Recollections of Forty Years in the House, Senate and Cabinet Part 92

I was blamed for certain irregularities in the disburs.e.m.e.nt of the contingent fund of the treasury, although the accounts of that fund were by law approved by the chief clerk of the department and were settled by the accounting officers without ever coming under my supervision, and the disburs.e.m.e.nt had been made by a custodian who was in the department before I entered it. My wife was more annoyed than I with the petty charges which she knew were false, but which I did not dignify by denying.

Mr. Windom, soon after his appointment as secretary, directed an inquiry to be made by officers of the treasury department into these abuses and it was charged that he, at my request, had suppressed this inquiry. The "Commercial Advertiser," on the 11th of October, alleged that I was as much shocked by the disclosures as my successor, Mr. Windom; that I did not want any further publicity given to them, and was desirous that Mr. Windom should not allow the report to get into the public prints. I, therefore, on the 14th of October, offered in the Senate this resolution:

"_Resolved_, That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby directed to transmit to the Senate a copy of the report of James F. Meline and others, made to the treasury department during the recess of the Senate, and of any papers received by him based upon such report."

In offering the resolution, after reading the article in the "Commercial Advertiser," I said:

"The writer of this paragraph is very much mistaken in supposing that I have in any way sought or wished to withhold from the public the report referred to. I neither have nor will I oppose or delay any investigation of the treasury department while I was its chief officer. The only wish I have is to see that every officer accused of improper conduct shall have a fair chance to defend himself, and then he must stand or fall according to the rect.i.tude or wrong of his conduct.

"The only doubt I have in calling for this report now is the fact that Mr. Windom did not order its publication lest injustice might be done to worthy and faithful officers who had no opportunity to cross-examine witnesses or answer charges made against them. I have no doubt that he either has given or will give them this opportunity. At all events the Senate can do so. I, therefore, offer this resolution and hope the Senate will promptly pa.s.s it."

Mr. Edmunds objected to the resolution as being unnecessary, and under the rules of the Senate it went over. I called it up on the 18th of October, when Mr. Farley, of California, asked that it be postponed a few days. On the 22nd I again called it up, when Mr.

Farley stated that he could not see what Congress had to do with the report of such a commission appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and asked me for an explanation. In reply I said:

"I stated, on introducing this resolution, that the investigation was one of a character not usually communicated to Congress, but that certain public prints had contained unfounded imputations against several officers of the government, and that there was something in the report which reflected on a Member of this body formerly a cabinet officer. Under the circ.u.mstances, as I was plainly the person referred to, having been Secretary of the Treasury at the time stated, I deemed it my right, as well as my duty to my fellow-Senators, to call out this information. If the statements contained in the papers be true, they are proper matters for the Senate to examine in every sense.

"Mr. president, I have been accustomed to newspaper abuse all my life and very rarely notice it. This is probably the first time in my political life that I have ever read to this body a newspaper attack upon me or upon anyone else; but when any paper or any man impugns in the slightest degree my official integrity I intend to have it investigated, and I wish it tested not only by the law but by the strictest rules of personal honor.

"For this reason, when this imputation is made by a leading and prominent paper, that there is on the files of the treasury department a doc.u.ment which reflects upon me, I think it right that it should be published to the world, and then the Senate can investigate it with the power to send for persons and papers. That is the only reason why I offered the resolution, and not so much in my own defense as in defense of those accused in this doc.u.ment. If the accusation is true it is the duty of the Senate to examine into the matter."

After some further discussion the resolution was adopted, and on the same day Mr. Windom transmitted the report of James F. Meline, and other officers of the treasury department, made to the department during the recess of the Senate. His letter is as follows:

"Treasury Department, Office of the Secretary,} "Washington, D. C., October 22, 1881. } "Sir:--I am in receipt of the resolution of the Senate of the 21st instant, as follows:

'_Resolved_, That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby directed to transmit to the Senate a copy of the report of James F. Meline and others, made to the treasury department during the recess of the Senate, and of any papers received by him based upon such report.'

"In reply thereto I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy of the report called for, with the accompanying statements of Mr. J.

K. Upton and J. T. Power, who occupied the position of chief clerk and _ex officio_ superintendent of the treasury building for the period covered by the report.

"Soon after a.s.suming the duties of Secretary of the Treasury my attention was called to alleged abuses in the disburs.e.m.e.nt of the contingent fund of the department, which was under the immediate charge of a custodian, and the general supervision of the chief clerk of the department, and I appointed a committee to look into the matter, as has been the custom of the department in such cases.

The law, somewhat conflicting in its terms in relation to the relative duties of these two officers, will be found fully set forth in the report. On considering this report I am convinced that certain irregularities and abuses existed in this branch of the service, and as I had some doubts as to the legality of the appointment of a custodian I abolished that office June 18, 1881, and by general order of July 1, 1881, reorganized the office.

"A copy of this order is herewith transmitted, from which it will appear that all the changes necessary to a complete and thorough correction of the irregularities and abuses referred to have been adopted.

