The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-10-21
LOGAN AT DIRTY WORK.

ptCtil 10 lHS chicago DHlly news
New YORK, Oct. 19.-It was in the
year 1861 that the Washington CORES.
pendent of the Chicago Tribune am
nounced that John A. Logan had QUIT his
dirty work" and wheeled into line to
support the union. AS Mr.. Blaine's
health is in a precarious condition and it
is the general. fear down in Maine that
should he be elected he would not live to
serve out his term, it becomes important
to inquire if Gen. Logan really did quit
nil his dirty work in 1861, or only aban~
dcned that description of dirty work that
was diStasteful to the Tribune. While
looking through the files of the New
York World today the Duly Meas CORES
pondcnt came upon the following pass
sage in its Washington correspondence of
March 4, 1875, which shows that Senator
Logan at that time was engaged in the
disreputable attempt to bankrupt the
treasury in the interest of the claim
agents lobby. Only President Grants
honesty and good sense defeated the
trick. The dispatch says:
just before the senate adjourned, and
when The confusion was greatest, scene
occurred which is variously characterized.
1t appears that the vice president, who
was kept busy signing enrolled bills,
signed very important one, which every
body supposed had been defeated in the
senate, the one relating to the e9ualiza-
ton of bounties and which if it had De
come q law would have taken, it is esti>
mated, 100000 out of the treasury
This bin came over from the house late in
the forenoon on the report of confer
ence committee that the house had
reccded from its disagreement to the
amendments of the senate and passed the
bill. If the senate had adopted this re-
there, but on motion of Mr.. Sprague the
conference report was laid on the table;
and while that does not have the effect in
the senate to kill the bill, it at the same
time requires affirmative action to take it
from the table. This action was not taken.
but in the meanwhile Logan and the
carpet>bagger. Spencer, who had been on
the conference committee, got the bill en-
rolled and signed in the rush. Mr.. Morrill,
of Vermont, discovered the trick and
made a point OF order, which the presiding
officer, Mr. Ingalls,, of Kansas. refused
to entertain. Mr.. Davis, of West Virginia,
entered protest against the reading OF
the title of the measure, but it was of no
avail Senators did not know what was
transporting. The bill was hurried to the
president, who was in formed of the man.
ner in which it passed the senate, and he
decided promptly to withhold his sigma
ture That of course killed the scheme.
The president was also opposed to it be-
seit would bankrupt the treasury. The
claimSagents lobby, which has been sup
porting it for five years, were terribly
demoralzed over their defeat at the last
moment.
Subsequent and more accurate calcula~
tions estimated that this scandalous meas
ure which Mr.. Logan attempted to gel
| fraudulently enacted would have cost the
country $500 900, would enormously
enriched the claim agents by whom it wa:
concocted, and would not have benefited
one soldier in five ofFthose for who's
sake it was pretended to have been devils
| ed.