Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-03-20

Il
matter of the returning board proceedings
and 20 home and pocket the loss. He adj
vised me not to 'sthrow the handle after the
pot but write letter, setting forth the
case.
This last shot Of Casanave went to
the center. Henceforth, whether he
then realized it or not. he was mas
ter of the situation. The willy old
lawyer saw at a glance it would
never do to let Casanave leave his
Office in that frame of mind, hence
he suggested to him to write a let
ter and await results for few days.
He wanted to placate and mollify
Casanave, until he could interview
his clients, Hayes and Sherman, and
inform them that in Casanave they
held wolf by the ears, and although
ii might be very fatiguing to hold
him, it would be extremely danger
Gus to turn him loose in his present
hungry condition. The truth is it
was a grounding case with Casa
nave. Casanave wrote the letter to
Mr.. Hayes and sent copy of it to
Sherman. Without the slightest
fear of being mistaken, / venture
the assertion that no such letter was
ever before addressed to an Ameri-
can President, and to the honor of
our country be it said, that no man
has ever before held that exalted
position to whom such a letter could
have been addressed without meet
ing the well-merited response of ST.
lent contempt. No President, ex-
cept the great expOunder of civil
service reform, has ever found him
self so envirOned with thieves and
scoundrels that he could not tear
such a missile to ribbons and throw
the fragments in the face of the ras-
cal that dared to write it. But
fraud, like misery, makes strange
bedfellows. AT the risk of being
tedious, / will read the extraOrdi-
nary production:
WASHINGTON, d. c., Aug. Z, 1879.
|. Mr.. PRESIDENT: I have the honor to in
Yite your attention to the following facts,
upon which respectfully solicit such relief
as you may be able to offer me: In 1872 /
was elected by the State Senate of Louisiana
member of the returning board of that
State. did not desire or solicit the office,
and / accepted IL with great reluctance. In
1876 the grave and responsible duty of deter
mining the result of the election for PreSi-
dent Of the United States devolved upon
with profound solicitude by the whole eOun-
try, while the leaders of two great political
parties lowered around it, awaiting the re-
suit of its deliberations with that intense
anxiety only known to eXpectantS of the
spoils of public office. The board found for
the Republicans, and the Democrats diSap-
pointed and chagrined, at once commenced
criminal proceedings against its members.
Counsel were employed to defend at a stip-
ulated fee of IS, 600, which Mr.. L. @. AEder-
son assured me would be paid out of funds
to be sent from Washington. At the con-
clusion of the prosecution counsel demand
ed their fee, which not being paid, they IN
obtained Judgment against all the members
of the board. A writ of tiegf JdcidS (copy
herewith inclosed) was issued, directing the
sheriff to seize and sell sufficient property
of the defendants to satisfy the Judgment Of
5000, less 81, S75. The sheriff, finding no
property belonging to Anderson, Wells, and
kenner, seized my property, and now holds
the same subject to sale under his writ.
If my property is sacrificed under that ex-
ecution il will render me bankrupt. am a
poor man and unable to sustain such a loss.
have always assumed a fair share of the
responsibility attaching to the official acts
of the returning board, although have new
er enjoyed any of the fruits resulting from
its findings; and in this connection l res
pectfully remind you that hold no office
under your administration and have deriv-
ed no pecuniary benefits whatsoever there
from, but, on the contrary, l have sustained
considerable loss in my business on account
of my identity with the board. Messrs. An
dersOn, Wells, and Kenner, the other three
members, and their numerous family con-
nections are enjoying lucrative positions in
the employ of the Government.
/ protest against being mulcted for the cost
of the criminal proceedings against the re-
turning board while Others enjoy the honor
and emOlumentS resulting from Its decision.
1t is neiher Just nor honorable to impose this
heavy burden upon me. 1t would be more
becoming the beneficiaries of our acts to
discharge these debts.
Upon my arrival in Washington two
weeks ago was assured, upon the premise
of Assistant Secretary Hawley, that the
amount required TO satisfy the judgment
would be raised as soon as the Secretary re-
called upon Mr.. Sherman yesterday and
he proffered me contribution of 500 as the
only relief he could offer me, while L was
compelled to decline out of respect for the
great finance minister of our Government.
l expect to take my departure for Louisiana
in few days, and if any arrangements can
| be made of this matter to offer me relief, to
which, under these circumstances, ! believe
l am Justly and hOnorably entitled, 1 will be
under obligations to those through whose
influence it may be accomplished.
am very respectfully,
WASHINGTON, D. C., August 7, 1879.
DEAR SIR: / herewith inclOse you copy
| Of an unofficial letter addressed to the PTesi-
dent.
Very Respectfully,
q. CASANANE.
Hon. JOHN SHERMAN,
Secretary of the Treasury.
He reminds the President that he
had always assumed his full share
of the responsibility for the acts of
the returning board, but had never
enjoyed "any of the fruits resulting
from its findings" "Fruits result
ing from its findings" is good-ex-
cellent. 1t could not have been
more genteelly put. "My ST are of
the idea as well, cut it would per-
haps have Jared upon the Presi-
dents civil-service-reform sensibil-
tiles, and / presume that Casanave
did not desire to offend. 1t was a
delicate point, and, on the whole, l
rather admire the cOnsiderate mild
ness with which he drew it. He
reminds the President that he is
poor, and that he has never done
anything for him, while Wells, An
dersOn, and Kenner, his pals, like
the fat kline seen in Pharaoh's
dream, are wading up to their knees
in the fertile clOver-fields of eXecu-
tive patronage.
protest
says Casanave, warming with his
subject
against being mulcted for the costs of the
criminal proceedings against the returning
board while others enjoy the honor and
emOluments resulting from its decision. 1t
is neither Just nor honorable to impose this
heavy burden upon me-. 1t would be more
becoming the beueficiaries of our acts to dis
charge those debts.
"The beneficiarise of our acts" is
also admirable. "The re-
ceivers of the stolen goods should
not turn their backs upon the
thieves" would perhaps have con-
veyed to the President as clear a
perception of the meaning of Casa
nave, but he seems not to have lost
sight in any part of his letter to Mr..
Hayes's refined civil-service reform
ideas. And it must be confessed
that there was some force in the
logic of this disinherited member of
the returning board. My sympathies
are with him. He then tells the
President that he called on Mr.. Sher-
man and he only offered him 500,
(which" continues CasanaVe, al
was compelled to decline out of res
pect for the great finance minister of
the Government" The idea of Mr..
Sherman playing the roIe of a poor
man, living on his salary, seemed
to CaSanave, to use a common but
expressive phrase, rather thin. He
let McCrary off on that plea, but