The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-03-24
GEN L0GANs MILITARY BILL.

the luxuries and 1 will dispense with the
necessaries of life;" but in sober, serious
earnest, some members of Congress say,
"Give us conclusions and we can dispense
with facts"-at least they act in conformity
with such views.
How safe the generality of retrenchment
and reform, the halloo of demagogues, that
sends in full cry the pack of fools The wise
are in favor of both; retrenchment some
times, reform always-seeing that in human
concerns there is always need Of it. But what
retrenchment and reform? All, there the
question narrows amazingly. We look askance,
for instance, upon retrenehment and reform
which seem to court the light of day, and
the foundation of which, nevertheless, con-
tains misstatement, suppression, and garbling
of the truth. We are not satisfied with con-
clusions founded upon airy nothing, we be-
lieve in the utility of the stubbornness of
facts; and therefore we cannot mutely rest
contented with the hue and cry of retrench-
ment and reform, when a question so mo-
mentous as the honor of the nation is at
stake.
The question is not the broad one whether
or not retrenchment and reform are neces-
sary, but whether the retrenchment and re-
form represented by General Logan's bill are
Just retrenchment and reform. If not, then
if the nation tends to dishonor itself, and
heeds no other cry than 'let us look to our
purse" we say, look to your homer for the
sake of your purse, for they are inseparably
connected If the military and naval service
be made to feel that, in time of war, the future
oh O1o
and, in time of peace, deprivation of that of
which they can be shorn, farewell both army
and navy Who would seek either service
or if there be some so base, what sort of O ser
vice would it then be? The tenure of re-
wards and honors in profession whose mem
bers brave death to secure them cannot in
the nature of things be less than during life.
If we try to make it otherwise, the profession
Of arms must, as an honorable one, cease to
exist, and become the trade of COndOttiere.
Where did General Logan, contrasting the
French army with ours, learn that its staff is
relatively and absolutely smaller than ours
He surely did not mean to quibble-our staff,
so-called, comprising officers of several de-
partments unknown to the organization of
that of the French. He could not have met
with the statement in official documents, for
it is not to be found there. Then he must
have got it by hearsay or by intuition. At
any rate, and for the reason that, although
the word staff does in this country cor
respond to the phrase etat-maj jor (staff),
in France the things are different, General
Logan's statement is incorrect. Again, Gene
raj Logan made the statement that six hun
o;v oIo ,b- -,
were mostly ieutenants and captains are
now all majors, observation-disclosures, colonels,
and brigadier-generals. Here occur two
errors of fact. In the first place, the officers
referred to are, according to the Armay Regis
ter, six hundred and nineteen in number, not
six hundred and sixty-three; and, in the
second place. three hundred and thirty-ive,
or more than half Of them, are, according
to the A7my Register, below the rank of
major.
We care comparatively little whether Gene
raj Sherman's salary is or is not too high for
his position and deserts, but it does nearly
concern all the nation that if it be reduced il
be not on false pretences. Yet General
Logan, speaking in advocacy of its reduction,
mentioned that the Chief Justice of the
United States receives only $6500 per an
mum, and failed to remind his hearers that
a bill pending before Congress gave the
Chief Justice $4,000 per annum, and full
pay to the Chief and Associate Justices when
ever they retire.
In the comparison by General Logan of
the military establishment of this country
with that of France and of Russia, he failed
to mention that the area of this country is
over fourteen times as great as that of France;
and that Russia, although she has an area
even greater than ours, is not obliged to gar
rison petty posts over vast extent of from
tier. AS for France, although possessing two
frontiers, she has but one of limited extent
to guard, and her stationing of troops is pre-
scribed purely by convenience of quartering.
General Logan did not mention the great
difference in the labor involved in supplying
an army stationed over large area, compared
with the labor of supplying one stationed
over small area. He did not mention, and,
being chairman of the Military Committee of
the House, he could hardly have been unaware
of the fact, that, SO heavy at present are, and
for long time have been the duties of the
Corps of Engineers, it is obliged to employ
ninety civil engineers.
Much more might be said of the spirit with
which this important subject has been con,
sidersd and presented to Congress and the
people. Mr.. Platt considerably moved tC