Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1863-1866, 1866-03-03

SD complete operation, practically transfer
the entire care support and control OF
A four million emancpated slaves TO
.&e agents, taskmasters WHO,
appointed at Washington, are to be To-
Gated in every county and parish through
out the United States containing freed
ss men and refugees" s4r y
49, Aise scarcely know how to reply to that
seer most extravagant statement l have al
ready shown that it would be great
abuse of the power conferred by this bill
% AtaA to station agent in every county /
have already stated that but small pro-
portion of the freedmen are aided by
the Freedmen's Bureau In this official
e2 document the President has sent 10 Con-
tsra So 80 grees the exaggerated statement that it
-sels - ia question whether this Bureau would
sy not bring under it's control the four mil
lion emancipated slaves. The census of
-saa 1860 shows that there never were four
bal sasg million slaves in all the United States, if
you counted every man, woman aud
'Asa+.H child, and we know that the number has
80 not increased during the war. But, sir,
what will be thought when show as
TIA shall directly show BY official figures
ri that SO far from providing for four mill
se;s lions emancpated slaves, the Freed
mems Bureau never yet provided for
hundred thousand, and, restricted by
90 & the proviso to the third section of the
s. present bill, it could never be extended,
- under it, to larger number Is it not
s-~ most extraordinary that bill should be
returned with the veto from the Presi>
eTNa dent the ground that it provides for
four million people, when restricted in
its operations as it is, and having been
nHars in operation since March last, it has
IA never had under its control hundred
thousand2 have here official state
ment from the Freedmens Bureau,
which beg leave to read in this connec-
ticn:
aThe greatest number of persons to
HA whom retions were issued, including the
Fs Commissnry Department and Bareau
issues to persons without the army, is
one hundred and forty. thousand
one hundred and twenty"
-e Who are they2 said there were not
hundred thousand freedmen provided
s@s~f for by the Bureau.
"Whites, 81, 1853; colored, 90,607; In
BaR &ks sgsihaSsssts P BRRsE nv f tbs
.taf total number for December was II, OBS y
sa 80 That sounds little different from four
millions. Seventeen thousand aud
twenty-five ell that were provided
,.s for by the Freedmens Bureau in the
rsrEaaf ~ month .of December last, the number
getting lesssand less every month. Why2
rfF a Because by the kind and iudicious
agement of that Bureau, places of en-
ployment were found for these refugees
Aw6zes and freedmen. Whenthe freedmen were
discharged from their masters planta-
tons they were assisted to find places of
aa4A4 ~ work elsewhere
rges8 # z The above figures are based on full
rations The greatest number of per-
sons aided by the ratons parts of
tons, for December, are, colored, &c.
Ol6; whites, A. 1892" s=a
Es 81 have given you these figures has
tliy, from the records-I will carefully
review.
.AsIiA 70 This communication is from Major
General Howard, the Commissioner of
the Freedmen's Bureau. In the same
n asas - connection wish to read the testimony
s. (Which has been kindly furnished me)
that was given before the Reconstruction
@afa Committee by Major General Fske, who
10 Commissioners for the Freedmen'a Blu
rean for the State of Tennessee-and
Est wish these gentlemen who are declaim-
ing 80 loudly against feeding the negro
f2oe-a5s to notice the statistics The President
says. in his veto message, that Congress
3fAsss q has never thought of making these pro-
ss s visions for the white people. Let us see
what provisions have been made for the
80 white people. General Fiske asked:
IS iss sa 90. How large is the pecuniary support
- sff that you are obliged to extend to the
~ freedmen in Tennessee2
.II8u He"A. am not to-day issuing single
ration to Freedmen in Tennessee, ex-
. cept to about one hundred orphan chill
aesaaf e dren and thirty old people at Memphis
and about sixty orphan children and
$50 twenty-five old people at Nashville; that
Ia all e'4s-.s
nofaa IsLt 20. Do you issue rations to white peo-
pie in TENNESSEE
A. During the last year the rations
issued to white people in Tennessee
hkve been much In excess of those is
.SAC44 sued to freedmen When took charge
Of my district the Government was feed.
.9snes { ing twenty-five thousand people; in
round numbers about seventeen thou
sand five hundred white persons and
,sso6.0aa Re9 seven thousand blacks. The month
"a preceding the establishment of the
,sa&aeai Freedmen's Bureau, for rations alone
4exa f for that class of people, the SUM of $97, =
600 was paid. My first efforts were to
reduce the number Of those beneficial
- res of the Government, to withhold the
rRtionS and make the people selfsup-
porting as far possible And in the
xsl course Of four months reduced the
monthly .Od6y expenses from $4,000 TO
essSE9 IS 5000"
This ia what tha u. -. I,,o.n
has done in the State of Tennessee, by
the sworn testimony OF General Fiske
TFFff whose word nobody would question, de-.
hvered within few days before the Re-
.sat41 construction Committee of the two
Houses, and which they have kindly
FURNISHED me TOR the purpose of stating
sA.s# these facts to the Senate and the conn
tryi and this ia denounced as an expen.
.484a9 a fsr slve establishment undertake to saw
Isl that the Freedmen's Bureau has already
saved this nation millions of m oney and
s44srfs y continued, will save it millions more.
But u Is not simply in money that the
zsssr 81 country IS to be benefited There are
IN senoos seventy thousand colored
Co. children, chiefly placed there through
the agency OF the Freedmen's Bureau
An agency which reduces gour exnansaa
- educates colored children, and nro gsLa'
homes for the destitute, is now de.
nounced as expensive and its estahliab-
ban .sss5E ment unconstitutional. General Flake
As further says:
-vs4rsf And in the course of four months
ssassa - reduced the monthly expenses from
easras h $4,000 to $4,000 saving within thai
tims OF subsistence, ten times 40 much
81 esi money as the who're 4 reedmen Bureau
.azzq94aEcost in the entire district including al