Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1880-07-14

Senate. and voted against the increase OF
nav eyery time when 1t came up on its
J own merits. But he was outvoted. Finally
it went to a committee of conference. The
conference report between the two houses
was made In favor of the bill. MI. Sher-
man brought in the report saying when
he brought it in that he had been opposed
to the increase of pay, but the Senate had
overruled him. He voted for the confer
ence report, voted for the final passage OF
the bill. That bill gave back pay for
year and FIVE months. Was ohm Sherman
denounced as a thief and robber for
that? Was BENJAMIN F. Wade called
thief and robber?
At that time [ was not chairman OF the
committee, and had no other responsible
ity than that of an individual representa-
tive. | voted against the increase OF
salary then at all stages I voted against
the conference report, but 1t passed
through the House on a final vote by just
one majority. | do not remen Der that
ANYBODY ever praised me particularly for
voting against that report, and | never
heard anybody blaming John Sherman
for voting for it.
Now, in 1873 the conditions were ex-
actly the reverse. | was chairman of the
committee that had charge of the great
appropriation bill. There was put upon
that bill against my earnest protest
proposition to increase salaries. take
take it there is no one here who will deny
that I worked as earnestly as could to
prevent the putting of that increase upon
the bill. did not work against it be-
cause it was theft or robbery to put 1t on
there; / worked against 1t because |
thought 1t was indecent, unbecomlng and
in the highest degree unwise and inju
Gicious to increase the salaries at that
time, first, because they had been increas.
ed In 1866 and, in proportion to other
salaries, Congressman were paid enough,
paid more in proportion than most
other officials were paid; second, the
glory of Con yress has been that 1t was
bringing down the expenditures of the
Government from the highest level of war
to the lowest level of peace; and if we
raised our own salary, unless the raise
had been made before, it would be the
keynote on which the whole tune of ex
travagance would be sung. I believed,
too, that it would seriously injure the
Republican party, and on that score
thought we ought to resist it. did all
in my power to prevent that provision
being added to the bill. I voted against
it eighteen times. I spoke against it.
But by very large vote in the House,
and still larger vote in the Senate, the
salary clause was put upon the bill. |
was Captain of the ship and this objec-
tionable freight had been put upon my
deck. I had tried to keep 1t off. What
should dos Burn the ship? Sink her 7
Or, having washed my hands OF the re-
sponsibtiity for that part of her cargo
had tried to keep off, navigate her into
port and let those who had put
this freight on be responsible for
il? Using the figure, that was the
course | thought it my duty to adopt.
Now, on that matter [ might have
made an error of judgment [ believed
then and now that if it had been in my
power to kill this blll and had thus
brought on an extra session. believe
to-day, say, had I been able to do that,
/ should have been the worst-blamed
man in the United States. Why? Dur
ing the long months of the extra session
which would have followed. with the
evils which the country would have felt,
and by having Its business disturbed by
Congress, and the uncertainties OF the re-
suit, you would have said: Is All this has
come about because we did not have q
man at the head of the Committee or APP
propriations with nerve enough and force
enough to carry his bill through by the
end OF the session. The next time we
have Congress we had better see if we
cannot get man who will get his bills
through Suppose | had answered
!" There was that salary increase" That
won't do. You had shown your hand on
the salary question; you had protested
against it, and you had done your duty"
Then they would have said there were
six or seven sections In the bill empower
ing the United States to bring the rail-
roads before the Court and make them
account for their extravaganza They
would have said We have lost all that
by the loss Of this bill" And I would
have been charged with acting in the in
terest of railroad corporations, and fight
ing to kill the bill for that reason. But
be that as it may, fellow citizens, con-
sidered the two alternatives as well as l
could I believed it would raise storm
OF indignation and ill.feeling throughout
the country if that increase of salary
passed. | believed it would result in
greater evils If the whole failed and an
extra session came on. For little while
I was tempted to do what would rather
be pleasing than what would be best In
the long run. | believed that it required
more courage TO vote as [ voted tnan it
would to have voted the other way, but |
resolved to do what seemed to me right
they would. Applause | may have
made mistake in judgment; 1 blame no
one for thinking so; but | did what
thought was the lest bad OF two courses.
My subsequent conduct was consistent
with my action on the bill.
I do not myself parade the fact, but
more than year ago the New York
World published list, stating, in chrome
logical order, the Senators and Represen-
tatives who covered their back pay into
the Treasury. My name was first on the
list [Applause.
I appeal to the sense of justice of this
people whether they will tolerate this sort
of political warfare. It has been proved
again and again that | never drew back
pay, never saw dollar of it, and took no
action in reference to it, except to sign an
order on the Sergeant alarms to cover it
into the General Treasury, and this was
done before the Convention at Warren.