The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1847-01-30

and ena,te form and he would be as ready to vote up
on as he was when attached to this bill lie had uI-
derstood whether the project OF giving bounty and ors
mated with politicians private individuals, that Il was
the intention of Congress-an intention which had been
expressed in both Houseshat the soldier who served in
this war should have bounty land compensation Tor
those services which, il was admitted all hands, emf
nenty entitled him to compensation II this were so,
what became of the argument OF the senator from Mis-
souri, that il giving away eight millions OF acres OF
public lands of the value of twe We millions OF dol
lars at the minimum price OF those lands for nothing
Ii be Continued MIR; ca that the gallant men
who are willing to fight battles in Mexico or else
where-or God knows where that rowing army of yours
will stop-if it be true that the whole population OF this
country capable of bearing ready to precptate
themselves into this in the enemys country, and
that without price, without reward, the hope of re-
ward where is the necessity for increasing their monthly
paw as is proposed by bill your table, Sir,
shall drive Jews bargain with our soldiers Shall we
give definite value for their patriotism Shall we give
value for every drop of bloodi Shall we pay 50 much
for soldiers life So much as compensation to the
women and children who have been made WIDOWS and
sum as value for their loss But do not suppose that
any argument such as this could very readily find odg
ment in the head the heart OF any senator mere nor DO
understand that the senator from Missouri wishes any
thing of this sort He wishes the Senate to pause and
lock the door against frauds while granting liberal COM
pensation to the soldier Now let look at this argu
ment little in detail How will it be elaboraedinto effect
As he had understood the Senate to determine upon CIV
ing these bounty lands in some form or other ana as ne
understood they were for giving the elgnt m !, IN
the form which he proposed in his amendment to be ac
ually settled and held by the soldier who performed the
service. by some representative OF the soldier, ne
would ask n wa point S be-
and property which the government had rght TO use,
by giving it either the form OF money or IN the form OF
bountes soldiers entering the war, where was the dI
ference as far as the government concerned, wheh
that eight millions OF acres was gwen IN one form or
the other The argument as far as It rested upon the
fact of giving away these lands, seemed to nm the
senator had not well considered The man part OF the
senator's opposition rested upon his desire to protect the
soldier in the first place, from the frauds which might
be pepeated upon him, and, in the next place. TO stay
the march of that moral pestlence, of those yiilanles
which would be practised upon the soldier TINS lil
should pass To this view of the question he was m
could difference between allowing the soldier VINO
discharged his duty the public service TO be paid land
or allowing him to be paid in money II were coh SD
cred that the valor and courage of the soldier entitled hun
compensation, part money to be paid out OF the treas
ury, and part land to be given hm at the END OF ms
service, he could difference at all between giving
him land money-none none to the government uh-
questonably; none whatever IN any scheme OF lnance
which might be presented for the prosecution OF ms
war If, therefore, it were desirable that Congress shouu
give to the soldier certain amount OF compensation
could Just as well be given the form OF monthly pay as
in grant of land. He could difference between
granting land from which the resources OF the govern
ment were partly be derived and creating debt which
the from Missouri said must be pad by the next
generation, and voting for loan OF twenty NIL
temen did not have their financial apprehensons
aroused at all when it proposed to borrow twenty
three millions of dollars, for which, like every other sum
% her asy ee %as no
henson about borrowing money. But these were
considerations which should have been thought OF
long before they entered upon this Improbable war
Borrowing money was one OF the curses attendant
upon all Debt was one OF the curses which war
necessarily nvoved-debt to be enailed upon poserly
if the present generation not able to discharge IT,
1t could have escaped the apprehensons OF any gen.
eman who held seat upon that floor, on the day when
their army passed the Nueces, the day when 1t was
onfth
the boundary of the United Sates could not have
capped their apprehension that not merely twelve millions
of dollars but hundreds OF millions would have to be ex-
pended upon the to be carried on between
this country and sister republic which they had under
taken to subugate by their The honorable sena-
tor from Missouri. and every SENATOR must be aware that
this would be the consequence OF their conduct lie had
been somewhat surprised he confessed at the minute de-
tails given of the schemes of fraud which the senator
from Missouri had asserted would be pafh,sea and h ne
he was panied to hear such schemes OF pecuatlon
and fraud connected with the names OF certain OH
GERS of the government That companies OF scoun-
drels would be formed as the senator sad to endeavor
to despoil the soldier of his hadearned bounty, he
had no doubt 1t of the inevitable conse-
quences of all it OF the curses which be-
longed to state of war It had been the case as the
senator from Missouri had said after the close OF the
revolutionary war 1t was well known fact that the
who had passed through the fires OF the struggle
were found endeavorng defraud each other out OF
what they had received compensation tor their ser
vices II had ever been so, and would be SO to all Tune
IL
go to at all SO long as men could lind no better
mode of settling national controversies than by gong TO
war; of marching armies against each other IN battle
array, instead of following the dictates OF humanity IN
stead of exercising the faculties with which God had en-
dowed them avoiding the necessity for warfare there
would be scoundes enough found to plumber ami cheat
another. So long national controversies were
to be settled in the old barbarous mode, long would
such disposition be found to exist But he was sur
prised to hear from the senator from Missouri that the
very officers of the government, whose appointments the
Senate called upon TO sanction and commissioned
by The President to carry on the war; which was en-
phatcally his warhe was surprised to hear that men
in this position would be found reckless lost to
the dictates of honor and of conscience, as to pracse
frauds of this description Could this be true? Could
it be that these who were daily associated with the
soldiers witnessing their snfferngs and hearing the
groans of the dying, would be guilty OF robbing the
soldier of the bounty which his country had bestowed
He asked the SENATOR this the condition IN which
this republic was now placed Were such the instrn-
mentaes to be sent abroad to execute their duties IN
the service of the government upon the field OF battle
His knowledge of human nature would hardly allow
him to suppose had been sunk to that depth OF degra
dalton and of inamy. Such supposition contemplated
the existence of class of society degraded than he
was willing to suppose any who had received his
commission from the government could be lhey might
perhaps find in the dens and hes of cities men who
would come out from their hiding places, when they
knew that eight millions of of land had been put
into the market for the benefit of those who served but
he did not think that who accompanied the soldier
at his last gasp would deliberately plan such schemes OF
fraud The senator from Missouri proposed to protect
the soldier from these frauds by making the bounty ina
ienabe for years This was presumlng that those
who as the senator from Missouri eoquently described
escaped the embrace of the battle Storm and avoided
grave upon the tops of the Cordleras, were not capa
BILE of controlling the bounty which the government be-
slowed upon them, and that Congress must therefore,
their that,