Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-07-01
BLOOD MONEY m PoLITIcs.
New York sun.


Dishonorable as has been the rec.
ord of the Republican party and OF
its successive Administration since
the first term of Grantism in levy
ing forced contributions on Office
holders for political purposes, the
/ present experience in this respect
surpasses all former developments.
The pages in the House of Repre-
/ sentatives, the scrubbers in the
Treasury, the poor stitchers in the
Government Printing Office, and
! the counters in the Bureau of En-
craving and Printing, most of them
very poor and helpless outside Of
their actual employments, have all
been taxed. 8I'. bu iuatH
The circular from the Republi-
can Congressional Committee ex-
pressly fixes the levy in every in
stance, rating it at two per cent. on
the salary, whatever it may be.
No discretion is permitted to the
officeholder. The widow and the
| orphan, the soldier and the civilian,
are all treated alike, and are put on
the same footing with the ward poi
itician. The demand means pay or
go. There is no halfway house.
Compromise for poverty, for sick
ness, for distress, or for suffering is
not tolerated. L.a
Section l ,546 of the Revised Stat
utes provides as follows: Au
"No officer or employee of the
Government shall require or request
any Workingman in any navy yard
to contribute or pay any money for
political purposes, nor shall any
wOrkingman be removed or dis
charged for political opinion and
any officer or employee of the Gov
ernment who shall offend against
the provisions of this section shall
be dismissed from the service of the
United States"
This law was intended to protect
the mechanics and other working
men in the navy yards against par
tisan extOrtion. But it is treated as
a dead letter on the statute book.
Mr.. Cox told the House of a calker
in the Brooklyn yard who came TO
him for advice, saying he had been
assessed $2l. "He asked me-" said
Mr.. Cox, ain the simplicity of his
heart, whether he should pay that
sum .r take the risk of being turn
ed out. l told him that / would
not embarrass his family or embar-
rass his politics that believed if
he could stand it he had better pay
it to the miserable committee rather
than have his family suffer-" u
There are thousands of similar
cases. The Boston Herald a few
days ago referring to this subject,
SAID that "the employees in the
Charlestown Navy Yard, some sew
Ell hundred in number, have re-
ceived each copy of the same let
ter, calling upon them to contribute
prescribed sum, varying from 81
for the common laborers TO $25 for
the work:ngmen of higher grade"
Various amendments were pro-
posed by the Democrats to the Leg
islative, Executive, and Judicial
bill that would end this atrocious
blackmailing on the Both of the
present month but they were uni
formly declared out Of order, or
were voted down. Canting Mr..
Kasson, with hypocritical phrase
and smooth exterior, pretended to
be very willing to cooperate with
Mr.. Cox "to stop the oppression, If
there be any, upon the subordinates
of the Government"
Instead of uniting with the refor-
mers in an effort to stamp out this
robbery of the laboring men and
women in the public service, he in
formed the House, 81 desire il to
be done by a carefully prepared
law" He knew that such a law
could not possibly pass Republi-
can Congress, but he wanted the
repute of being opposed to a system /
which his votes and his indirectiOn
have helped to rivet on the practice
of his party.
Mr.. Kasson and all others like
him, who make cheap professions
about civil service reform, are new
er ready to aid any practical pres.
ent movement. They insist upon
measures they know not to be at
tainable. They are the very worst
enemies of reform. .... i