Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-01-27
RADICAL NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
DAWES, SPECIE.

RADICAL ENTRAVAGANCE--NR.
DAWES SPEECH.
We publish this morning an extract
from the recent speech of Nj. Dawes, of
Massachusetts,, in which he very thor
oughly exposes the extravaganza of the
Grant Administration. This is very
heavy blow to come from the hand OF
friend, and the President feels it severely.
He has broken his usual silence and has
taken to explanation. Forney is loading
the Chronicle with lugubrious effort al
refutation B. Butler is endeavoring
10 get the floor for the purpose of trying
his hand at special pleading in
defence Of the Administration. But Dawes,
backed by Greeley and other leading Rad
ical journalists and politicians, talks def
ance and VOWS that he viii stand by the
facts and figures. But Mr.. Dawes while
exposing the shortcomings and faithless-
ness to promises which characterize the
present Administration, attempts to curry
favor with his own party by misrepre-
senting the Administration of President
johnson. He says:
''The Administration of Andrew john
son surrendered to the allegation that it
had been profigate in expenditures. The
people tried it upon that charge and found
| it guilty and took from it the scepter OF
power.
Again he says:
SAndrew Johnson's estimate of carry
ing on the government, the people at the
polls declared TO be proiligate and IN
reasonable.
That there is not one word Of truth IN
these assertions of Mr.. Dawes is so well
known as to scarcely to require that they
should be denied. There is not fifteen
year old school boy in Mr.. Dawes Con-
gressional district who does not know
that the question of the expenditures of
| President JOhnson's Administration were
not in the canvass, who does not know
that the only issue which Radical misrep-
resentation would permit to be presented
to the Northern mind was whether the
rebellion was right or wrong.
| If Mr.. Dawes had been disposed to act
fairly, he would have told the country,
from the record, that President Johnson
besought Congress to reduce the expendi-
lures. Mr.. Dawes was a prominent
member of Congress then as now, and
instead of making the charges he does
against the johnson Administration, be
should have told the country tlat the
responsibility for extravagant expendi
turesduring that Administrator was at the
| Congressional end Of the Avenue, and
not as now at ''the other" or Presidential
end. By reference to the report;
and messages, it will be seen
that, for the fiscal year ending in 1867,
the President and Secretary of Wa
thought that the estimates should be, fol
the War Department, $33, 8l4, 46l; and
r186S, $25, 2O5, $685. Andyet, notwith
standing the fact that President johnson
and the Secretary Of War thought thai
the War Department should be conducted
during those years for those sums, Con
gress, by its extravsgant legislation ru1
the expenditures in 1867 up to $50, 224,
40; and in 1868 up to S123, 246, CAS-
For the fiscal year ending June 80, 1869
| President johnson thought the War De
partment should not expend over SIT,
12+,707, and yet Congress run VI
the expenditures to $9S, 900, 900. A.
stated by President Johnson in hi:
message of December, 1865, the
expenditures of the War Department alonei
for the three fiscal years preceding June
80, 1869, had, under the extravagant
legislation Of Congress, exceeded what he
believed to be necessary by sl75, 545, 343.
We regret exceedingly that we have not
space to recur further to the messages and
accompanying documents of the Presi-
dent, and thelegislation of Congress there
upon, relative to the expenditures of the
Government. President johnson strove
for a reduction of the expenditures,
but Radical Congress, in its
Iayishncss, cxceededhis estimates hundreds
Of millions. Let Mr.. Dawes discard his
partizan bias and put the blame where it
belongs, whether upon Congress or the
President; whether now or then; and bis
speech will have the desired effect. Let
him not attempt to eXculpate the last Con
| gress by false charges against the then
| Administration.