Litchfield enquirer. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1829-current, 1880-11-18

PLAIN TALK.
To the Editor of the Tribune. .s yag
SIR Will you permit me, through your
columns. to address some plain words to one
of my successors in the United States Senate
from Connecticut Pc $40 Il Il o. Is ii a4a-s
TRUMAN SMITH.
Stamford, Conn.,, Oct. 90, 1880.
MR. SMITHS LETTER
To the Hon. WILLIAM Fl. BARNUM, Chairman
of the Democratic National C0nanaittee.
SIR: You represented in the House of Rep
resentatives of the XLth, XLIst, XLIId and
XLIIId Congresses the WITH Congressional
District of Connecticut, as the undersigned
did part of it (te-wit, Lhehfeld County,
then our With District, in the XXVth aud
XXVlltii, and the whole of it in the XXIXth
aud XXXth. You represented our ancient
Commonwealth (once called the land of steady
habits 10 the United States Senate for the
XLlVth and XLFth Congresses being what
renamed of the last Senatorial term of the
lamented O. s. Ferry. as the undersigned did
In the XXXIst, XXXIId and XXXIIId Con-
crosses During the period of your, service your
compensation was at least three fold more
than was that of the undersigned and such
men as Henry Clay John G. Calhoun and
Daniel Webster, with whom be had the hon.
or to be associated. The paw of members at
that era was IS per day and mileage, which in
the case of the undersigned was at the long
session from So, 500 to SO, $50, and at the
short session less than $500, includinglnileage
in both cases, being compensation nffrom
81 700 to 1850 per annum, or from 90, 400
to So, $50 per Congress; but your compensa-
ton during the whole of your service at
Washington was S., 900 per annum, or $10,-
fnlO npr COnpraSs beside miparo
The undersigned now charges First, that
you were paid most abundantly for your SER
vices. on the hypothesis that you were as
much in your seat and ais attentive to your
duties as good, faithful members ever are ::
that the people of the United States had an
absolute right to your attendance sickness
excepted) and that you had no more moral
right, if you did not choose to attend, to apply
for and take the compensation attached to
your Office than To- break into the Treasury
and carry off the amount Ui ct 0rmais. Sec
ond, he charges that you, while a member of
The House, were guilty of an absenteeism far
more atrocious than has been committed by
any other member since the organization of
the Government. He doubts whether the ag-
gregate of any five bad cases in any one Con-
gress would equal yours. .s-t..t
The truth is, that before you became a
member you had established yourself in the
iron business on large scale, and had been in
high degree successful. About that time,
or perhaps before, the country ran mad on the
subject of railroad building, and the demand
for iron became enormous and the profits of
the business correspondingly so. Hence you
could not afford to occupy your seat in Con-
gress, and you did not to a very large extent,
The undersigned must make one exception to
this dark picture, and that is, if any question
TO- nofsn 1lnI
arise, you took care to be on hand.
The undersigned has not the slightest doubt
but that you made more than 100000 per
Congress out of your iron business, and prob.
ably that amount annually. And what did
you do with your immense earnings, includ-
ing what You got out of the Treasury which
you did not earn? 1t is believed by vast
number of our best people that you, solely,
are responsible for the introduction of politi-
cal venality into Western Connecticut. You
are reported to have wonderful aptitude for
that sort of effort. Were you for that reason
selected for the craftsmanship of the Demo-
cratic National Committee? In that capacity
yeu have put into activity all the engines of
detraction and abuse which the evil one could
invent to besmirch the best and purest men
OF the country. s-
Sir. the undersigned is indignant at your
conduct. He had the honor to represent at
Washington the district which you have done
so much to demoralize. When he was elected
venaity was unknown in the district; and
the same thing was true when the late Sena-
tor 0. s. Ferry, the late John FL. Hubbard
and also the Hon. o. s. Seymour and the
Hon. Geo. G. Woodruff, both Democrats,
were elected to the House. But on your ad-
vent it became frightfully prevalent. The
undersigned has sometimes thought himself
guilty of serious dereliction of duty in not
arraigning yOu for these enormities at the bar
of public opinion, but advanced age and other
considerations have prevented. He tells you
to your face that were he to go to Washing
ton and get the statistics of your absenteeism
in connection with your 3aseless acquisitions
on the Treasury and give them to the public,
they would cover you all over with infamy.
Stamford, Conn Oct 90, 1880. -.
TRUMAN SMITH
P. S.-Having finished the foregoing, the
undersigned submitted it to discreet friend
who advised him to ascertain whether you
drew your salary pay in full, saying that pos
sibly you did not. He accordingly wrote to
the honorable Secretary of the Treasury, and
has just received the following reply
TREASURY DEPARTMENT Oct 90, 1880.
Hon. TRUMAN SMITH, Stamford, Conn
SIR: In reply to your communication of the
JUN iuSS, TeldtiVe 10 tue amount OF cOmDen-
sation received by the Hon. William H. Bar
mum as member Of the House of Represent
atives for the XLth. XLlst, XLTId and
XLIIId Congresses, and as United States
Lenator for the XLIVth and XLVth Con
crosses, have the honor to state that the rec
ords of this Department show the following
sums to have been paid to Mr.. Barnum ia fun
for compensation and mileage:
XLth Congress, $40, 44000
XLlst Congress, 1926 90
XLIId Congress, $1,000 90
XLIIId Congress, ri 12 404 45a