The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1880-09-14
p.e,,Abou, Tho hack Pay.

EnHNN
lanes A. Garfield covered his back pay
;nto the Treasury of the United States on
The ID day Of April 1872, aud is the third
member of the House on the list OF those
who returned said pay to the Treasury
Every Democratic member Of the Honte
butone, and every Republican member but
one, stand at q later date on thelist. For IN.
stance, Sunset Cox did not return his until
the 26th Of April, W. S. Holman until May
l4tb. the late Speaker Kerr until May 2Sth,
and Bsrnnm, the present Chairman oil the
Democratic National Committee, did not
return his until March 80 1875. Senator
Thurman returned his on the 22d OF May,
Senator Bayard on the 18th OF April, and
two Democratic Senators and five Repub-
licau Senators did not return theirs until
early in 1S74-viz-on the third OF Feb
ruary Of that'year.
We ule the word "return," but the
proper word is "cover," for We presume
none Of these gentlemen ever drew and
carried away said back pay. Garfield GER
tainly did not. 1t remained to their credit,
and all they did was TO draw 1t for the
sake Of going through legal Formally
necessary to prevent it ever being called
for BY their heirs or executors. They at
one aud the same time drew 1t and covered
1t into the Treasury.
The dividing line Of politics shows that
on the Republican side OF the Senate 4o'S
per cent returned the money and only
90 per cent on the Democratic side. In
the House SS.7 per cent of the Republi.
caus returned the money and only l44
per cent Of the Democrats. In other
words, Republican Senators and Repro
septa,iyes covered into the Treasury $685.
$751; "a, while Democratic Senators and
Representatives returned sSS,57G. By
adding the Liberal Republicans" to the
Republican list the former amount is
swelIed to s2S6,S57 90.
1t is important to remember that the
author Of the back pay bill in Congress
was Ben Butler-the man who voted fifty.
seven times for JEFF Davis as the Demo-
cratic nominee for President, at Charles
ton in 1850, and who is now on the stump
as Democratic orator in this canvass
Ben Butler tackled his bill on to the gener.
al appropriation bill at the session OF
1873. The appropriation bill contained all
the appropriations required by law for
the legislative department Of the Govern.
mont; for the public printing and binding
for the President and officers and employees
at the Executive Mansion for the
seven departments at Washington,
and all the bureaus and sub'diVts-
ions; for the sub.treasuries and public
repositories in fourteen cities ofthe Unionj
for all the officers and agents Of the Inter.
nal Revenue service, for the governments
of nine Territories and Tor the District OF
Columbia; for the mint and assay offices;
for the land offices and the surveys OF
public lands, and for all the courts, judges,
district attorneys and marshals Of the
United States. Besides all this the legisla-
tive bill received many appropriation &C.
cessions while passing through the two
houses OF Congress. Tie records Of the
House all show that General Garfield
antagonized Buffers scheme at every
step. He opposed 1t in committee, oppos-
ed it in the House, and fought against it
in committee Of the whole. Eighteen
times be voted against It on as many dif-
ferent occasions, and only yielded at last
to save the bill as 1t came from the confer
ence committee Of the two houses in the
expiring hours OF the session.
When at last the appropriation bill
passed with Buffers bill tackled on to It
Garfield never drew cent Of the money
thus voted to him, but, as we have said,
was the third man on the list to cover 1t
int the Treasury Of the United States.
This Is part Of the story that no man
who listens to Jake Jackson's deuuncia.
ions Of General Garfield on the stump as
a salary grabber will ever hear.