The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-01-19
John Young Browns Reward.


feat was swcetencd to the Hon. john YouNa
BRowN's palate by an appropriation paying
him the compensation and miloagcs Of
member OF the Forticth Congress, to which
he did not belong The tempting bait, rep
rcscntng good many thousands Of dollars.
was held up before the Hon. JoIiN YouNa
BROWNS eyes but just beyond the reach Of
his arm. II the House acquicsccd in the de-
cision Of the Electoral Commission, COM
plctcd the count, and prepared the way for
HAYEs's Inauguration on the ith OF March.
the money was Ia be his; not otherwise
with the assurance that he would lose the
money II the iilibustcrs carried their policy
into effect the rhetorical gentleman from
Kentucky denounced all such propositions
as revolutionary, and tending to "confu-
sion, anarchy. and chaos" With noble res
gnation to the present and sublime faith in
the future. he bowed his head. drew the
folds of his toga before his eyes and sub
mittcd to the greatest crime of the century
while eleven thousand dollars quietly flowed
into his pocket.
The job which furnished the Hon. john
You've BRowN with n motive for Fastening
the completion of the count appears to have
been one o, the worst description. So far rs
Is shown by the record of Congress, ii was
an itnpudent and outrageous fraud from
ilrst to last. Mr.. BnowN had no colorado
claim on the Treasury. He was not n MEM
Der Of the Fortleth Congress. Not for sim
gle day or hour did he serve the country and
his constituents in that capacity. His name
never appeared on the rolls of the Forticth
Congress He was recognized by the House
of Representatives only as an unsuccessful
candidate for admission. and for his ex-
ponses and trouble in contesting the seat he
received Mt the time the liberal allowance Of
s25o0. The attempt to get pay now for
work which he did not do ten years ago was
in itself disreputable and 1t never could
have succeeded in the open light OF day
But such jobs are rarely attempted in the
open daylight. This one was accomplished
by Legislative trick unfortunately too COM
mon in the last hours Of Congresses. On the
22d Of January. about the time 1t had be-
come apparent to the Republican managers
that they could not carry through their plot
except with the aid of Democratic votes,
EUGENE HALE Of Maine submitted the fol-
lowing resolution:
R.sJroi That the rules I've suspended that shall
be IN order when the Lerisave Executive and Judicial
Appropriation bill u being considered to submit the toll
lowing amendment. to wit
TO pay to ions Y Bnows the paw and mileage Of
member Of the Fortieih Congress b~ n, Q, o. 500 here
hgo', pad him.
The Record says that Mr. HALE, by unani-
nous consent, submitted this resolution, and
that it was read, considered, and agreed to-
Although II is notorious that speeches, reso-
buttons, and transactions often creep into
the Record when the most watchful men,
bcrs Of Congress have no recollection Of the
| proceedings recorded, there seems TO be no
reason to doubt that Mr.. HALE really sub
United this resolution, and that II was
mumblcd over by the Clerk. II was ap-
| parently a harmless resolution, merely
| providing that JOHN NoUNG BROWNS claim
could be examined and discussed when the
proper time came. Out of courtesy to coll
league, most members would have voted for
it without n second thought. The object in
Offering it was to circumvent the rule which
allows no new matter to he introduced In
appropriation bills after they have gone to
conference committees. The resolution gave
the claim certain kind Of standing in the
House, enough. at all events, to afford IA
basis for subsequent operations later on in
the session. The later moves were ell made
in the dark.
The amendment provided for by Mr..
HALE's resolution was never before the
House OF Representatives. for examination
and debate. When and how it was saddlcd
into the bill we have no means Of knowing.
There is no trace of it in the official journal
Of the House Nobody remembers hearing
it introduced referred, or voted on. JOHN
loUNG browns extraordinary claim did
not come to the surface again until the APP
preparation bill appeared in its final form,
duly cngrossed and signed by GRANT on the
last day Of his term. Then it had become n
law Of the United States, and one item of il
read thus:
That there he. and Is hereby Appropriated out Of
the Treasury not otherwise Appropriated, 10
the Hon JonN Blows the sum necessary To pay him
the compensation and mleages o member Of the For
trth Congress
The gratuity to the Kentuckian was So.
cured by the underground methods we'll un-
dcrstood by those who look TO the confusion
Of an expiring Congress for the furthcrance
OF their jobs. As the appropriation stands
there is no mention of deductlng the 81, 5Ot
previously paid Brown by the Forteth Con
grcss, That provso disappeared some
where in the progress Of the jobbery. The
sum lui'u'Nl " l'ibllfllt lllf tHlNHlIOue
Southcrner to bitter defeat was left un
hampered by any deductions. When the
officers Of the Forty-fourth Congress came
to draw up statement Of the amount OF the
several appropriations made during tn,
second session, they put opposite JsI,
YoUNG Browns name no figures but only
this significant word, Indefinite"
The next chapter OF this remarkable story
is told by the Register OF the Treasury il
his recent report. In the long list of pay
mcnts over the Treasury counters we fine
one Of Sll,2il2O to JOHN Young BROWN
"undcr the act Of March 3, 1871" The Ken
lucky statesman scrupulously took every
thing he could get Under that act even t.
the last twenty cents. lie also awaited him
/ self Of the disappearance of the clause de
, Quoting what had already been paid him
The salary Of mcmbers of the Forticth Con
gress was $1,000 year. BROWNS mileage
roughly estimated would amount To abou
81 900 for three sessions lie took it all
q every cent Of it, just as he took tin