Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1859-07-08
For the Journal.
RetrencsllneI and Reform.

brave as he is able and honest.
-AS s>--
For the Journal
Retrencslment and Reform.
THE following communication of Mr.
Zeigler, with the predatory remarks by the
editor pro tenn, has been several weeks on
file, but deferred in consequence Of press OF
other matter upon our columns.l
At the urgent request Of Mr.. Zeigler, we
publish, at full length, the following reply to
our remarks, made month since, upon the
report Of q certain committee on "Retrench-
ment and Reform" The extreme length of
the communication would, by our rules, have
excluded it from our columns, had not Mr..
Zeigler plead his inability to condense his
reply and do himself justice-an inability
which is very inconvenient and expensive to
US. We have read it carefully through from
beginning to end, and have found nothing
new in it, with the exceptian of one paragraph
on the taxation Of incomes, in which Mr..
Zeigler denies his own words in his former
report, and indulges in little sarcasm on his
own reasoning. -.
Mr.. EDITOR In your comments on the
report of the committee appointed at the tax
payers meeting held on the 22d Of January
last, who reported to an adjourned meeting
on the 30th Of April, you seem to labor indie
fatigably to produce an impression on the
public mind, that the committee brought forth
nothing worthy of moments conideration.
Your perseverance would be laudable indeed,
were its object a worthy one.
You profess yourself to be in favor of " Re-
trenchment and Reform, and the lowering of
our taxes" yet you find fault and endeavor
to turn to ridicule the suggestions Of the COM
mittee to retrench in the public expenditures.
Pray, sir, why do you not enlighten the pub
lie, wherein and by what means, you are in
fayar Of sstrelschmcnt Professions are mere
empty sounds. H.sBy their works, shall ye
know them" ...-. g..
You censure the sommiS fee severly for not
presenting full and complete report; for not
showing, item by item, " wherein the expen-
ditures of the General Government are ex-
travasant, and wherein not "what is ne
cessary and what not" This is equivalent
to saying that the committee should not have
reported at all, if they could not show by fig
ures what amount was actually necessary for
the expenses of Government. This mode of
reasoning may suit your views, but it did not
those of the committee, nor would it have
suited the views of the public. Such require
ments would preclude the possibility of the
committee ever making report on the sub
iect, even if the utmost facilities for investi-
CATION had been at their command.
The committee did not pretend that they
had made full and complete report, and so
stated in the report, and give as their reason
for its want of more completeness the want
of necessary documents, and that they were
confined in their investigations, for the same
reason, to the acts of the 9th and 7th General
Assembly. Had the committee professed to
have done what they did not do, your censure
would be just; as they did not, consider it
very unjust. -.
Perhaps you concluded that the commit
tee we're making war against the party in
power, from the fact their report was con-
fined to, the acts Of the two last sessions of
the Assembly, II so, I can assure you that
this is not the fact. The committee never
thought .of making war upon one party or
another. Tie circumstance was one OF pure
necessity, as stated in the report,
After enunerating the various ways of
retrenchment pursued by variously consttu-
ted persons, you seem to come to the conclu-
sion that the committee belong to that class,
sswho seek to rstrench by jewipg down
those with whom the public deal" Be it
so.-The committee certainly is in favor of
..jewing down. as you choose to call it. l,
at least for one, am in favor Of '.jewing
down. the officers whenever l consider their
salaries exorGitant. Persons will differ in
opinions. ain. not more ceusurable for my
opinions 7ssinnuyou are for yours. The
question is, whose opinions are correct and
will correspoad with Common sense princl'
pies 1t is my 'obinion that the salaries OF
public officers should be sufficient for their
comfortable support. When say this l
say what I: lfiean. do not mean that
the salary of a public officer should be
reduced to the bare necessities, b 1t also al
ford the rational comforts OF life. l DO not
deem it necessary to go into lengthy explain.
alton of what I, consider the comforts OF
life any person whose mind and taste has
not been vitiated by luxurious and extrava-
CANT indulgehces will understand what
mean. do not believe that wastefut and
luxurious living is necessary qualification
for otfice., On the contrary the extravagant
and luxurious liver never is the energetic
indefatigable man of business. Such indul
gences are Numerically opposed to cor
rect steady, business habits.
You assert the present salaries care moth
liRs like what men Of charac ter and ability
] fit for Ahe Offices, could make at their ord
tpetI esapatdieq4nlss" dq4ls If this assertion is true
Isyf|yr ris,iit that 60 many persons are inces
sanity engaged in Office hunting? descen
ding to all kinds of political maneuvering
and wire pulling, movirg heaven and earth
as it were, to secure these offices !? Is
because they are the only persons conpeten
to gil the oficesa Is it because they ar