, 1870-07-15
The NcSv Army Bfu-Wbo oppose II.
Efkrau fhe Hefc 1ifYt He1,aId

It is pretty fully understood that General
Sherman and the staff OF the army are oppos-
cd to the new Army bill at present before Con
g1ess.. Some idea Of the reasons for this may
be gained ky the public from the following
fncts: During the administration of Preai-
dent johnson, Congress deemed it advisable
til cuItA1 the powers Of the President in such
manner that al orders md instructions from
him to the my must pass through the hands
AID RECEIVE the approval Of the General Of The
ha1s aay % valid % eject ~ With 10 ths oosssa slue Or
In other words, the General Of the
Army is invested with almost abso-
lutc control Of the regular forces Of the coun-
tT. His order to the army is supreme, from
which there is no appesl in military law. The
passage and sPprovh Of the present bill.
viii remove this authority from the hands Of
the General and reinstate it upon its proper
head, the President. Again. the preeent bill
proposes to reduce the pay Of the General Of
the Army from 81 ,s21 per month TO 81, 900
per month as also to repeal all laws whereby
he is allowed communication for fuel and quar-
gevity s rsiosns eii Wi be be- Abolished, ] " Whereby I
he will incur . further decrease in Lis in
came, at the rate Of nine dollats per month
foE every additional tenn ct 6ve yeayB he may
have served his country in the capacity of IN
officer Of the arunv- These are the more po-
tent reasons whr General Sherman mAnifestH
80 much antpathy to tho present bill, and
The primary and only rcason the etaH has
for ita oppositiRn to thia bill is based upon the
loss Of revenue which viii accrue to every Off
Ger composing it If it is passed. Under exist
ing laws, every officer not serving in the field
wise, and who is not furnished, ssina kind. !"
mept expense, is allowed, Beyopd
his regular pay. go much Communication
money for fuel and quarters. to reimburae him
for his private expense in house rent. This.
OF course, varies with the grade Of the officer,
computed, it being, however, at uniform
rate for that portion Of the year between the
let Of May and the lst Of October, and ut a
uniform, yet higher rate. from the LET Of Oc-
tobeE to the LIST OF hfay. This is exclusive OF
and II addition 70 the regular pay Of the grade
Now, if the present bill becomes law, the
regular Pay Of all grades will not only be
reduced, but this system Of communication
Of fuel and quarters will be abolished, there
by causing a loss Of hundreds Of dollArs ann1t-
ally to each officer Of the staff on detached
service. There is large number Of this class
OF officers, OF necessity. on duty at Washing
ton, and as no public quarters arc furnished
& in Kind to them they are entitled to and all
draw communication therefor. Hence the oppo-
Ghon Of the Htaf-each member Of which
serving IN Washington feels hinaseH aggrieved,
and resolves himself into working committee
to button-ho1e and argue IN opposition to the
gress where the bin Is supposed to hang fire.
The following table will show the pay OF
each grade Of the staff per year under the old
law, including communication Of fuel and quar-
tets. and what it will be il VIC have the new law
as ut present fr7med- 1t will be readily OBJ
TINT "a &hn -