Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-03-27
England can nosc do 10 to refuse tc
take part in the Congress.
AaHAMrFVL aEcoRu.

take part in the Congress.
| A SHAMEFUL RECORD.
| Southern war claims are busted for
the present; enough Northern demo-
crats-only few-united with the re-
publicans Of the House, to defeat the
mail contractors steal and the infamy
divulgcd in this matter has so depreci-
ated all other claims that they are not
likely to make headway this session.
The facts disclosed point directly to
Mr.. Reagan, late Confederate Post
master General, now democratic
member Of Congress, as q scoundrel.
There is NO use mincing about it. To
take the converse proposition that he
is . fool, is untenable, because the
facts point inevitably to . knave and
not fool as the actor. The demo-
cratic House, the first Of March, ~,
passed . law ON the subject Of paying
mail contractors. The following is
the language Of this law:
"That the sum of 1876, 900, or 80
much thereof as may be necessary,
be appropriated to pay the amount
due to mail contractors for mail SER
vice performed in the States of Ala
bama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Missouri, North and South Carolina,
Texas, Tennessee, Virginia and West
Virginia, in the years 1859, 1860, 1861,
and before said States respectively en-
gagged IN scar against the United States,
and the provisions of Section Of 348O
Of Revised Statutes of the United
States shall not be applicable to the
payments therein authorized: Pro-
vided that any such claims tchich haze
been paid by the Confederate States
Government shall not be paid again"
This law was not sufficient and 80 .
Joint resolution was introduced and
Reagan, of Texas, fatbered it, to pro-
vide for certain payments to be paid
under this law. This joint resolution,
the reader will mark, substituted for
the first clause we have set in italics
in the foregoing law land up to Nay
LIT, 1861" Next this joint resolution
is shorn entirely of the last clause we
have set in italics, thus cutting off the
proviso that claims should not be
paid by the U. s. if they had once
been paid by the Confederacy. Mr..
Reagan was interrogated in regard
to these changes and said the proviso
was dropped out because there was
no necessity for it, that no claims had
ever been paid by the confederacy
and in his remarks went on to say
all postmasters were required to set
tie all their accounts with the United
States up to the first day of June, 1861,
and to pay over all money in their
hands up to that date and return all |
postage stamps. He said the clauses
referred to were left out because che
kncw that there svas no necessity for
them" Now this is very singular, too
singular to denote an honest man.
If the proviso was simple surpluss-
age what hurt would it do? 1t only |
made the thing doubly sure and did
not trust or rely upon Mr. Reagan's
memory. But what did the result
show? The Hon. Edwin Willis, Of
Michigan, hunted over the rebel ar
chives in Washington, and 10 and be-
hold, Reagan's own orders were
found, while Confederate Postmaster
General, ordering postmasters in the
South, after the breaking out of the
rebellion, not to pay over to the q. S.
the money in their hands, but that
money was paid into the rebel treas
ury. Again vouchers were found
where hundreds of thousands Of dol
lars had been paid to the mail con-
tractors, many Of them represented
among those applying for reimburse
ment by the United States at this
time, and for whose benefit Reagan
was pressing the joint resolution un-
der consideration. So clear and over
whelming was the proof that Reagan
could not escape and he could plead
nothing but lack of memory, which |
he did.
We have simply to say that that
plea is not good. The dropping Of
that proviso must have had an object |
in it, more than simply the one that
it was useless, not needed. Those
claimants must have known that they
had been paid once and II is altogeth-
er too bald a story for Mr.. Reagan to
plead treacherous memory involv-
ing over q half-million of dollars.
These are the chaps, reader, who are |
prating Of economy and honesty.
These are the gentlemen, q few years
removed from treason, who say they
are par excellence, the men to run this
government in the interest of reform.