all be centred in one man. Is it not palpable that, if he so desired to use his power of appointment, the Vice-President could make himself the President, spite of all opposition and beyond all the efforts of the people? The organization of office-holders which he could make, would be so firm and invincible, that the will of the people could never be expressed, nor executed. And the immense number of persons now employed, and to be employed, who cause-the report says-the patronage to be a political evil, would only make him the more compact. If it is an evil, in its present shape; how much more would it be an evil, in such a shape! Who would be the fountain-head of all power of promotion? The Vice-President. Who would be the arbiter to whom they would look in the last resort? The Vice-President. Who would be their benefactor? The Vice-President. To whom would their gratitude be due? The Vice-President. Whose interests would they desire to serve, and to whom show their gratitude? The Vice-President. Who would command that vast number of civilians, whose number would be greater than the peace-list of the regular army? The Vice-President. He might be a man so void of ambition as not to use his power; he might be so regardless of exalted station as not to attempt to gain it; he might be so virtuous that all his influence would be for his country's good; he might be so conscientious as never to know favor or affection; he might be a paragon in public life—or he might not be; and I never will consent to place the whole liberties of the people in the hollow of his hand, be he who he may.

The bill, it is scarcely necessary to say, was defeated.

EARLY STAND OF GENERAL LOGAN AGAINST MONEY SUBSIDIES ΤΟ RAILROADS THE EASTERN-DIVISION PACIFIC RAILROAD BILL-HE URGES A SUBSTITUTE, CALLS A HALT TO SUCH RECKLESS EXPENDITURES, AND DEFEATS THE BILL.

It was on January 25, 1869, that Mr. Logan in the House of Representatives called a halt to further money subsidies to railroads—the measure under consideration being Senate bill No. 570, "for a grant of lands, granting the right of way over the public lands to the Denver Pacific Railway and Telegraph Company, and for other purposes. His position was, that the Government had already given a subsidy to this railroad, of lands and money; that it was not necessary to the advance

ment of the interests of the country that this additional aid, of $16,000 a mile asked for, should be granted; that the company was amply able to complete this road to the point desired (Cheyenne Well), fifty-four miles, without such aid; and that deception had already been practised upon the country and upon Congress in subsidizing this road. The speech created a great stir at the time, and raised quite a commotion in the House itself. To this subsidy bill, Mr. Logan offered a substitute-his explanation of which will show the advanced position he took on the subject of railroad-subsidies at that early day. Said he:

What do I propose? I propose this policy to be applied to this road. I propose that the Government shall guarantee the interest, for $16,000 per mile, of the bonds of the road to Cheyenne Wells. I propose that that guarantee, when written by the Secretary of the Treasury on the bonds, shall become ipso facto a first mortgage on the railroad and all its fixtures and furniture. That is my proposition. What else? In order to guarantee the Government against loss, to guarantee the Government against expenditures, to guarantee the Government against increase of public debt, I propose that all transportation of supplies of every kind, telegraphing, or any other indebtedness to this road, by the Government of the United States, shall be reserved by the Secretary of the Treasury from payment to the road and applied to the payment of the interest on the bonds as far as it will go, and that the company shall, ten days before said interest is due, deposit the money with the Treasurer of the United States for the payment of said interest. I propose, in addition to that, that the lands heretofore granted to this company, and the lands granted to the Denver Company, joining them together, shall be put into the market, as every twenty miles of the road is built, at $2.50 per acre, and sold to actual settlers, the money received from such sales to be deposited in the Treasury of the United States as a sinking fund, and that the Secretary of the Treasury shall apply that sinking fund to the purchase or redemption of the bonds of this road upon which the interest is guaranteed by the Government, and, as redeemed, purchased, or cancelled, they shall be turned over to the company. I propose that the Government, as well as the holders of said bonds, shall be protected, so that it shall not, by indebtedness or in any other way, lose one cent.

I go further than that. I propose that if this company shall fail to pay the interest or any part of the interest every six months, then the

Government shall have power to take possession of the road and its fixtures and furniture, and apply its earnings, etc., to the payment of the interest or the liquidation of the debt. That is my proposition. I propose to protect the Government, and at the same time I propose to put it in such a position that the road itself can be built. These gentlemen say, "Oh, we cannot build the road." I say you can build the road. Why? Because when you get the interest on the bonds guaranteed they will go on the market, and the Government will be protected, and the taxpayers will be protected and not oppressed, which I think is a very important item in all matters of legislation, especially at this time.

I look upon these grand improvements of the age, as a great thing. I look upon the work of stretching iron bands across the country, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, as one of the great marks of the intelligence of this great age. I look upon fastening together the East and the West, as a barrel is strapped and bound by hoops of iron, as one of the grand events of the age. You have almost completed what may be termed a bridge, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This has been done at great cost to the Government, and in my judgment it has expended enough, without any sufficient security against liability. You have now opened the communication and shown what the country is. If it is inviting to capital, it will go; if not, it shrinks from the task of struggling against the decrees of Nature. The Government has given aid, to the extent of millions and millions of dollars. Now let the Government stop giving in this manner, for it is recklessness. We have done more than our duty toward the country in this matter of money-subsidy, and now let us stop. I say let us stop, and stop now.

