Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1868-08-06
Governor seymour,. Mis.tatement. in Re.

IN the House OF Representatives June
q, 1865, Mr. Blaine of Maine made the
/ following comments ON a nisstaternent
made by Gov. Seymour of New York il
his Cooper Institute speech:
''AIr. Speaker, l desire to call attention
to a statement made by Gov. Seymour
in his accent speech at the Cooper Insti.
tute in the City of New York. In ar
Ranging the Republican party for extrav-
agance he makes the following declama.
ton, as reported by the New York Warld
which l hold in my hand.
"Since the war closed in 1865 the Gov
ernment has spent for its expenses, in
addition to its payment on principal and
interest of public debt, more than one
thousand million dollars. Of this sum
there has been nearly eight hundred
millions spent Oh the Army and Navy,
and for military purposes. This nearly
one third of the national debt. This was
spent in time of peace.
The charge thus brought by Gov.
Seymour is that in the three years that
have transpired since the war closed our
army and navy have cost US $500, 900, 600,
or at the rate of nearly S270, ,000, 900 per
annum in time of profound peace. The
statement is cunningly made with the
evident purpose of misleading the public
mind, for while it is quite true that the
military and naval expenses since the
close of the war have been $500, 900, 900,
it is absolutely untrue that they have
been S270, ,000, 900 per annum. When the
war closed by the surrender of Lee on
the 9th of April; 1865, the armies of the
Union bore the names of nearly a mill
lion men on the rolls, and our navy, in
its vast and widely extended duty of
blockading 3, 0miles of coast, and nearly
500 vessels in service, with correspond
ing number of men. The first result
of Grants magnificent series of victories
and final triumph over the Rebellion was
to muster out these countless hosts which
had borne our standard with such glory
ON the land and on the sea. Months of
pay were due to more than halfthe army !;
the well earned closing bounty was due
to all, and the sailors, beside their back
pay, were to receive millions of prize
money honestly their own. The vast
and almost incalculable amount needed
to be provided for these purposes must be
had at once, and thanks to the patriot
ism and the wealth of our people it was
had at once. | have this morning visit
ed the Treasury Department, and by the
official statements which / hold in my
hand it appears that the disbursements
for the army and navy for the ia days fol-
lowing Grants closing victory amounted
to $625, 900, 900. Hence it will be seen
that more than three-fourths of the
$500, ,0O0,0 600 SO otriumphantly parraded by
Gov. Seymour as the War and Navy eX-
penses of the past years were really dis
bursed almost in one sum at the close of
hestilities as the necessary expenses of
mastering out our enormous military and
naval forces. To supply this vast sum
the current receipts of the Government
were consumed, and the people directly
advanced $3.50, 600 by subscribing
that amount to the ever-memOrable 7.30
loan. Do Gov. Seymour and his friends
find fault with the expenditure thus in
cnred in mastering out the Army? Do
they begrudge the soldiers their back
pay and bounty and the sailors their
hard earned wages and the prize money?
If not, let them cease to attack the Re
publicans for promptly discharging the
honorary debts of the Republic, for thus
gladly paying the men who risked their
lives to save the life of the nation. Six
hundred and twenty-five millions of
Gov. Seymour's $500, 100000 being thus
expended in mastering out the volun-
teers, his own figures show that the cur
rent and legitimate expenses of both
Army and Navy for the past three years
of peace have been bnt $l75, ,000, 600, or a
little more than S5s, 200, 900 per annnm
for both branches of the service. The
Governors figures thus reduced are not
far from the truth, and they show de-
gree of economy qnite unknown in Dem
ocratic times. Take the year 1858, for
example, in the administration of Mr..
Buchanan, and we find that the expen
ses of the Navy were Sl4 900, 900, and of
the Army nearly S26, 900, ,000-for the two
well nigh S40,0 ,000, ,00O-and that was in
gold, and with an Army and Navy of
less numbers than have been deemed
necessary for the security of the public
peace during the past three years. Taking
the difference in the amonnt of force and
the fact that the expenditures of Mr..
Buchanan's administration were in coin
and the present expenditure in paper, it
will beseen that the result shows strongly
in the economy of Army expenses as
administered by General Grant. The
Army to-day in fact costs much less per
regiment in paper than it cost per regi-
ment in gold under the last Democratic
Administration. So much for Governor
Seymour's figures. .. s.-