Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1859-02-11


know that they we're from fifty to one hundred
per cent higher, upon an average, than they were
four years before, when first came 10 Congress.
Sir, Touli not countenanee useless expendi>
ture of money By any department. Of the govern,
ment; but, when properly expended would as
soon vote moaey cBt OF the public treasury for the
Post Office Department as Tor & civil list Inc army
or the navy Il comes directly in contact
with the e7pe ihan any branch Of the government.
IL IS through that depar menl ell your corresp7n-
dsnce, public aud priyste, business aud social must
psssi and he who receives or sends but half dozen
letters year appreciates tae convenience as highly
as the merchant who sends ana receives his thou,-
ands Every man is wiling to bear bis part of the
expense, because tae comfort and convenience de-
rived from 1t, seen and felt most every day are IN
oaluabLs have no hesitation in Saying then, that
while the government reserses to itself the exeiu-
si7e right Of carrying the mall aud refuses TO allow
individuals to 90 it, | would have sufficient mail
service supply the whole country if every dollar
Of the cost had to come from The public treasury.
But Congress gees on. from time to time, to esab
lish overland mail routes, steamship lines and mail
routes upon rivers which are Of very little
They require the Postmaster GeneraltO pat se8iee
upon them; and then, when an appropriation bill
comes up, gentlemen rise and attach the Postmaster
General, because The expenses are tee high. Why
did Congress pass bill establishing post road
from the Mississippi river TO the Pacific ocean
That done TIE last day of the session, previous
| 10 ihe 4DCJLAhS VI Use present administration
! Neither this Congress uoT this administration had
airy hing to do With The es' Adjustment Of the ever
| land N al route TO California. If they had had
! judging from the past, il w3uld rot have been es-
tablished At the last session of Co lgresI a reso
laioa was Iesed by DO il honees establishing anoh-
! or overland mail rou'e from ST. Joseph 10 Nilsson.
ri; and. but for ne ye.O of the President would
have become o law,
II you waut 10 reduce, the expenses Of the Post
Once Department, ycu mus repeal your laws estab
| lisbing the several OVERHEAD mail rcutes-ay, sir
| aud you NUT stop authorizing these steamship
| lines. You must place these lines upon the same
footing with the mai service upon the lard and let
out The contracts to the lowest bidder. If you Will
do that, stop ih3 steaUb at lines where they are
unnecessary, and act upon lie Postmaster Gener-
al's recommendation 10 give the carriage Of the mail
upon land and upon to the lowest bidder, with.
! out regard 20 carrying Of passengers; and an Of
the opinion that, IN five years. with he present post
age, the Post Office Department will be self sustain
ing. Ii has not hed ia r trial 1t has had crowd
| ed upon it railway carriage at enormous prices
| There, too, would int fere and fix q reasonable
maximum price for carrying the mail. If res-
souab'e price were settled upon, have 10 doubt it
would be acquiesed in by these Companies. With
| those reforms, cir, the department be made
seltsusiaining without the increase of postage or
the abolition Of iae fFankiDg privilege.
need not sreak Of the present head of the Post
| 0fIi5e Department. / did not come hire 10 defend
| he has done which has not been done heretofore
He has gene beyond the railroads and the big steam
| ships He has, sir, furnished the country proper
the hills and the valleys, vith mail service to which
they were entitled, bu; which had heretofore beea
obstinately denied them. For this he is entitled to
credit
Now, Mr.. Chairman, if We vent to reduce the ex-
penditures Of the government let 90 to work and
| do something Of he hind that have indicated Let
US repeal these laws which render it necessary to
make useless expenditures, which require the cree
tioa Of useless public buildings, on which millions of
! dollars are thrown away annually. Let Us repeal
the laws establishing overland NAL routes and steaus
| ship lines and We can save millions in that way
Let US try, every other point, to reduce the cx-
pendiiures Of the government btf1s we call home
| the ships that protect our commerce on every sea
and citizens in every cline, or before We call in
our ouposs and leave the people on he frontier TO
| the mercy Of hostile savag,s
1t has rot been my purpose, Mr. Chairman, in the
! remarks have sub4itied 10 shOwtha the expenses
Of the government cannot be reduced; bur- fret that
for the last half century they have not more than
kept pace with the growth, expansion wealth, aud
population Of the country and secondly, hat they
have not exceeded the necessities of The public SER
vice, as row organized by law II, Their, TOO much
| money has been expended, upon whom rests the re-
| sponsbiliy answer, upon Congress- and lot upon
the administration
Sir, during the last Congress there were ole hum
bred and ninety disinc; items of appropr atiors
made; which we're not asked for or recommended
by any executive department Of the government,
amounting il all to Sll 1879 40 SO Aud at the last
session Of Congress We all remember that So Ol0-
OOG had TO be added to the loan bill to mee appIo-
pTiations not asked fer contemplated by The Exc
cutive. let gentlemen eOmpiain Of the extrava-
gance of the administration. Nay, more, sir; these
gentlemen, who cOmplsin 50 much about extrava
glnce, N Ike move to repeal the laws, TO execute
which the appropriations are made. Let them COM
mence reform in tie right way, by repeal of those
laws requiring unnecessary appropriations, and not
defeat The appropriation bills, and leave the law re-
naming on the statute book unexecuted. l ask you,
is it statesmsHke? Is it st FOR gentlemen to sit
here from Congress to Congress and wait at each
S ion for the appropriation bills to come up,
and thea defeat them, 10 exhibit their economizing
spirit the world, and particularly to their oonsti-
tueDts? While an here l expect to vote such ap-
proFriai rs as are reqnirsd BY existing law the
requirements of The public service demand, and
leave my constituents to tile the question as TO
whether l am right or wrong.