted was to get his mile
age and 60 home. 1t is also asserted here that
Col Wharton, being the instrument selected by
MIR. McVeigh to do this piece of business, had
his promise of being made marshal if he sue
cessfGlly accomplished it. Now Wharton per-
formed his side of the bargain, and 1 think you
are very unreasonable in objecting that the ad-
ministraton should carry ont their side of it, or
at least do the best they can so to do. 1t ought
to satisfy Wharton that they have asked you to
resign and you won't, and therefore they have
done the best they could to make good Nc.
Weighs bargain, and, as they can't, Wharton
ought to be satisfied, precisely like my friend
Gen. Garfield, who having doue his best and
succeeded in electing MIR. Stanley Matthews to
the Senate, at the request OF the president, as
it is said, ON the agreement that the president
would make him speaker of the House of Rep
| resentatives, will have to be, and ought to be,
satisfied With fair, honest and "hearty en-.