The Portland daily press., 1880-07-07
TERMS $500 PER ANNUM, IN ADVANCE,

every time when it came up on its own mer-
| its. But he was outvoted. Finally it went
to a committee of conference. The confer
ence report between the two Houses was
made in favor of the bill. Mr.. Sherman
brought in the report, saying when he
brought it that he had been opposed to the
increase of pay, but the Senate had over
ruled him. He voted for the conference re-
port, voted for the final passage of the bill.
That bill gave back pay for a year and five
months. Was John Sherman denounced as
thief and a robber for that? Was Benja-
min F. Wade called a thief and robber?
At that time 1 was not chairman of the
committee, and hadno other responsibility.
than that of an individual Representative,
voted against the increase of salary at all
stages. l voted against the conference re
port, but it passed through the House OH a
final vote by just one majority. l do not
remember 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 exactly
the reverse: L was chairman of the COM
mittee that had charge of the great appro-
priation bill. There was put upon that bill
against my earnest protest proposition to
increase salaries. 1 take it there is no one
here who will deny that worked as earnest
ly as l could to prevent the putting of that
increase upon the bill. l did not work
against it because it was theft or robbery
to put it on there; l worked against it be-
cause l thought it indecent, unbecoming,
and in the highest degree unwise and inju-
dicious to increase the salaries at that time,
first, because they had been increased in
1866, and, in proportion to other salaries,
congressman were paid enough-paid more
in proportion than most other officials were
maid cppOnH ba Glory of tho GoD0raSc ha6
been that it was bringing down the expendi-
lures 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 extrava-
gance would be sung. l believed, too, that
it would seriously injure the Republican
party, and ON that score l thought we ought
to resist it. did all in my power to prevent
that provision being added to the bill. ]
voted against it eighteen times. l spoke
against it. But by a very large vote in the
House, and a still larger vote in the Senate,
the salary clause was put upon the bill. /
was Captain of the ship, and this objection
able freight had been put upon my deck. l
had tried to keep it off. What should do?
Burn the ship? Sink her? Or, having
washed my hands of the responsibility for
that part of her cargo | had tried to keep
OIL, NAVIGATE Iler lHlO port duu lcI tnoSe WHO
had put this freight on be responsible for it?
Using the figure, that was the course 1
thought it my duty to adopt. Now, on that
matter l made an error of judgement. l
believed then and now that if it had been in
my power to kill this bill, and had thus
brought ON an extra session. believe to-day,
say, had been able to do that should
have been the worst-blamed man in the
United States Why? During the long
months of the extra session which would
have followed, with the evils which the
country wot.ld have felt, and by having its
business disturbed by Congress, and the un-
certainties of the result, you would have
said: s'All this has come about because we
did not have man at the head of the COM
mittee On Appropriations 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 have man who can get his bills
through" Supposed had answered: "There
was that salary increase" s'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 empowering the United States to
bring the railroads before the Court and
make them account for their extravaganza ce.
They would have said: ''We have lost all
that by the loss of this-bill." And would
have been charged with acting in the inter-
est of railroad corporations, and fighting to
kill the bill for that reason. But be that as
it may, fellow citizens, considered the two
alternatives as well as could. believed it
would rouse storm of Indignation and ill
feeling throughout the country if that in
crease of salary passed. believed it would
result in greater evils if the bill failed and
an extra session came on. For little while
| was tempted to do what would rather be
pleasing than what would be best in the
long run. 1 believed that it required more
couragetO vote as voted than it would to
have voted the other way, but resolved to
do what seemed to me right in the case, let
the consequences be what they would. [Ap-
1udgment rAns Di.,rsu for thinI;no so -
but did what thought was tne ie1s ieslsS vssa NV,
of two courses. My subsequent conduct
was consistent with my action on the bill.
l do not myself parade the fact, but more
than year ago the New York World pub
lished a list stating in chronological order
the Senators and Representatives who cov-
cred their back pay into the Treasury. My
name was first on the list Applause.
l appeal to the sense of justice of this peo-
pie whether they will tolerate this sort of
political warfare 1t has been proved again
and again that never drew back pay, never
saw a dollar of it and took no action in ref
erence to it except to sign an order on the
Sergeant-at-arms to cover 1t into the Gener-
al Treasury, and this was done before the
convention at Warren. say more: Some
of these men who have been so long pub
fishing me have known these facts for many
months. During the stormy times of the
salary excitement a citizen of this county
wrote letter to prominent official in the
Treasury of the United States wanting to
know whether Mr.. Garfield drew his pay or
not, and received very full and circum-
stantial reply stating the facts. That letter
is in this town l suppose, to-day, but those
who have had possession of it have been
careful never to show it. l have copy of
it here, and if these men continue lying
will print it one of these days. Sensation
and great applause. Cries of "Let us have
that letter read it now, Gen. Garfield."] /
will not give the name of the party The
name l have not to whom it is addressed.
The audience here absolutely insisted on
having the letter read, some demanding the
name, and all positively refusing the speaker
to proceed without reading the letter in JUS
tice to himself and for the information of
the audence.l
''TREAsURY DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, !,
June 9, 1S73.-DEAR SIR: Your letter,
written early in May, was forwarded to me
dG OuHSSJOWH, WueTc III COulu uOI uo dll-
swered for want of accurate data. When
about to return to Washington 1 searched
for that letter, but could not find it. My
recollection of its contents is that you in
quired as to the payment into the Treasury
by Gen. Garfield of the additional compen-
saton due him as a member of the Forty
second Congress under the provisions of the
General Appropriation act of March B, 1873.
The additional compensation due Ger.
Garfield was drawn by Mr.. Ordway, Ser
geant-at-Arms of the House of Representa-
tives, and by him paid into the Treasury as
a miscellaneous revenue receipt. The mon
ey was drawn by Mr.. Ordway on the order
of Gen. Garfield. The practice of the Ser
geant-at-Arms is to take receipts from MEM
bers in blank, in anticipation of the dates
at which they are to become due. and to pay
their check on him by drawing the money
from the Treasury on those receipts. In this
way he is in measure the banker of the
members. Gen. Garfield has signed such
receipts month after month, one of which
was filed up by Mr.. Ordway and presented
to the Treasury. At that time l believe
Gen. Garfield was out of the city, but hap
pened to know that as soon as the 22d day
of March this written order was delivered to
Mr.. Ordway-if he had not drawn any mon
ey from the Treasury on his account to close