The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1857-01-20


that this original contract should be carried out
the officers asked for change They asked for something
rather than get nothing and In such situation
act almost under compulson. Ii is such contract as
that IL between individuals and substitute of this
up of the performances of the original
tract court of chancery would relieve against the per-
formanee Of the second and enforce the first.
Look sir the difference between the contract of 1850
and that of 7s3 According to the calculations which
the basis of life insurance and annues the expeca
on of life of the officers in 1888 may be Get down fairly at
twenty years The pay of the average Of the officers who
S4so which was the pay Of captain. Now taking cap
tans pay at $3.50 year. and the hapay oi course Ia
S24o Under this supposed state OF factstwenty years
expectation of life and the officer entitled TO $240 year
his half,pay would amount 10 S4soo He would be enti
tied of course bis half pay year by year. and his Erst
years hapay he would have received nineteen years in
tcrest his second years hapay eighteen years inter
est his third, seventeen and down TO the last
year and onsg the interest each years pay in that
for twenty years. it amounts to the of $2,53e.
Adding that TO the twenty years hafpay, have the
sum OF $7336 the average amoun that officer Of
the army would receive under the original resolve of co-
ber 1880 Now, what the contract which 1t s claimed
made in lieu of that2 Five years full pay, taking the
basis before of captain in the line was $240o
and twenty years interest that $2ss0 That gives the
of $5280 the amount which the officer would re-
ceive this substituted contract Of five years. full pay
stead of hapay for life The difference therefore, between
hapay for life and five years full pay is the officer
S2o56 II to be borne ia mind that the amount which
the officer lost the government gained There were
cording the estimate two thousand two hundred officers
in the army at that time who would be entitled to the benz
eft either Of halfpay of the commnation and $2056
being saved by the from each of the two thou
sand tive hundred officers 1t is very easy to SEQ that the
government here made bargain with the officers which,
say the least most harsh and rigorous upon the
officers and very profitable bargain for the government
If bargain is to be considered profitable government
when 1t money out of those to whom 1t Justly in
debted. The amount saved in this case is $4523200
alude to this to show that the officer unless under the
iron hand of necessity Of compusion would have
consented to change the original which tho gov
ernment had made with him for this substituted and If
der the Of necessity he made this change ought
uetu tn of
now to hold the officer to the performances Of contract
thus mede?
There various other grounds on which this centao
claimed to be in place Of the original contract can be OBJ.
ected to- it me- successfully One is that while
the original contract made individually with each Of
cer to speak, the substituted contract did not propose
at all to leave to each individual officer to say whether
he would agree to II not proposed to submit the
question OF agreeing to it to the lines Of the States
and the major vote OF each line control and bind
those not only who parties in the VOTE but who
not in the vote. Was that fair mode of performing
contract which had been made individually submit
that ii was not and gentlemen agree that it not
far forth say lat least the honorable senator from
Ohio sad that those officers who did not agree accept
the i've years full pay in lieu of the hapay for life have
in his Judgment claim upon the government now and
he would be willing to vote that the descendants rep
resenatives of such officers should be paid sub
init that the principle we'll affects those who really
voted under those to accept it as those who
voted not to accept it.
suggested that there is no evidence which ia satis-
factory that the officers did universally accept the FIVE
years full pay in lieu Of the original compensation.
know of my own knowledge at least Of officer and
through him Of many Others, who did not consent, AL
hongn they took the almost worthless paper the gov
eraen they did not consent by vote; and indeed op-
posed this change Of the original contract by the esou
ton OF l7S3 alude the late General Eheneaar Hunt
ngton, who resided in the town Of Norwich Connecticut
in which 1t my happiness to resde officer of disno
whois war, and served with reputation and young
officer when peace was proclamed-I believe bat twenty
four years odbut who had attained the rank of euten-
ant colonel in the line and attached during portion
of the war, to the family Of Washington know that he
did not accept this communication; and, through him,
know that large proportion Of the younger officers of the
line opposed to it and opposed il with all their force
but they were voted down by the older officers and by
those whose necessities compelled them take something
But waving this (which it seems to me, however goes
to show that the substituted contract ought not to be
sidered as taking the place and cannot be claimed equi
aby to have taken the place of the original contract be-
cause 1t not voluntarily entered into by of the
parties to IT'D and taking up the substituted contract
claim and think the history of the times since as
well as the history Of that period goes to show that that
contract substitute, has not been performed
as to discharge the from itS obligations on the
first contract As the honorable senator from New Hamp
Fhre has well observed it unquestionably the under
stendug of the officers In l783 those of them who did
agree take five years full pay in lieu Of the halpay for
life that they should receive money not worthless paper
that they should receive what would pay their debts and
procure them subsstencea dollar that should be worth
dollar How the fact In regard to payments made TO
the officers on the certcs vcn to them at the close or
the war their oommu.at rA9 1t worth possibly
two shillings and sxpence in the pound, not
ed to be worth The officers took that and the majority
unquestonaby disposed of it for ess than oneeghth Of
its nominal amount
No provision made by the for payment
until the year 1890 Then passed by Congress
funding this debt and then the certificates provided
for but how they provided for2 BY scaling them
down at least thrtyhree per cent The holders of them
at that time received from the government what amounted
to about sxtyseven cents the dollarnot That
is all the payment which the government made of these
certificates given to the officers in 1888 their
ton certificates and that is all the performance Of this
substituted contract which be claimed the govern
ment ever made.
In that state Of things if there objection at all
the ground which the parties stood when they entered
into this second contract the in which il has been
performed ought to set aside and ought to restore tho
parties to their original rights under the first contract
for how does the account stand between the govern
ment and officer on the payment really made by
the government to the officer under the second resolu
ton have shown that under the first resolution the
officer would lose S2056, If he got all that by the
terms of the second resolution he entitled but when
to examine the amount which he actually did ge
the account is absolutely startling An officer with
t6cate for 400I take that the basis before for
that is the averagewas compelled to sell it. il he did sell
it, at the best for two hlings and sxpence the pound
which would enable him to realize for his $4,000, $500.
Twenty years interest that amounts to $500;
that the officer the end Of the twenty years got $685.
whereas under the original resolution passed by Congress-
he would have been entitled that time would have
received up to that time in fact difference be-
ing $6676 and that multiplied by the number OF the
officers who received that amount the average makes
$l4687 400 II Is true the government did not actually
make that sum- although in this the officers lost it
ing the ground which think the facts justify that they
compelled to SELL and did actually sell their cert-
4 Il. .t-A = A