Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1862-01-22


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REMARKS OF MIR. DAWES OF Mass.
Mr. Dawes (rep) of Massachusetts, ad.
dressed the House Of Representatives on
the 18th, on the conduct Of the war, in
which he told some everyunpleasant truths. |
The fat contracts he speaks Of are plainly
attributable to the Secretary Of War. Is
it any wonder, then, that Gen. Cameron
should find it convenient to retire from
the Cabinet and take trip to Europe?
Mr. Dawes then resumed his argument
on the civil appropriation bill. He said
There are eighty-three regiments of caval-
ry to-day, one thousand strong. It. takes
$3.50, 600 to put one of these regiments on
foot before 1t can move. Twenty millions
Of dollars have thus been expended on
these cavalry regiments before they left
the encampments where they were mus
tered into service. And hundreds and
thousands of these horses have been con
demned and sent back 10 Elmira and to
Annapolis and to this city to spend the
winter. Any day hundreds of them can
be seen round the city of Washington,
chained TO trees, where they were left to
starve to death. Gangs Of two hundred
hcrses in various places have been thus
left to die and not till the committee on
the District CT Columbia have called for a
measure Of legislation to protect the city
from the danger to be a2prehcndcd from
this horse "Golgotha." Besides the con.
tracts for these horses, there are others
for all the details Of furnishing these reg
iments, in addition to the arms in the
hands Of the 100000 soldiers in the field.
Numerous outstanding contracts made
with private individuals made upon
advertisemcnts--no made with the knowl-
edge of the public-Out made 10y eXsmem-
bers Of Congress, who knew no more Of the
difference between one class OF arms and
another than does Methodist minister.
There are outstanding contracts for the
manufacture of Springfield muskets-the
first one of which cannot be delivered in
six months from this date. There is a
contract for the supply of one million and
ninety thousand muskets at S2S apiece,
when tho same quality of musket is mans
And an eXcmember Of Congress is now in
Massachusetts trying to get machinery
made by which he will be able to manu-,
facture in some six months hence, at sol
apiece, those rifle muskets manufactured
to day in that armory for Sl3 so. Provi-
dence before six months will dispose of
this war, or He will dispose of us. Not
one of those muskets thus contracted will
be OF the slightest service in this emer.
gency, or before the providence of God,
/ whether for good or for evil, will dispose
of it. He would ask his friends ron the
North and Northwest how they expect to
benefit by an armory at Chicago, Rock
Island and at Quincy, Ill.,, when 4 million
and ninety thousand muskets will, ac-
cOrIing to the two contracts, he thrown
upon the country, and that after the war
is over, and at such an enormous price, in
addition to other outstanding contracts
for the manufacture, some time hence. Of
, $4,000 Enfield rifles. Besides there are
| 1878 sets of harness to be delivered by
and 10y at the cost ofone million nine hun
dred and seventy-eight thousand four
hundred and forty-siX dollars He had
not time TO enumerate all these con tracts.
When we appropriated at the last session
Of Congress for the purpose twenty mill
ion dollars, thrty>scven million and some
thousands of dollars had been already
pledged to contractors, not for the pur-
chase of arms tor the men in the field, not
to protect those fighting the country 5
battles in this great emergency and peril,
but for some future use.
The riot Of the l9;h April in Baltimore
opened this ball, and on the 2lst of April,
in the city of New York, there was organs
lied II corps Of plunderers of the treasury.
Two millions of dollars were entrusted to
a poor. unfortunate, honest, but entirely
incompetent editor of paper in New
York, TO dispense it in the best manner
he could. Straightway this gentleman be.
gqn to purchase linen pantaoons, straw
hats, London porter, dried herrings and
such like provisions for the arny till he
expended IN this way 1890, 600 Of the mon.
ey, and then he got scared ana quit
Laughter. There is an appropriation
also for the supply of wood to the army
This contractor is pledged the payment OF
seven dollars a cord for all the wood de-
livered 20 the different commando wool
collected after the labor of the soldiers
themselves had cut down the trees to
, clear the ground for their batteries, and
this contractor employs the army wagons
to draw it to the several camps and he
f has no further trouble TO draw his seven
dollars a cord, leaving the government tc
, draw the wood Laughter
1t costs two millions Of dcllars every day
, to support the army in the field. A hun
dred millions Of dollars has thus been ex-
pended since we met on the second day
of December, and all that time our army
has been in repose. What the expendi.
ture will increase to when that great day
shall arrive when our eyes shall be glad,
dened with a sight of the army in motor
he didn't know. And this hundred mil
lions will go with the hundred more b,