The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1870-09-07
ORDER NO. -.

My friends, we did not meet here as a
matter OF amusement but for sober and
earnest consultation You have al,
ready seen that millions OF dollars OF
the taxes paddy =, the people are stolen
before they ever reach the Treasury ;
and am about TO show you how mil
lions more are taken from the Treasury
in open violation of the Constitution
ard the laws. s"
The Constitution says: mo money
shall be drawn from the Treasury ex-
cept in consequence OF appropriations
made by law" The instrument further
says: THE Congress shall have power
to provide for and maintain a navy"
The power to provide for an army and
navy is not vested in the President be.
cause it would make him independent
of Congress and the people And, for
the same reason, it is provided that mo
money shall be drawn from the Treas
ury but in consequence Of appropria
tons made by law"
But President Grant and President
Johnson .efore him, through their
Secretaries OF the Navy, did provide lor
and maintain the navy in violation OF
law and in contempt of the Constitu,
ton and in further violation of that in.
strumspt did sarTogate to themselves
. the power to make laws, and did draw
three million, seven hundred thousand
dollars from the Treasury without any
appropriation having been made by
Congress. Early i'm January last
learned that tine executive branch OF
the Government had increased the pay
of the officers of the navy, without the
knowledge or authority OF Congress. ]
drew resolution which was adopted
by the House, calling upon the Score
tary Of the Treasury for information
On the 10th of the same month, Score
tary Boutwell, sent the House his answer
Executive Document 81, } and which
you observer is brief. Mr.. Auditor
Tabor saysthat on MAY %, 1865, the
Secretary of the Navy issued Order No
-, and therein assumed to increase 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 O
the navy, from June |, 1866, to Janu
airy |, 1870; the sum of $3,763,6SI. IL
this same document, Mr.. Comptrollel
Broadhead saws: "The order of tn,
Secretary of the Navy is the only au
thority for payments beyond the re
speetive salaries provided for by law.
You will observe, citizens, that thi
abuse, which originated under Johnson
was continued under Grant, and, in fact
Mr.. Secretary Robson wrote a length,
letter to Congress in which he claimet
he had the right TO increase the salarie
of naval oficers.at his pleasure &
1t cannot be necessary forme to sa,
to you, my couptrymen, that such al
unrehuked usHrpation might Abecom
dangerous to your liberties. If at hi
will. the President, through his minis
tiers, can il crease the salaries Of officer
of the navy and of the army, and with
out the authority of law, draw none
enough from the Treasury to maintain
them, what assurance have you tina
some President will not exercise sucl
unwarrauted power to make himsel
king2
This act Of usurpation on the part
the President not only set the Constitu
ton and Congress at defiance, but
was unjust and oppressive to the people
vino were already weighed down by tn
burdens of taxation. The officers Q
the navy were already receiving higI
salaries when Order No. 70 was issueC
| In 1850 the highest salary of any navs
officer was four thousand five hundre
dollars, but after 1851 the salaries {
all naval officers were increased, an
that of the highest officer had been il
Ecreased to ten, and was made by tn
late Congress twelve Thousand dollar,
or double the salary of a Judge of tn
Supreme Court of the United State
Nor did the wrong stop here. The sa
ary of the highest officer, legal or ill
gal, was not only increased threefol
but new and ,aristocratic grades were i
Z troduced into the service In 1861 Il
Il Al 49,