The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1842-08-08
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| is,edl
There was no question of power in the case. 1t
was undenaby true that the President had the right
| to nominate TO the Senate many officers as the
| service in his judgment, required, unless re-
| strained by law Gentlemen who sputed this were
driven to the conclusion that nearly all the officers IN
| the Navy were officers at all that they held no
legal commissions 1.-THE President and Senate could
| not make the promotions now before the Senate, II
there was no law for hese promotions, then there was
no law for any of the appointments and promotions
which had been made for twenty hve years past TOT
the present Executive did but execute IN this respect
the law executed by his predecessors, Madison,
| Monroe, Adams, Jackson and Van Buren,
That II might be well for the power of the fresl-
dent, IN that respect TO be placed under some iiua-
| ton, Mr. G.. did not deny He conceded that there
ought to be legislation let the House pass nil ;
| let Congress enact a law fixing the maximum OF APP
pointments but because this had not been done let
| not gentlemen wreak their vengeance upon the pre-
| sent officers of the Navy.
The President and the Senate proceeded the
law of the land they exercised power plainly vest
ed in them by ,he Constitution Let not gentlemen,
that account refuse to pay the debts OF the Gov
eminent. Let not the House run tilt against the
| windmill of supposed question of power which had
| in reality no existence. He trusted the amendment
| would be concuIred in 10y the House.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, August Sd, 1912.
! The House being in Committee of the Whole on
the bill respecting the reorganization of the Army
Mr.. CUSHING said he felt very little interest in
| the proposed amendments TO the bill. lie supposed
that the present Congress had its predesned work To
| perform which To reduce the Government To a
state of general prosiTation that there might de-
volye new Administration the task OF resuscitat'
ing and restoring il. Mr.. c. should offer no further
| opposition 10 any bill for relr'n, hment and reform
but he could not sit silent and suffer 1t 10 inferred
that he acqulesced in principles he deemed most erro-
| neous.
| Ii was to hin immateral whether his called
bill for the reorganization or the disorganzaion OF
the Army il IA bill, at all events, for the reuc-
ton OF the Army; and he stood for the institutions
| of the country as they were.
He had been told that STANDING ARMIES" were ma
| tara causes of apprehension in free republics and
| the argument thence deduced was, that our Army, IN
| this country ought to be reduced. Now, when he
| was told that there Use to apprehend danger
| from the my OF The United States, he looked at it,
FIRST physical question Could one man be feared
| as being alb to resist and overcome 500 men, and
40 destroy their liberty That was the relative pro-
potion Why the old ladies in the country could
brain them with dslahs, if need We're. As ply
seal question, then, there were not two sldes to H.
But moral and political question: was it t. ue
| that we had come To dread our little Army lie adj
United had hereditary approximations of standing
army prejudlces derived from the days of the Revo
| luton but of what sort of standing army? An
| army of foreign mercenarles quarercd on the colo
MES by the mother country; that was the object of
| our fathers dread But did the just reasons of APP
|
| own Were they good reasons why seventeen mil
lions of people, allowed and accustomed to bear arms
should dread ten thous, Certainly there 10
reason in the physica aspect or the matter And had
We any more if regarded in It's moral or It's political
| aspecl
Mr.. G. looked back To our history to find what Of
danger had occurred in reference to the influence OF
our Army, cOnrasted with the history of the al
mics of other countries; and he was met by the fact
that there was not the face OF the globe country
| so w tn
| military men. Our gallant officers won victories,
| and where were the dIstlcons and the honors they
| received in reward of them : Were they as in the
| European world, blaZoned with orders marked
| by rank loaded with wealth Not at all Nor
| were soldiers better off. In foreign lands the
| corps which had distinguished themselves in bat
| tie had their victories painted upon The banners
they bore they were pointed out by admiring crowds
and to use phrase from the most military of nations
they were covered with glory' but here the case
was reversed. 1t was, he about TO say, with
mean, certainly with parsmonous and stinted hand,
that rewards were melted out of any Sort even when
most richly earned
Was there any political cause to dread the Army
Had any of its officers, SUCH invaded the liberties
of their country or done wrong to its Const ton
He knew Of but one case where such thing had
even been imputed, and that a case which had
been Illuminated by the halo of victory that it had
ceased to be thought of in the sense of reproach.
1t was not the fact that in this country men of the
Army often obtained large political power. 1t ne
yer derived from the Army, but from their hay
ing commanded militia and mounted volunteers. An
individual entered the regular Army a lieutenant,
aid continued to rise in it, by regular course of
promotion, until he became ma or general what
opportunities had he for invading his country's ber
ties Did his personal influence enable him to exert
great and dangerous power at elections Not at all.
His profession separated him, in great measure,
from the mass of his fellow-citzens; with whom it
did not call him to mingle, and hence he shut
out almost from eXerting any extensive civil inlu-
ence.
1t was not as Army officers that since the Revolu-
ton any in this country had acquired great po-
litcal distinction. General Jackson and General
Harrison, it was true, had both reached the Presi-
dency, but they had both co nmanded vast bodies OF
militia forces in the camp and in the field, and that
was the channel through which their influence had
chiefly been obtained.
The shifting nature, too, of the militia service
greatly tended to extend this influence, by bringing
greater numbers successfully under its power these
after serving for comparatively short periods, again
returned to the walks of private life where they be-
came voters. But all this had application at all
to the small Army of the United States.
But he had heard much about the poverty of the
Treasury. Yes, we must retrench Army, be-
cause forsooth, of the poverty of the nation The
United States too poor to maintain Army of 10 OOO
men! Where were the proofs of this poverty to be
found? There was not nation earth, with the
same population, 50 wealthy in all manner of mate
rial and resources as this 1t true that in par
ticular branches of business there did exist at this
moment great depression. But that poverty
True, the States owed two hundred millions but was
that proof of poverty If they owed this money
they held the money, or its equivalent. They had
not paid it back. And did the borrowing of two hun
dred millions from Europe, while the loan was still
unpaid, mpoverish the United Staesl On the con-
trary, it was for the time, but greater accumua-
ton of wealth. We had received all this money
and we h1l put INTO vari9AA works of internal inn
provemy Did this max a poor natoni Was
a canal that cost twenty millions' He could not I'M
derstand what gentemeH meant by such an argu-
ment to him it seemed perfectly idle to talk thus.
1t tgue suffered great embarrassments in our
commercial concerns. And what was the remedy