The Iowa transcript. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1858-1866, 1865-12-13

the esta blishment Of one in fresh water for
iron clad vessels, is deserving of considera-
| ton, as is also the recommendation for a
different location and more ample grounds
for the naval academy
In the report of the secretary Of war, o
general summary is given of the military
campaigns Of 1864 and 1865, ending in the
+ suppression of armed resistance to the ma
tional authority in the insurgent states.
The operations of the general administra-
tive bureau Of the war department during
the past year are detailed and an estimate
made Of the appropriations that will be re-
CURED for military purposes in the fiscal
year commencing the Goth day of June,
1866. The national military force on the
lst Of May, 1865, numbered ,O00.5lG men.
1t is proposed to reduce the military estab-
lishment to peace footing, comprehending
10000 troops of all arms, organized 50 as
to admit Of an enlargement by filing up the
ranks TO 81, 600 men, if the circumstances
Of the country should require such an aug
mentation Of the army. The volunteer
force has already been reduced by the dis
! charge from service of over eight hundred
thousand troops, and the department is
proceeding rapidly in the work Of further
/ reduction. The war estimates are reduced
AAOHi Sclo, ioI " Cl1,cDl, WAlVA
amount, in the opinion Of the department,
IS adequate for peace establishment. The
measures of retrenchment IN each bureau
and branch Of the service exhibit a diligent
economy worthy of commentator. Refer
ence is also made in the report to the necessi-
ty of providing for uniform militia system
and to the propriety of making suitable
provision for wounded and disabled officers
and soldiers
The revenue system Of the country is a
subject Of vital interest to its honor and
prosperity, and should command the ear
nest consideration Of congress. The secre-
tary Of the treasury will lay before you a
full and detailed report of the receipts and
disbursements Of the last fiscal year, of the
| first quarter Of the present fiscal year, Of
the probable receipts and expenditures for
the other three quarters, and the estimates
for the year following the 3Oth of June,
1866. might content myself with refer
ence to that report, in which you will find
all the information required for your delib-
Grafton and decision. But the paramount
Importance of the subject SO presses itself
on my mind, that | cannot but lay before
you my views of the measures which are
required for the good character, and,
might almost say, for the existence Of this
people. The life of a republic lies certainly
IN the energy, virtue and intelligence of its
citizens but it equally true that a good
revenue system is the life of an organized
government. meet you at time when
the nation has voluntarily burdened itself
with debt unprecedented in our annals.
Vast as Is its amount. it des away into
nothing when compared with the countless
blessings that will be conferred upon our
| country and upon man by the preservation
Of the nations life. Now, upon the first
occasion OF the meeting Of Congress since
the return OF peace, it is of the utmost i'm
portance to inaugurate just policy, which
shall at once be put in m ton, and which
shall commend itself to those who come af-
ter us for its continuance. We must aim at
nothing less than the complete effacement
of the financial evils that necessarily fol-
lowed state of civil war. We must en-
deavor to apply the earliest remedy to the
deranged state of the currency, and not
shrink from deyising a policy which, with
out being oppressive to the people, shall
Immediately begin to effect q reduction Of
the debt, and, if persisted in, discharge il
fully within definitely fixed number Of
I years.
1t is our first duty to prepare in earnest
for our recovery from the ever-increasing
evils OF an irredeemable currency, without
sudden revulsion, and yet without untime
~ procrastination. For that end, we must
each in our respective positions, prepare
the way. / hold it the duty Of the Execu.
tive to insist upon frugality in the expendi.
i lures; and sparing economy is itself a
/ great national resource. Of the banks to
which authority has been given to issue
notes secured by bonds of the United States,
we may require the greatest moderation
and prudence, and the law must be rigidly
enforced when its limits are exceeded We
may, each one of US, counsel our active and
enterprising countrymen to be constantly
on their guard to liquidate debts contracted
IN pape, currency, and. by conducting
business as nearly as possible on a system
OF cash payments and short credits, to hold
themselves prepared to return to the stand
ard Of gold and silver. To aid our fellow
| citizens in the prudent management OF their
, monetary affairs, the duty devolyes upon US
to diminish by law the amount of paper
money now in circulation. Five years ago
the bank-note circulation of the country
amounted to not much more than two hun
dred millions; now the circulation, bank
and national, exceeds seven hundred mil
lions The simple statement of the fact
recommends more strongly than any words
OF mine can do, the necessity of our res
training this expansion. The gradual re-
duction of the currency is the only measure
that can save the business of the country
from disastrous calamities; and this can be
almost imperceptibly accomplished by grad
nally funding the national circulation in
securities that may be made redeemable ut
the pleasure of the government.
Our debt IS doubly secure-frst in the
actual wealth and still greater resources Of
the country; and next in the character of
/ our institutions. The most intelligent OBJ
servers among political economists have not
failed TO remark that the public debt of a
country is safe in proportion as its people
are free; that debt of republic is the safest
of all. Our history confirms and establishes
the theory, and is, firmly believe, destined
TO give It a still stronger illustration. The
secret OF this superiority springs not merely
from the fact that in republic the national
obligations are distributed more through
countless numbers in all classes of society !:
/ it has its roots in the character of outlaws.
Here all men contribute to the general well
fare, and bear their fair share of the pub
lie burdens. During the war, under the
impulse of patriotism, the men of the great
body OF the people, without regard to their
own comparative want OF wealth, thronged
to our armies and filed our fleets of war.
and held themselves ready to offer up their
lives for the public good. Now. in their
turn. the property aud income Of the coun.
try should bear their ust proportion of the
burden OF taNation, while in our impost
system. through means of which increased
vitality is incidentally impaired to all the