"It was my intention, as my more pressing public duties would permit, to have pursued this general policy in other branches of the treasury, by the appointment of competent committees to collect the necessary data on which to base proper action to secure economy and promote the best interests of the public service, but the a.s.sa.s.sination of the President suspended further action in this direction.

"Very respectfully, "William Windom, Secretary.

"Hon. David Davis, President of the Senate."

On the 26th I offered a resolution as follows:

"_Resolved_, That the committee on appropriations of the Senate be, and they are hereby, authorized and directed to investigate the accounts for the expenditure of the appropriations for contingent or other expenses of the several executive departments, including the methods of making such disburs.e.m.e.nts, the character and disposition of the purchases made, and the employment of labor paid from such appropriations, and to report on the subject at as early a day as practicable, and whether any further legislation is necessary to secure the proper disburs.e.m.e.nt of such appropriations; and that the committee have leave to send for persons and papers, and have leave to sit during the recess of the Senate."

This led to a thorough investigation into the disburs.e.m.e.nt of the contingent fund of the treasury department, the report of which, accompanied by the testimony, covering over 1,200 printed pages, was submitted to the Senate on the 15th of March, 1882. This examination was chiefly conducted by Francis M. c.o.c.krell, of Missouri, a Senator distinguished for his fairness and thoroughness.

The report was concurred in unanimously by the committee on appropriations. It showed that certain irregularities had entered into the management of the fund and that certain improper entries had been made in the account, but that only a trifling loss had resulted to the government therefrom.

I was before the committee and stated that I never had any knowledge of any wrongdoing in the matter until it had been brought out by the investigation. The report fairly and fully relieved me from the false accusations made against me. It said: "Touching the statements of Senator Sherman, that he had no knowledge of its irregularities, etc., established by the evidence, no witness states that Mr. Sherman knew that any funds of the treasury department were ever used for his individual benefit or otherwise misapplied."

I could not have asked for a more favorable ending of the matter.

At the close of the examination the committee addressed to the head of each department of Arthur's administration an inquiry whether the laws then in force provided ample safeguards for the faithful expenditure of its contingent appropriation, and each of them replied that no change in existing law was necessary. The committee concurred in the views of the heads of the departments, and suggested that they keep a constant supervision over the acts of their subordinates; that the storekeeper of the treasury department should be required to give a bond, and that careful inventories of the property of each department should be made, and that annual reports of the expenditures from the contingent fund should be made by each department at the commencement of each regular session. While this investigation imposed a severe labor upon the committee on appropriations, it had a beneficial effect in securing a more careful control over the contingent expenses of the departments, and it silenced the imputations and innuendoes aimed at me.

In regard to these accusations, I no doubt exhibited more resentment and gave them more importance than they deserved. I felt that, as Secretary of the Treasury, I had rendered the country valuable service, that I had dealt with vast sums without receiving the slightest benefit, and at the close was humiliated by charges of petty larceny. If I had recalled the experience of Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, Jackson and Blaine, and many others, under like accusations, I would have been content with answering as Washington and Jackson did, or by silent indifference, but my temperament led me to defy and combat with my accusers, however formidable or insignificant they might be.

The annual message of President Arthur, submitted to Congress on the 6th of December, was a creditable, businesslike statement of the condition of the government. It commenced with a very proper announcement of the appalling calamity which had fallen upon the American people by the untimely death of President Garfield. He said:

"The memory of his exalted character, of his n.o.ble achievements, and of his patriotic life, will be treasured forever as a sacred possession of the whole people.

"The announcement of his death drew from foreign governments and peoples tributes of sympathy and sorrow which history will record as signal tokens of the kinship of nations and the federation of mankind."

Our friendly relations with foreign nations were fully described, and the operations of the different departments of the government during the past year were clearly and emphatically stated. In closing he called attention to the second article of the const.i.tution, in the fifth clause of its first section, that "in case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President," and asked that Congress should define "what is the intendment of the const.i.tution in its specification of 'inability to discharge the powers and duties of said office,' as one of the contingencies which calls for the Vice President to the exercise of presidential functions?

Is the inability limited in its nature to long continued intellectual incapacity, or has it a broader import? What must be its extent and duration? How must its existence be established?"

These and other questions connected with the subject were not acted upon by Congress, as it could not foresee the conditions of the inabilities in advance of their occurrence. He closed with the following sentence:

"Deeply impressed with the gravity of the responsibilities which have so unexpectedly devolved upon me, it will be my constant purpose to co-operate with you in such measures as will promote the glory of the country and the prosperity of its people."

At the regular meeting of the House of Representatives, on the 5th of December, 1881, J. Warren Keifer was elected speaker by a small majority. Both Houses were almost equally divided on partisan lines.

Early in the session, on the motion of William McKinley, the House pa.s.sed the following resolution:

"_Resolved_, That a committee of one Member from each state represented in this House be appointed on the part of the House to join such committee as may be appointed on the part of the Senate, to consider and report by what token of respect and affection it may be proper for the Congress of the United States to express the deep sensibility of the nation to the event of the decease of their late President, James Abram Garfield; and that so much of the message of the President as refers to that melancholy event be referred to said committee."

