Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1862-01-24
THEGAZETTE.
FRIDAY. JANUARY "a, 1899.
The New Secretary of War.

The New Secretary Of War.
y Last Monday Mr. Cameron retired, an,
his succe ssor, Mr.. Stanton, took the oatl
and entered upon the discharge Of the dutic
of Secretary of War. The appointment o
Mr.. Stanton seems to give good satisfactio,
to all those in favor of an active prosecution
of the war. He has always been promi
nent Democrat, and is an unconditional Tn
ion man Of the Dickinson stamp. He is or
terms of intimacy with such men as S,creta
ry Chase, Senator's Sumner, Wade, ant
others in whom the people have the fullest
confidence. Dispatches say that he has had
mutually satisfactory interviews with the
most energetic members of the Committee or
the Conduct of the War, and that new ener.
gy will be infused into the war. 1t is also
stated that he will remove Gen. Thomas, the
chief officer of the military staff, concerning
whose fitness for the position there are W II
founded apprehensions. ..9
Secretary Stanton is said to have remarked,
" The army must burn powder in the face of
the enemy. can't make them fight; but
they must either fight or run" When the
first news came Of Mr.. Ca meron's removal.
it was supposed to have been occasioncd hy
his strong anti-slavery policy, but later re,
ports go to show that this was no: the cause,
as Mr.. Stanton entertains the same views of
the slavery question as did his predecessor.
1t appears that the War Department was not
conducted with that economy and efficiency
that the interest of the country demanded.
No one doubts the patriotism and integrity
of the late Secretary, but he seems to have
been controlled to some extent by unscrupu-
louS men, who by past political favors rem
dcred, had secured an influence upon him,
which he was unable to shake off, and the
consequence was that contracts were awarded
and the public funds used, to reward these
favorites, at the expense Of the public good.
His case and Frcmont's seem to be very sim
liar. Both are good men, but allowed them
schSs w ot soi'tioiiSu W uSSiShii'o hithus,
who by skillfully maneuvcring prostituted
their high positions to their own selfish aims.
The new Secretary is said to be a bold and
fearless man, with no friends to reward at
the expense Of truth and justice, and we are
assured that under his supervision the War
Department will be economically and eff
GENTLY conducted
The Abolition of the Franiring Privilege.
A bill abolishng the Thanking privilege
has passed the House One of the effects of
the bill is to obligo publishers Of newspapers
to pay postage on all their exchanges, which
hitherto have always been allowed to pass
through the mails free This will be Il heavy
tax upon publishers,-sutlicicnt to dry up
some small concerns. The burden Of this
arrangement falls upon the country press,
where contents are principally made up from
clippings from exchanges. The city papers,
the contents of which are mainly derived
from city items, correspondents, and tele-
graphic dispatches, need but few exchanges.
But there is bill proposed, which if passed,
will make the dalics vince tremendously
1t provides that papers shall only circulate
through the mails, unless there be license
obtained from the Post Office Department
This will prohibit express companies, news
boys, etc, from carrying and circulating
dailies, unless they pay round sum for the
privilege. AS it now is the city papers arc
enabled to circulate their journals several
hours, and in some cases whole day, in adj
vance Of the mails. ".#
The license would amount to the regular
postage, which the publishers would be obi
ged to pay. Consequently the price of city
dailies would have to be increased, and then
of course there would be falling off in read
erS.
Heretofore, papers have always circulated
in the county where published, free of post
age; this bill prohibits th,s. The income
expected to be realized from these sources is
abou, 100000 per annum. Under the
present law postmasters whose commissions
are less than 5000 year, are allowed to
send and receive their letters free. This
privilege will also be annulled. ... w:
RETRENcu.-Bills are before Congress to
cut down the pay Of army officers, members
Of Congress, and all officers thereof. The
abolition of the frankins privilege has passed
the House and will undoubtedly pass the
Senate. Besides these reductions in public
expenditures, various taxes, hitherto un-
known to our people, are proposed. ..n 4.
Lanes ExPEDITIoN.-Gen. jim LANE has
accepted the command Of the Southern expe-
dition rendered him, and will take the field
without delay. Though only Brisader.
he has the acting power Of a Major General.
He had an interview with the President, Sec
rotary STANTON and Gen. MCCLELLAN at which,
all three united in authorizing HIM to prose.