Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1882-02-25
Letter from our Representative,
CHARLIEvILLE,
Richlsnd Parish, La..
February, 18th, 1882.

make some comments on what has
recently been paraded 10 the papers
a. The mileage grab, the closing par
ayraph of which relates to me and
reads ,nus: "Our Representative has
never made any explanation yet, nor
offered any defence for having received
the extra mileage" Now in the first
haf of the paragraph you are simply
mistak "a AZ letter of mine published
in the Times Democrat of about 4th
ms. and a column Of CONNER 8
theron bv The States Of the same date.
will testify. But as that letter may
have escaped your notice and that Of
NV constituents and did not in reality
contain the true inwardness Of my
views and feelings on the subject be-
lug written in the manner and tone 1t
was dcS'ynediy for a certain purpose),
! will now proceed TO answer more
fully and more satisfactorily, | hope,
the last half Of the paragraph-that is
TO offer defence why l recetred the
extra mileage. And First, there was
a law in oil due form enacted by the
General Assembly appropriating the
money to that especial purpose. Sec
ond, When the time come 10 the last
days Of the session my voucher was
handed me by the clerk of the COM
mittee on contingent expenses with
the amount ($32 OO) of mileage that |
myself had placed in my voucher for
th. first crtrd session 'reddy odded.
Third and fourth, the presiding officer
of the House signed the voucher aud
The Auditor issued the warrant aud
the sergeant-at-arms banded me the
money This is why received it.
My first impressions were that if
oil this was done it was probably
right, being made so by usage, as !
saw all the other members (aS / be-
lieved at the time) receiving the money
aud many Of them too as good men as
there are in this S:a.e or any Olher
State. will mention also that !
viewed his matter at first in the same
light as did other eTird apprOp.a
tiOns made outside the constitution /;
for instance, those made to the Repor-
tiers. Ministers and some employees Of
the House.
Your paragraph, Mr. Editor, didn't
extend quite far enough you should
have said l had neither made any de-
Tense fer retaining this mileage; but
really have none I'd make, for upon
4 The nrst mature reflections l deter
mined 10 tender this money back, and
the reason I have it now is that as
soon as the words sne-die We're pro.
nourced in the House | left direct for
the boat for bone, having no CONVEX
sation or intercourse with any one.
soon made up my mind. and never
have had any other idea but to return
it and at convenient time will send
it back through the same channel it
came, and that too with interest if nee
essary, Is mentioned 10 my former
letter.
Il will here submit one Of q number
OF questions propOunded in my 6is
letter: why were the members not
required (or Pcrmi''ed) to make out
their own accounts for the last extra
session as they were for the FIRST p
The States says no satisfactory an
swer can be made to this question:,
is now an open one and can and ought
to he answered. am not very much
afraid Of feeling rery dishonest for
having this amount of the treasury
under my control for little while-it
is safe. as | never owed debt | didn',
pay and have never been much given
to stealing. would be glad t, know
that all other drains and leaks from
the treasury could be as easily stop
ped as this one.
Perhaps some Of them ,could hare
h been had The States and its other con
freres who have SO zealously and as
siduously watched this mileage graf
and have SO nearly exhausted ,hei.
patriotism in trying to prevent the
loss. been perched on the watchtoweI
Of the government and as wide awak.
and ardent in the last two years q:
they now seem to be. Perhaps i
they had not been in q deep slumbel
aud been up and doing, and gone
around with their Assessors in 1885,
& 81 in their own dear little city anC
witnessed how fifty or seventy fv'
millions of stock in trade was squeezed
down and metamorpbosed into small
sum, a little less than eight millions
they would have been aroused ant
,corked like Trogans to prevent sucl