The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1870-09-08

3 u & = te9aesl7I lsaFa5lsa 81 - :. $. 8
Names Of Defaa,sers Ds5aisasioas =
shsridas s6shd aSsie Shook .i oas eassls 81
alexander Spaulding g.,...-,,-f,t-r.,i 4S9 4S9
John II. Bryant. Observation-Disclosures. 4350Q9
w. =; fciagg ~ SSs se6 5ea
r. 3. Bonfoly --..-.-....--.-.t--.----. 536 goo
Loss by ten defaulters. .9ss its
Here is within a fraction of six
million dollars of taxes gobbled up.
by ten defaulters, not one of whom
has been prosecuted, or ordered to be
prosecuted. In all these three hum
dred and forty defalcations, civil suits
have only been ordered in thirty cases
and not one criminal prosecution! ed
i2i59 tAd ORDER NO. IS. - al
My friends, we did not meet here
as a matter of amusement, but for
sober and earnest consultation. /. I oI
have already seen that millions Of
dollars of the taxes paid by the peo-
| pie are stolen before they ever reach
the Treasury; and / am aboutato show
you how millions more are taken
from the Treasury in open violation
of the Constitution and the laws, 1f
The Constitution says: No mon-
ey shall be drawn from the Treasury
except in consequence of appropria-
lions made by law" That instrument
further says: s.The Congress shall
have power to provide for and MAIN
tain a Navy" The power to provide
for an army and navy is not vested in
the President because it would make
him Independent of Congress and. the
people. And, for the same reason, it
| is provided that "no money shall. be
drawn from the Treasury but in con-
sequence of appropriations; made by
| law" ~
But President Grant, and President
johnson before him, through their,
Secretaries of the Navy did provide
for and maintain the Navy lin viola
tion OF. law and in contempt of, the
| Constitution; and in further vio-
-lation of that instrument did arrogate
to themselves the power tomake laws
and did draw three million seven hun
dred thousand, dollars from the Treas
ury without any appropriation having
| been made by Congress. EARLY in
january last / learned that the execu-
tive branch of the government had in
creased the pay of the officers, of the
navy, without the knowledge or aau-
therity of Congress. l drew a reso.
luton which was adopted in the
House, calling upon the Secretary of
the Treasury for On the
! 25th of the same month Secretary
l. yal1 en1lf hh HI
, b(Executive Document 81 }, and which
you observe is brief Mr.. Auditor
Tabor says that on May %, 1866, the
Secretary Of the Navy issued Order
No. rs, and therein assumed, to in
crease the salaries of the officers of
the navy one-third. This document
contains the order. Auditor Tabor
says that under that order there was
drawn from the Treasury, and divided
among officers of the navy, from June
| /, 1866, totJanuary l, 1870, the sum of
So, ,763,98l. In this same document,
Mr.. Comptroller Broadhead says
The, order of the Secretary of the
Navy is the only authority for pay
iments beyond the respective salaries
provided bylaw" ssae9als ID i
|, You will observe, citizens, that this
abuse, which originated under john
son, was continued under Grant, and
in fact Mr.. Secretary Robson wrote
"a lengthy letter to Congress in which
he claimed he had the right to increase
the salaries of naval officers at his
pleasure.
1t cannot be necessary for me to say
to you, nv countrymen, that such an
uni eli, k d usurpation might become
dangerous to your liberties. IF, athis
will, the President, through his min
listers, can increase the salaries of
officers of theinavy and the army, and
without the authority sofldaw draw
money enough from the Treasury to
maintain theIl, what, assurance ihave
| you that some President will not exa
IIercise such unwafranted power to
make himself King?i9 4A3 ia bslfai
kg This act of usurpation on the part
Of the President not only set the Con-
stitntion and Congress at defiance,
but it was unjust and oppressive to
the people, whofwere already weighed
down by the burdens. of taxation.
The officers of the navy were already
| receiving high salaries. when Order
rs was issued. In 1860 the highest
salary of any naval officer was four
thousand five hundred ndollars, but
after 1861 the salaries of all naval Of
ficers were increased, and that of the
fhighest officer had been Increased to
ten and was made by the late Con-
gress1 twelve Thousand dollars, or
1 double tho salary of a Judge of the
Supreme Court of the, United States.
NUr did the wrong stop here. The
! salary of the highest officer, legal or
4 illegal, was not only increased three
1 fold, but new and aistocratic, grades
were introduced into the service, In
1861 the highest grade in the navy
was Captain. Then we had as many
fleets and as many vessels afloat as
now. To-day we have six fleets and
thirty Admiralsi Six fleets and sew
enty-eight Oommodores! FiYe,,Ad-
4 mfrals and thirteen Comnodores to a
4 fleet! while one of either grade is
sufficient. sbsiH saW roGsdm3
We have thirty-eight vessels, afioat,
1 with more than two Cpmmodores,
and yearly an Admiral to each vessel.
? And all this when we pay more taxes
than any people on earth. .zmga
.a, One of the most difficult duties the
Secretary of the Navy has to perform
is to find some pretended duty for his
4 legion of officers. Executive Docu-
1fment No. AZ, being a communication
from the Secretary Iof the, Navy, dated
February {, 1870 gives the names and
number of Naval officers on assigned
tduty at Washington. How many do
livou suppose i? d Ten Admiralsn and
nine Commodores, and in all more
than pne hundred officers. ], now turn
to page l35, of the Naval Register;
1870, and there we find that nine naval
officers are stationed at Mound City,
4 Lon the Ohio riVee.,d es5afGI 9h,E
al will only further remark that more
than two thousand naval officers are
drawing pay, while only about seven
hundred are doing naval duty.
q 1uiaa FRAUDULENF EsT1MATEs,
do As you are aware the head of each
department sends to Congress an ges-
innate of the necessary expenditures
for the ensuing year. These estimates
are sent to the Committee on Appfo-