The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1868-08-20
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kinds in the different APP -.
preparations ...........2,560, 600 90
= Making total Of. ...s10e,s1s, 447sOO
Adding altogether these ordinary
expenditures, as | have above, the
sum total is found to be one hundred
and six million eight hundred and
eighteen thousand four hundred and
forty seven dollars, IfCongress can
be accused Of extravaganza, the oac-
cussation must be made good on these
figures, or else abandoned, fol, the
other expenditures, as ! have already
repeated, lie without the pale Of con-
gressional discretion Or control. A
clear estimate OF the character Of
these expenditures maybe gathered
by comparing them with the outlsys
incurred under the, last Democratic
administrations Forexample, in 1857.
58the same class of expenses in Bnch-
anan's administration were over sew.
enty million dollars in gold, whereas
the one hundred andisix million eight
hundred ard eighteen. thousand four
hundred and forty seven dollars aboye
named are in paper. ItGmust be OBJ.
served, moreover, that IN, 1857 6B the
population Of this eouutry,was under
thirty millions, whereas to-day it ,is
well nigh forty millions Adding for
ty per cent. premium ION gold, to
bring the expenditures Of the, two
leras to the same standard, and 1--WE
find the OUTLAWS o f Buchanan, were
at the rate of over ninety eight mill.
ons in paper to-day. TO this add one
third for increase ofpopulation,a and
we lind the Buchanan expenditures,
adjusted to the scale Of to-day, would
amount to one hundred and thirty
million doliarsfor the same items that
we are paying less than one hundred
and zen millions for. And in this
calculation I have said nothing about
the,increased militaryand navalforce
Of the present day, which adds i'm
mensely to the account inn favor I. of
present economy. Dbq9 10 qslfsos
This calculation. stated in these
general terms, in forlimore striking
and Suggestive when you come to
examine details. Hhc Army, for in
stance, cost during the four yAaxs Of
Buchanan's administration; by the
official statement of the Treasury
Department, which I hold 10 my
hand, the large aggregate Of $50, 3O7,
575, 55, making an average Orwell
nigh twenty-five millions each year
in gold. And at that time the Army
cohsistedin all Of nineteen regiments;
go that each regiment cost considera-
bly, over million each year in gold.
The Army at present contains sixty
regiments, and yet the whole appro.
priation asked for by General Grant
amounts to little more than thirty
three millions, trifie more than halt
million per regiment each year in
paper. In other words, the Army
under the peace establishment as adj
ministered by General Grant. The
same scale of expenditure INDUCED
in under the administration of Bach-
anan would make our present Army
cost over seventy millions in gold or
q hundred millions inpaper; and until
the latter figure is exceeded the
Democratic partisans of Buchanan
can have no ground to charge that
Army expenses are extravagant.-.
When we look at the actual amount
spent for legitimate Army expenses,
We see good ground for the high CON-
plimont bestowed by President John
son when, a few months since, he
publicly proclaimed General Grants
udicious economy as the direct cause !