We hear much said, in favor of economy. Many gentlemen make speeches, in favor of economy. One member says, "I am in favor of economy as soon as I get my little bill through." It reminds me of Rip Van Winkle, when he became a temperance man. After he had waked up from his twenty years' sleep, he said that he was going to quit drinking, yet he did drink,-" Here's to the health of your family; may they live long and prosper,"-always saying, in reference to his promise to quit drinking, "This time doesn't count." And I suppose that is the way with gentlemen here. They are all in favor of economy; but one says, "I want this little stump-tail railroad bill passed-this time doesn't count;" and so another says, about another road. As Van said, "Here's to the health of your family; may they live long and prosper—this time doesn't count."

Sir, I say it is time to stop now. If you are going to apply the prin

ciple at all, you should apply it now. But gentlemen say, this is only fifty-four miles. That is true; this bill is only for fifty-four miles. When the last bill was up, you, by strategy, made it seventy miles. If we put this fifty-four miles on, it will be one hundred and twenty-four miles. And then, the next Congress, they will ask you to give them subsidies from Cheyenne Wells to another place.

Perhaps these gentlemen will say to me, "Why, Logan, you do not understand that great country we are going into, New Mexico." Perhaps I do not know anything about it. But I tell these railroad-men that, in 1847 and 1848, I travelled over the very route laid down, on this map, as their survey. I know all about the country through which their road will run, if ever built. I have been over nearly every mountain-path in that country.

The lands in those valleys of Mexico are as beautiful as the eye of man ever beheld, and the climate is one of the finest that God has given to man. Fresh meat will cure there, while hanging in the open air, without the application of salt. It will cure, out in the hot sun, as I know, from my own observation. The country abounds with birds, goats, sheep, antelopes, and a great variety of animals, both domestic and wild. It is a country that will develop itself, as fast as a railroad goes through it, and become rich and prosperous without any Government subsidy of $16,000 or $32,000 a mile, and these railroad-men know it well.

Now, sir, I say that I am in favor of the great march of improvement, of civilization, and a general development of all the wealth and resources of this country. But, sir, that is no reason why, as a Representative of my constituents, I should stand by, and see the Treasury every day, grow leaner and leaner by the inroads made upon it by these railroads and other corporations. I am not willing to do it. I say to my friends in this House; I say to my Republican friends-though I do not regard this as a political measure by any means--that we pledged ourselves to our constituents, in the Convention that nominated our President-elect, that economy should be our watchword. If we are true to the men that elected us, we should stand by that pledge to-day. What are we now asked by this corporation to do? We are asked to vote $16,000 a mile, against reason and against the will of our constituents, and against the declaration-not express, but clearly implied—of the Convention that nominated your candidate for President. We are asked to support this bill, which is in opposition to the policy, regarded as proper, expressed, as I understand, by the President-elect, his declaration having been made-not with reference to this particular bill, but generally with reference to subsidies of the character heretofore given to railroads—that it is unwise, at least in the present embarrassed con

dition of the Treasury. But this company comes modestly forward and says, "Subsidize for us these fifty-four miles of road; slap you constituents in the face; violate your party platform; violate your pledges made upon the stump; and, on the eve of the new administration coming into power, make a direct issue with it, on the question of involving us in further liability. Let him understand that you are all-powerful, that you ask no odds from him Give the people of the country to understand that you defy their will in toto." This, and nothing less, is what we are modestly asked by this company to do.

This railroad-subsidy bill was defeated, and its friends attributed that defeat to Logan's powerful speech.

THE ELECTORAL COUNT OF 1869-A TURBULENT SCENE IN JOINT CONVENTION-BEN. BUTLER'S ATTEMPT TO BULLY CONGRESS— LOGAN SQUELCHES HIM.

When the electoral count was made in the hall of the House of Representatives by Acting Vice-President Wade, in February, 1869, in presence of the Senate and House, General Butler objected to counting the vote of Georgia. The scene which followed, was thus described by the Galesburg Free Press of February 18, 1869:

Truculent, fierce, insulting in demeanor, manifestly under the influence of vinous excitement, and wearing a look of pride and selfassertion, his (Butler's) voice was the battle-cry for all his followers and dupes. Tumult reigned supreme; sober members blushed, while men who would not have supported Butler in his revolutionary atrocity had they not been drunk, hooted, yelled, and strove to make speeches-a dozen at once. Finally, when the Senate resolved in separate session that the vote of Georgia should be counted, Butler grossly insulted. their honorable body, refused to submit to the decision of the presiding officer, appealed from him, and declared that the House should "kick" the Senate from its presence. The count was finished, amid a continuous scene of tumult verging upon actual riot; and not until the supreme moment of the solemn announcement of the choice of the American people for their chief magistrate was even a semblance of order obtained.

Butler, it seems, had given a party on the previous evening, which did not break up till daybreak. Here he had all his confederates, as