On the same day, on my motion, a similar resolution, limiting the committee to eight, pa.s.sed the Senate. The committees were duly appointed. On the 21st of December the two Houses, upon the report of the two committees, adopted the following concurrent preamble and resolutions:

"Whereas, The melancholy event of the violent and tragic death of James Abram Garfield, late President of the United States, having occurred during the recess of Congress, and the two Houses sharing in the general grief and desiring to manifest their sensibility upon the occasion of the public bereavement: Therefore,

"_Be it resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring)_, That the two Houses of Congress will a.s.semble in the hall of the House of Representatives on a day and hour to be fixed and announced by the joint committee, and that in the presence of the two Houses there a.s.sembled an address upon the life and character of James Abram Garfield, late President of the United States, be p.r.o.nounced by Hon. James G. Blaine; and that the president of the Senate _pro tempore_ and the speaker of the House of Representatives be requested to invite the President and ex-Presidents, of the United States, the heads of the several departments, the judges of the Supreme Court, the representatives of the foreign governments near this government, the governors of the several states, the general of the army and the admiral of the navy, and such officers of the army and have as have received the thanks of Congress who may then be at the seat of government, to be present on this occasion.

"_And be it further resolved_, That the President of the United States be requested to transmit a copy of these resolutions to Mrs.

Lucretia R. Garfield, and to a.s.sure her of the profound sympathy of the two Houses of Congress for her deep personal affliction and of their sincere condolence for the late national bereavement."

On the 27th of February, 1882, Mr. Blaine, in response to the resolution of the two Houses, delivered an address, in the hall of House of Representatives, on the life and character of President Garfield, worthy of the occasion, of the distinguished audience before him, and of his reputation as an orator. From the beginning to the end it was elevated in tone, eloquent in the highest sense of that word, and warm in expression of his affection for the friend he eulogized. His delineation of Garfield as a soldier, an orator, and a man, in all the relations of life, was without exaggeration, but was tinged with his personal friendship and love. He described him on the 2nd of July, the morning of his wounding, as a contented and happy man, not in an ordinary degree, but joyfully, almost boyishly, happy. "Great in life, he was surpa.s.singly great in death." He pictured the long lingering illness that followed that fatal wound, the patience of the sufferer, the unfaltering front with which he faced death, and his simple resignation to the divine decree. His peroration rose to the full measure of highest oratory.

It was as follows:

"As the end drew near, his early craving for the sea returned.

The stately mansion of power had been to him the wearisome hospital of pain, and he begged to be taken from its prison walls, from its oppressive, stifling air, from its homelessness and its hopelessness.

Gently, silently, the love of a great people bore the pale sufferer to the longer-for healing of the sea, to live or to die, as G.o.d should will, within sight of its heaving billows, within sound of its manifold voices. With wan, fevered face tenderly lifted to the cooling breeze, he looked out wistfully upon the ocean's changing wonders; on its far sails, whitening in the morning light; on its restless waves, rolling sh.o.r.eward to break and die beneath the noonday sun; on the red clouds of evening, arching low to the horizon; on the serene and shining pathway of the stars. Let us think that his dying eyes read a mystic meaning which only the rapt and parting soul may know. Let us believe that in the silence of the receding world he heard the great waves breaking on a further sh.o.r.e, and felt already upon his wasted brow the breath of the eternal morning."

Blaine died January 27, 1893. Who now living could p.r.o.nounce such a eulogy?

The following resolutions were adopted by both Houses of Congress:

"_Resolved (the Senate concurring)_, That the thanks of Congress be presented to the Hon. James G. Blaine, for the appropriate memorial address delivered by him on the life and services of James Abram Garfield, late President of the United States, in the Representatives' Hall, before both Houses of Congress and their invited guests, on the 27th day of February, 1882; and that he be requested to furnish a copy for publication.

"_Resolved_, That the chairman of the joint committee appointed to make the necessary arrangements to carry into effect the resolutions of this Congress, in relation to the memorial exercises in honor of James Abram Garfield, be requested to communicate to Mr. Blaine the foregoing resolution, receive his answer thereto, and present the same to both Houses of Congress."

At the time of the commencement of this session the credit of the United States had reached high-water mark. It was apparent that, with judicious management, a three per cent. bond of the United States could be sold at par. On the first day of the session, December 5, 1881, I introduced a bill to provide for the issue of three per cent. bonds. It was referred to the committee on finance, and on the 15th of December, by direction of that committee, I reported the bill with certain amendments, and gave notice that I was directed to seek the action of the Senate upon it immediately after the holidays. It was taken up for consideration on the 11th of January, and, much to my surprise, met with opposition from those who a year before had favored a similar bill. They said it was a mere expedient on my part, that President Hayes had, at my request, vetoed a similar bill; but I was able to truly answer that the veto of President Hayes was not against the three per cent.