The Portland daily press., 1879-07-17
Behind the Scenes.

| Where Charles T. Murray Democratic Journal
1st at washington, takes an Indiana Veteran
wishing Office.
You don't seem to realize just how things
are run here. I'm quite sure you don't, since
you appear to entertain more or less remote
idea that your having been a soldier, and
wounded and starved and all that sort of thing,
will recommend you to a place under our
Democratic friend, Dick Bright, and, possibly,
that all our other Democratic friends, headed
by Voorhees,, will be at the Baltimore depot to
offer their services and influence. There is
one only way L can account for your hallucina-
ton, and that is in the presumption you have
been reading VOORHEES, on Voorhees's military
record. And so you waht me to tell you hon
estly what L think your chances are? Very
wei. In the first place, the simple fact of
Your having been in the active service of the
Union army would be against you. 1t is a
fact, fear, as has been charged by our oppon-
ents, that there is only one army service that
commends man to the congressional De-
mocracy, and that is, having been a confeder-
ate. 1t is a fact know, that it is sheerest
nonsense to base any claim upon having been
a Union soldier Why, my dear fellow, they'd
laugh at you! There is no soldier known by
our present party here but the Confederate
soldier. It's little tough to have to come up
to the rack and acknowledge you were in the
wrong army, and 1 don't believe you would
like to do it, never took any stock in this
soldier business, always regarding it as party
catch-penny, even when member of the Re-
publican party. With the corporeal contradic-
ton staring fellow in the face in every gov
ernment office in this city, the continual pratt
ing of preference which had no ground in fact,
only filled me with disgust. But if Republi-
cans made themselves contemplate in the
soldier clap-trap, what the ID are we to char
acterize these latter day Democratic pretenses?
Think of the effrontery and adamantine cheek
of Dan Voorhees,, who always hated a soldier
worse than the devil does holy water, in now
claiming to be the soldiers ''ownest own."
Darling champion! Don't it paralyze you?
The idea of Voorhees, and Dick Bright ("Col."
Dick) setting up for tried apostles of Indiana
soldiery. Great God! OF course as Demo-
crat, in full accord with my party, must admit
it is true. But between you and me and the
ink bottle, what cussed fools the soldiers were
that they didn't understand this thing during
the war, when they were running arc und with
ropes to elevate Dan to the lamp posts and
apple trees. Dan was one of the best friends
the Union soldier ever had. He didn't want
'em to go to war at all. There are good many
OF them now living who wish they had taken
his advice. Now, Joe, don't get offended or
suspicious. My Democracy can no more be
questioned than yours. But | am neither
fool nor running for office. Why not look
truth in the face? You overrate my influence
if you think l can be Of any service to you. II
you had been Confederate soldier, or even
come from Virginia, or anywhere short of Ma
son and Dixon's line, or could fix up col
lateral relation with some Senator, I could
offer you some encouragement. Voorhees, has
son and couple of nephewS in office, and so
have nearly all Democratic Senators who have
any relations. Yet Voorhees, made the "best
effort OF his life" on nepotiSm applied to Gen
eral Grant. Dick Bright has been under the
thumb of the ex-confederate captains and with
all his love, coupled with McDonald's, Voor-
hees's, and the other Indiana Democrats, for
the boys in blue, has not been able to score the
appointment of single Union soldier If so,
L bave been unable to find them. But Bright
has the son of q prostitute ON his staff, am
informed by a policeman. The woman is
keeper OF bawdy house here. I don't know
whether anybody but the boys mother backs
him, or precisely what figure the business cuts
IN the process of cat-skinning. don't know as
Dick knows it. But it becomes a part of the
record our party is making, and upon which
we must go into the next contest. All these
things come out sooner or later. There is not
any better chance for you under Burch, the
Secretary of the Senate. His friends are nee
essarily all confederates, and so are most of
his appointees. Most of the Senate committee
barkeepers are from the South. You might
have been one of these barkeepers at salary
of $2400 year, if it wasn't for the unhappy
fact of your birth and bad raising. When /
say barkeepers, mean clerks. Same thing.
Every other Senate committee room is bar
room, and the clerk must be good mixer If
you are not a good mixer wouldn't recon-
mend you to apply. Am very sorry, Joe,
can't make more encouraging showing. Per-
haps on the whole, you'd better not risk COM
ing unless you have plenty of money and q re-
turn ticket