The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-05-19
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,.

Union.
Mr.. McCLERNAND urgently requested Mr..
MCKAY to Withdraw the motion. The gentleman
would recollect that there special order set
apart for tomorrow and the two following days,
for the consideration Of bills relating the Terrific
ries. He (Mr, Nee had a report relating TO Ter
rllory, and unless he made 1t now il could not be
printed in time.
Mr.. MCKAY declined to withdraw the motion.
And the question thereon having been taken, and
decided in the affirmative
The House resolved itself into Committee OF the
Whole on the state Of the Union, Mr.. Coss, OF
Georgia in the chair)
ARMY APPROPRIATION BILL.
The committee resumed the consideration OF the
| bill making appropriations for the support OF the
army for the year ending on the 3Oh June, l547,
and the pending amendments.
| Mr.. TIBBATlS was entitled to the Moor, but
| yielded at the request of
| Mr.. JAMES A. BLACK, who gave notice that
he would hereafter offer the following amendment:
Be IL further enacted That all laws in force SO far
as they allow double additional nations to officers com
handing separate post station district division Of the
| army whstsyeF be- and the same is hereby repealed
md D, mfrhsr enacted That the fifteenth section Of an
entitled An act to increase the present military estah
shmsnt OF the United States and for other purposes sP
proved the 5th July 1885 be- and the same Is hereby e
pealsd
Mr.. BLACK having read the 18th section of the
act Of 1888, proposed to be repealed, said; My OBJ
lect in offering these two additional sections to the
bill is equalze the pay Of the officers OF the reg
ular army with those who now coming into ser
vice TO fight the battles Of the country side by side
with them MANY Of our most valuable citizens are
now coming into the field officers, and many Of
hem doubtless at a great sacrifice Of their private
| interests. Justice and sound policy require that
there should be no distinction between officers Of
| he same grade as to pay.
The first section aboshes double, or additional
| rations. This is an allowance made to officers
/ Ia, and "A
nr division Of the army. OF these there are from
thirty to fifty posts, as near as can ascertain. AT
this time, when our active army is IN the field, those
gentlemen who are lefl in command Of double.ration
| posts have decidedly the llghtest duties to perform
| md there surely is no that they should
Iraw more pay than officers Of the same grade who
nave fought or may fight our battles in the field.
The object Of the second section is 10 repeal the
| ongevity or service ration allowed by the law OF
1885, BY the law Of 1888, officer under the grade
If general is allowed one additional ration for every
| five years he has been in service, although he may
nave passed through all the grades from a second
| lieutenant up TO colonel. BY this law the compen
Sation TO officers is varied that it is impossible to
increase the pay allowances TO our volunteer Off
1 ,ers so as TO equaize them. To make them equal
you must repeal the double and service rations
| allowed in regular army. If this should reduce
The pay Of our officers too low, then increase
l it, but increase all alike II il would make the pay
Of the regular officers low, the pay Of our yolun
| tser officers Is now too low. Allow me to state
case or two in point. do it in no unkindness 10
| he gentlemen named, who, doubt not, are mertO-
rious officers. know them not
| Colonel Wabach, Of the 4th artillery, commands
Fortress Monroe, near Norfolk, Va. He now re-
ceves, as colonel ratlons per day
| Us commanding officer do do
| As service rations, he having
| been above forty-hve years in
| service do do
| Making 81 do do
which, at 20 cents per ration, is "a 20 per day, or
| 81 ,533 per annum for ratobs only. Now, il our
ablest citizens should go into the service colonel
Of volunteers, or in command Of the rife regiment
now added to the army Of the United States, and
we're to go into the field, Drawing climate and battle
he could only draw while in the army, unless he
commanded it, six ratons per day, which is 81 90
| 50 per day less than Colonel w, and Sl,095 per
| annum less.
| Take another case:
Captain G. S. Draue, of the ID artillery, COM
laands Fort MlffiIn, near Philadelphia Az capita in
he draws rations per day
As commanding officer do do
| As service rations do do
| Making IA do do
which, at 90 cents each, is 50 80 per day, and
amounts to 81 ,O22 per annum Now, captain
going into the field from private life would get but
ratons, or 80 cents per day, which is $3.50 less per
ny law entitled to. This ought not to be the case,
and should be corrected.
/ Mr.. TIBBATTS sent up to the clerks table the
modified amendment which he proposed ain lieu of
that formerly offered and Withdrawn last evening.
The amendment was read, as follows:
That and after the passage this act to the end OF
the present there shall he added to the present pay
the non-oommssioned officers musicians and privates Of
the army OF the United States three dollars month and
here shall be and hereby is granted 100 OF land
every AFOREMENTIONED officer musician and private who
hall volunteer to the United States and who shall
faithfully to the end of the And any such vol
having volunteered to to the end OF the
shall be killed In battle in the service ofhe United States
before the close the then his heirs shall the
said 100 OF land in the he would have
the same had he lived and served to the end of the
| war"
We find ourselves (Mr T. proceeded to say in a
war-whether rghtfully wrongfully, he would
consider in the course of his remarks. But whether
rightfuly wrongfuy it became US to put our
selves in condition TO prosecute that war with
: vgor and effect. We owe il not only to economy
but to humanity, because the longer the contn-
ues the greater be the loss of life both coun
tries. To commence this war on nlggardly policy
with view to the saving of money is poor econo
my and miserable policy. Instead Of so dong-as
, | did in the last war-we ought to hold out every
: reasonable inducement to men TO go into tina
e for the purpose of completing It a,
| speedily as possible. In the last war, he had un
derstood such was the principle Of pitiful niggard
ly economy practised on, that when the enemy were
81
y we're counted out for the purpose of keeping tn,
y accounts precisely correct. Ii was wonder, wher
>, such had been principle Of action, that Cap
a tol was burnt by an invading enemy. He had M
reference to Bunconbe, no popular favor to il
the views which he expressed, or the amendmen
, | which he offered. Il well known that he ha,
a long since expressed determination retire from
=, public life at the expiration Of his present term
service. He had no Interior views, therefore, in OF
"a fering this amendment but did it merely as an &C
:. of Justice to our countrymen who may engage il
=, this war, and with view to economy and human
N lty.
10 1t was argued by gentlemen this floor that WI
10 should rely the patriotism of our people TO hav
Ne our army filed He granted and believed that Their
was no more patriotism on the face Of the cart
", than existed among our people, but other induce
n ments, he urged, should be held out to them in ad
~ dition The great body Of the volunteers on whom
=; we were to rely were the yeomanry of the country
~ We had authorized to be withdrawn from the Ia
x borers Of the country fifty thousand men. Thei
OF ro,st snnplied nj horne. ntbora $500, /