The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-07-01


Was Worked Throagh-The Krpubuean
Candidate for President Ono Of Its Most
Peraisi lent supporters.
The story of the salary grab forms one
of the most disreputab1e chapters In all
the disreputabie history of American pol
itics. It was a systematic, well-consid-
cred, previously concocted steal. 1t was
an audacious attempt to rob the Treas
ury. Members of Congress who had
done nothing to signahze their services
members who were never heard OF ex- 4
cept as the aye and nay vote was called; !
members whose principal business about 4
the city was mixing up with bad women,
getting systematically drunk and betting
heavily ON poker, were prompt upon their
feet when it was proposed to double pay 1
themselves for services they had never
half earned. The co1nmonest kind of 4
Representatives, the greediest kind of I
Senators, were In the scheme. There were
some Democrats, as we are sorry to say,
active and earnest in promoting the sue
cess of programme that, in its best as
pect, contemplated a deliberate robbery
of the Treasury Our Democratic friends,
for the most part, have since repented of
their sins,' become more or less ashamed
of themselves, as it were, covered their
thefts back into the Treasury, done divers
and sundry things to make themselves
reasonably straight with an outraged and
insulted constituency. Not SO, however,
with James A. Garfield, Of Ohio, the
Christian disciple par excellence, and, by
phenomenal combination of circum-
stance, Republican candidate for Presi- +
dent of the United States.
The story of this great shame is not
easily told It is not pleasant thing to
write There were weak-kneed and
weak k-conscienced Democrats In it-men
of whom better things had been ex-
pected-but this doesn't excuse Mr.. Gar.
field at all. He was on the winning
political side at that time. He was q
prominent representative of the great
party of reform. He was looked upon as
the embodiment of high moral ideas,
that were born into being with the ges-
tation Of the Republican party. 1t was
| thought of Garfield, as robust repre-.
sentative of Republican principles com
1 ing from district of Ohio where Demo-
cratic iniquity never obtain even SO much,
/ as foothold- he would honor the,
drafts of the party upon his reputed
statesmanship; that IN great crisis OF
4 virtue SO to speak, he would be found
true amongst the true, steadfast among
the steadfast, honorable where few were
honorable, honest where honesty had
become an exception.
In this great emergency, however,
when the thieves massed themselves for
q raid upon the Treasury, Mr.. Garfield
was found wanting. His Puritanlc
morality succumbed in view of double
pay. It was terrible temptation. If
there were less prominent statesmen who
yielded to the seductive influence OF en-
larged drafts on the paymaster, it was at
least expected that Jim Garfield, the ex-
ponent of all that was true and noble
and honest in the Republican party,
would ON this occasion cloak himself
with double mail and call to his aid oil
the sturdy sincerity of character that is
supposed to be evolved from the faultless
atmosphere of Cuyahoga. ff
It was at this critical moment, how
ever, that the fortitude of Mr.. Garfield
broke down, and there is no man more
shamelessly auducious in the whole his
tory of the salary steal-no man who
went about the fraud with more unblush-
ing self-possession than the distinguished
Representative from Ohio, who now asks
the votes of the people for the highest
office IN their gifti
It was in December, 1872. Schuyler
Colfax, who, at that time, had received
Ii no checks for his services to the Credit
Mobilier ring, but who was supposedly
waiting for something of the kind, sat in
J the Speakers chair. It was In the worst
,, stages then of the worst administration
that the country had ever experienced
J Dissipation, reck1essness and habitua
immortality prevailed everywhere. Will
the exception of Sumner, of Bayard, O
Trumbu1I, of Frank Blair and Jim Nye
in the Senate. and of Slocurn. Randall
Niblack, Wells, of Missouri, and Mitch
ell, of Wisconsin, in the House, ther,
, were few men in Congress who were no
, son the make" 1t was doubtless tn,
, most infamous Congress that ever sat il
, Washington. The gems that shone con
Ispicuously in the Senate were Patterson
) of New Hampshire; Simon Cameron, o
, Pennsylvania; Pool, of North Carolina
! Spencer, of Alabama; Ames, of Missis
) sippi; Brownlow, of Tennessee; Clayton
of Arkansas; Harlan, of Iowa; Pomeroy
. of Kansas.
It was a season peculiarly fit for strat'
gems and spoils, and our noble frien
from Ohio, blatant with religious profe
r sion and officiously prominent In affects
). ton of high type of yirtuous Evini
3 came promptly to the front as leader an
advocate of the greatest grand larcen
Q that was ever perpetrated on the Goverl
:, ment.
' On the I'd of December, 1879, Mr.. Ga
: field, present Republican candidate Fl
y President, reported from the Committt
" on Appropriations bill making appr
. priations for Legislative, Judicial and e
: ecutiye expenses, which was referred
> the Committee Of the Whole House al
made a special order for December l
ts and from day to day until disposed OF,
s On the 31st of January, 1873, Il
r Legislative bill was returned by Il
Senate to the House with sundry amen
ments, in which concurrence was aske
Mr.. Garfield moved that said amen
ments be numbered, printed and referr
D to the Committee on Appropriation
:, Agreed to.
y On the 7th of February, the heat
3 the proposed steal being still on, N
Butler, the model reformer of Massach
5. setts, otherwise known as the Ess
le statesman, reported from the Commit
on Judiciary, by unanimous consent,
bill to adjust the salaries of the exec
w. W tive, judicial and Legislative departme1
" ~ of the Government. Following is t
10 bill in full:
E. That on and after the 4th of March, 1878,
~ ~ President Of the United States shall receive,
'oi his services during the term for which he sh
In have been elected, the sum Of CSC, 900 per
mum, to be paid quarterly at the Treasury;
Vice President of the United States shall a
r receive, for the term for which he shall
i II. ",
for his services, to be paid quarterly at
MT Treasury; and the Chief Justice Of the Supre
Court of the United States shall receive the 8
S1O,5OO per annum; and the Justices of
Supreme Court of the United States shall
r., ceive the sum of S10,0 900 per annum each;
-. 80 Tro