understood.

He also submitted the following resolution, which was read, considered,
and agreed to:

"That the committee on military affairs be instructed to inquire into
the expediency of providing by law for punishing by imprisonment or
otherwise any person who, as agent or attorney, shall collect from the
government money due to officers, soldiers, or sailors, or to their
widows or orphans, for services in the army or navy, or for pensions or
bounties, and who shall fraudulently convert the same to his own use;
and to report by bill or otherwise."

This was timely action aimed to remedy what has since become a gross
abuse and most serious evil. Its purpose was to check robbery and secure
to soldiers and sailors their own.

In 1865, General Hayes submitted to leading Republicans in Congress, and
subsequently to the Republican caucus, these resolutions, which became
the basis of the action of the party:

"_Resolved_, That it is the sense of the caucus that the best if not the
only mode of obtaining from the States lately in rebellion guarantees
which will be irreversible is by amendments of the national
constitution.

"_Resolved_, That such amendments to the national constitution as may be
deemed necessary ought to be submitted to the house for its action at as
early a day as possible, in order to propose them to the several states
during the present sessions of their legislatures.

"_Resolved_, That an amendment, basing representation on voters instead
of population, ought to be promptly acted upon, and the judiciary
committee is requested to prepare resolutions for that purpose, and
submit them to the house as soon as practicable."

When the ratification of the amendments taking their origin from these
resolutions became a matter of supreme concern, Mr. Orth and Mr. Cullom,
now the Republican candidates for Governor in Indiana and Illinois, in
conjunction with Mr. Hayes, drafted the following letter, which was
signed by Republican members of Congress and forwarded to Governor
Brownlow, of Tennessee:

"The undersigned members of Congress respectfully suggest, that, as
Governor of the State of Tennessee, you call a special session of the
legislature of your state, for the purpose of ratifying the
constitutional amendment submitted by the present Congress to the
several states for ratification, believing that upon such ratification
this Congress will, during its present session, recognize the present
state g