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


portion OF the troops have remained in the rebel
lious Territory Of Utah, to suppress insurreolionin
ihat Territory, il II shall again break out. The
War Department and tic Government tailored under
great embarrassment IL reference 20 the difficulties
IN Utah for want Of means, which Congress for
some time denied them; ii was important that the
instruction shouli be stepped promptly But for
he prompt action Of the government that rebellion
would have been now in existence, aud have con~
tinued for years to come /. has. however, been
ended; but it is not prudent, is il safe, 10 with
draw The troops. II you were to withdraw them
now the rebellion would again break out, in perhaps
a more threatening aspect than it did before.
] say there has not been one dollar too much
money expended by the War Department. l know
there are many things under the head Of appropri-
atohs fer The War Department which do not pro
perly belong 10 it, and in that way the expeDdi
lures Of that branch If the service swelled up
beyond what legiumately belongs to it. For in
stance, the construction of the aqueduct for ring
ing water into The city Of Washington, which will
cost 5000 geo, has nothing TO do with the army;
and yet il il placed TO the charge Of the War De
Parlmen'. The items Of expense for the eOusiruc-
tion Of public buildings all the country are
charged 10 the War Department. In this way nils
lions of dollars are charged to tlat branch Of the
service which are no part of its legitimate ex-
peEse.
Blu, Mr.. Chairman, ask how are the expenses
of the War Department 10 beredueed? few days
ago put that question TO gen leman who was
ci4morng for reduction of the expenses o. the
government 'RedHoe your army expenses" he
rel lied l asked him Ao~2 "By ealing 10 your
outposts We all know the outposts are the most
expensive posts in the whole couairy, because
they are The furthest from The settlements But,
l ask, where IS the man who will agree TO cal in
the oulTos,s and leave to he merciless ,omGhawk
Of tire s,ysge the pioneer who has gone there to
open up the couatry? l. for one, viii not consent
| 10 do that | will vote ample amount Of money
and the republic number OF men to protect those
who g in the vanguard 10 subdus The t'r,sls aad
settle up eur oouhtfy. There Is no way, 'heD, III
which you el reduce the expenditures IF The army
without you cal in the OUT 0sts. The pay of the
man 10 the army, before remarked, is fixed by
law their ralions are fixed, and when you are CON-
pelled-to transport them from place TO place you
forced TO do IL upon such terms as you can get;
you must leave that to the discretion Of the Seere
| tary of War. All these operations have been car
rel en- under the direction Of Major General Jes
up, who, l apprchend, us as wise in that branch
OF The public service as any member Of this House,
and ct only go, but he is rs honest a man any
mber OF either branch Of Congress. Il has been
under the supervision of tueh man that all these
large expenditures have occurred, and they have
been such only as were demanded by the exigency
of the public service.
Passing from this, come to the navy. In 1898
we bad a very small navy; only twelve vessels in all
We had six vessels which h been constructed by
the public, and six which had been purchased for
the public use. L. that year the Secretary of the
Nav reported to the House that, for the mainten-
ance of that navy, and for the completion OF the
vessels then ON he stocks, s. 2l2 900 would be re-
CURED. At thai time coast was confined ems
tirey to the Atlantic, extending Only from PassamaS
quoddy to ST. Mary's and the extent of the shore
line of the main land measuring the general linden
tations Of bays aud sounds, was two thousand six
hundred and forty one statute miles The present
shore line of the United States including the wes-
tern coast is seven thousand and sixty four miles;
and We have roT, in ali, eightyteiyht vessels We
have nearly hslfas many Equadrons nov as we had
vessels in 1898. We have built more vessels since
have been member of Congress than constituted
our whole navy at tia. early day. Our navy now
whiens almost every sea; and it is he only arm of
the service by which the power of the nation
he felt abroad? Will any gentleman here say il is
too large? / apPrehend not They woald rather
say, from experience, that il is too small. Only
short time since, under resolution of Congress,
the President sent feet 10 demand satisfaction for
injuries done TO cur citizens by Of the weakest
powers on the globe. So far was our navy from
being ADEQUATE to that service, that the President
had not vessels to send, and he had 10 turn the Ma
Wy Department into a charter party, and charter
number Of vessels for the Paraguay expedition.
The pay Of the officers Of the navy, ssamen, and
marines is fixed by law, To maintain man Of war
at sea- the Secretary Of the Navy in 1885, reported
TO Congress tb~t it would require more than two
hundred thousand dollars a year. We have now
eighty navy yards and eightySe ght ves-els. The
pay, ss / say, eff the officers aud men, is fixed by
Law, so that not dollar can be deducted from that
expense; and where, / ask you, are you going to
save money in reducing the expenditures of the
Navy Department? VIII you do IL by refusing to
vote sufficient supply to carry on the navy yards?
If you do that you had just well bring home your
vessels and tie them up, and say yOu will have no
navy. Two million dollars are nov asked for The
support of these uayy-yards l need not tell you
what is the business Of those navy-yards. They
are the groundwork Of the whole navy. Refuse to
furnish them means and you must tie your ships,
because they mus, be repaired, and they must hare
the material which is requisite 10 sustain them
when they are at sea All those things are con-
siructed at the Eavy-yards. The whole Of those
eigby-eight vessels Gre nov at sea, and in active
service with the exception of those now iron the
STOCKS and q few receiving ships; and, SO lar from
deduciing from them, re ought 10 add to them, be-
cause the navy is not nov strong enough.
In the present condition Of the world, with the
unsettled condition of EuroI AMI European dynss,
ties, We know not what day We may be precpitated
into war upon the high seas; and if we have not
vessels enough nov to demand satisfaction Of ore
of the weakest powers upon the globe for injuries
done our citizens, ask what our condition would
be if We had to meet the combined neVies Of Eng
land and France? Our navy lie net as large as that
of Brazil and you cannot reduce it. Every dollar
you refuse to furnish to the navy below what is
oessary you take that much labor from the navy,
and that much material which you have to make
up in after-days by an appropriation threshold
greater than if you make it now.
l do not believe, then, that the expenses of the
War Department, or the expenses of the Navy De-
partment, are mOTe than commensurate to the de-
mands and requirements Of the public service. l
cannot see at this time how less than two million
dollsTs will answer the wants of the service in the
eight navy yards in the United States If you re-
duce it below what is necessary, you only lay the
foundation for larger Appropriation at some future
day. There 10 no economy in refusing necessary
appropriations. Keep up your navy yards, and
keep Jour vessels in good repair, and you will not
only give efficiency to the service, but you will save
money 10 the government.
And now as to the Post Office Department. Our
postal system dates from 1875, when DIR. BENJAMIN
Franklin was elected Postmaster General by the |
Colonial Congress, then in session at Philadelphia.
When the present government went into operation, |
in 1879, William OsgoOd, of Massachusetts, was ap-
pointed Postmaster General by General Washington.
There were, then, seventy five post offices in the
United States and about two thousand miles of pest
road. There was enc main line from Wiscs set, in
Maine, 10 Savannah, in Georgia, with about ten
crOss lines towards the western country. From
time to time Congress has increased the post reads
in the United States until the number Of post Of
fees the lst If December 1858, was twenty eight
thousand five hundred and seventy-three; of mail
routes, eight thousand two hundred and niuety-sx;
aud the length Of post roads two hundred and sixty
thousand six hundred and three miles Our postal
5ytem has grown up like magic; and I may say,
too, in its rise, its progress aud its expansion ii has
a Il II L