The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-12-14
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HOW TO SAVE HONEY.

Pruning Rnlfe..The RrauhinE Priv.
iiege and Mileage swindIes...Push
Forward the Retrenehment ne.
From he M Y. Tribune.
Ifgood resolutions were otnnlpotent,
every dninkafd would reform-soon
after chrlstmas-and our fnances,
Federal State and local, would hence.
forth be patterns OF integrity and fru.
gality. And, though good resolutions
go but little way, that is, ut all
events, the right way. So let US rejoice
that Congress Is resolved on retreneh.
ment, and help Its good will by assist.
ingto point out the ways and means.
First among our sources OF expendl.
ture stands the army. II Is costing To.
day more than half our annual outlay,
except In satisfaction OF the national
debt. And It Is very poor tool for the
work to be done by Il. Sending regl-
ments of Infantry. and artillery out
upon tile plains TO Fight Indians Is like
setting u tortoise TO catch a hawk, The
Indians WILL take good care to keep out
OF the way, except when they can sur.
prise an outpost, or hght with pre-.
pondeHanee In numbers OF twenty to
one, Regular cavalry are q little bet
ter.-.just little. They will lose ten
horses for every Indian they get fairly
In sight Of. f'77F
If1ndlans areto be fought, a thor.
oughly competent, ex xpefienced cavalry
general, with his stat, should be sta.
TONED In each Territory, with good
supply Of arms and ammunition, he
having authority to call out a force of
mounted volunteers whenever he shall
see ht. Let him accumulate supplies
where he will need them; and, al the
proper time, let him call for one hun.
dred, three hundred, Eve hundred, or
more volunteers, each TO appear at the
designated rendezvous on q given day,
with his horse, equipments, aud blank
ets-he to be armed, provisioned, and
paid 81 per day for himself and horse
until mustered out. There would al
ways be good men, well mounted, To
answer such call on ten days notice,
though the rendezvous were In the most
desolate wilds OF Utah or Idaho. Such
a force would do lis work quickly and
well, and would not cost so much rs
the rations Of the regulars, who do not
and cannot do II at all.
Our iron.elads ought mainly to be
sold, IL only for old iron. They will
rust out before we are likely to need
them again; and two-thIrds OF them are
already out OF date. Millions worth OF
naval property should be got rid OF
within the next year. It is costing a
great deal too much for officers and
guards TO look on and see 1t rust and
rot. "
Congress- should abolish the irankinR
privilege-not modify 1t. Let all our
people pay their postage, as Queen Vic.
toria does. The late Mayoraity contest
In our city was conducted In good part
BY personal appeals and circulars, all
franked. Wood franked his own; and
Chanler, or some other Tammany NJ. c.,
frAnked HOtfman's. So IL goes from
year 10 year-the mails and post offices
gorged aud glutted with stuff that paws
no postage. Franked lottery circulars
and pufis Of patent medicines infest the
whole country by the million. And II
Is Idle TO talk OF correcting the abuses
Of franking, when the taxing OF one
man TO pay for carrying another mans
letters Is the great, crying abuse. IfA.,
b. and q. are authorized to send their
letters and documents through the
mails, and have them distributed by
carriers at public cost, D., Z. and +.
will borrow and use their franks to
push their wares into notice. No re-.
form can be worth rush that leaves
the franking privilege in existence.
The mileage swindle needs the like
wholesome discipline. Once, II was ex.
cused on the plea OF inadequate pay;
but Congress is now the best payed ley.
lslative body on earth, unless Louis
Napoleon's gagged Senate forms an ex-
ception. Take the Oregon members,
for example. They must usually leave
home bout the middle OF October, say
of 1867, aud cannot see II again
until the middle OF April, 1860
say eighteen months services, inclu-
ding long vacation. The pay for this
service Is SIC, ,0O0-quite enough. Now,
we do not object to paying their travel.
ing expenses-say Sl,0O0-in addition.
But they were allowed TO charge exor.
bitantly for the journey they do make,
und then double the dose for nm imaEi.
nary or constructive journey home aud
back again that they do not make, be.
tween the regular sessions. And though
an unrepealed law prescribes that there
shall be no more paid them for going
home and returning between the two
sessions than though they stayed and
worked straight through from one To
the other, II has never been obeyed nor
regarded. And the provision Of the act
of 1865 that members absent from their
seats shall forfeit their pay, Is systemat-
ically evaded. Since Congress is bent
on retrenchment, why not correct this?
As the sittings of u Congress do not
average 400 days, and the pay Is $4,000
per Congress, every days absence
should insure deduction OF ut least
S25. And there should be no excuse
heard, except that OF employment else.
where as member OF an investigating
committee.
We believe there are thousands OF
custom house places that should be cut
of-the inCumbenta either doing moth
ing for their salaries, or nothing that IL
OF auy use. This might not secure
their divorce from the Treasury; but
the fact that nearly all of them pay ns.
sessments TO elect the CopIerhead
ticket In their respective localities, will
help. limo change Is made, at lenst
$l00, 900 will be raised out of the custom
house officers next fall to bent those
Republicans In Congress who shall be
candidates for reelection.
Why not cut down our foreign EN-.
bassles, missions, and ConSulsR They
cost a mint Of money, Oue.third OF
which might be saved. Cut the $l7, 900
fellows down to El2,OOO, the SI9,OOO
chaps 10 $4,000; tho SlO,0OOs 10 $500,
aud the S7,5OOs To 5000, and perhaps
some OF The patriots may throw upth0ir
offices In disgust. II half Of them did,
aud no others could be found 10 mi
their plHces, so much the better.
That Congress- IL In retrenchIng
mood gives reason for hope that the
grand army oi stipendlurles that In.
iests the Capitol will be considerably
reduced, and that the "twenty per cent
extra" TO the Department clerks will
not again bs voted. In short, the pub.
lie augnrS great and lasting good from
the spirit In which Congress- has begun,
and we trust that this fond hope Will
not be disappointed.
Tho Hebrew Race.
From the CbIu1IL'aN O) Journal
TT Nannl., ,utI n,I,, ,bt,L .f 4, 49,,