The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-08-11

river and lake commerce estimated at
fifteen hundred millions of dollars per
year. a river and labor improvement
bin of four millions Cess than one
third of one per cent. had passed; but
This had been usual under all admin
istrations. And Immigrant bills
which had passed the Senate ell failed
in the House except two-the supple
mental North Pacific, and one through
. country mountainous and mainly
unsettled, from Portland, Oregon, to
Astoria, at the mouth of the Colum-
bia river.
Let us return from this brief review
of the structures to which | have allu-
ded. to an equally abbreviated state
ment of what has been done BY the Re-
nublican administration and Congress,
for which it deserves we'll of the coun-
try.
l, Reconstruction. When Congress
convened last December, four OF the
insurrectionary States were still unre-
stored "to their practical relations to
the Government" When itadjourned
in July, they were all restored, ana
every star on our banner sympollzea
a State.
2. The 18th Amendment. Not only
was this irreversible decree of equal
rights aud self protection enshrined
ia our National Constitution, but Con-
gress enacted legislation, against the
bitterest opposition, to enforce the
18th, 14th and 18th Amendments
against all who would seek to nulllfy
or violate them.
8. The National ReViet0. The idel-
ity of the Administration In collect
ing the revenues is signally illustrated
by comparison whose figures are
more impressive and conclusive than
the most potential argument. Gen.
Grant in his first sixteen months OF
service (from March 4, 1869, to July
/, 1870, collected $32, 006. 735 more in
ternal revenue than was collected IN
the last sixteen months of Mr.. John
sons service, (from November 1, 1867,
to March 4, 1869, no taxes having
been increased during General Grants
term, and having the same country to
collect from and the same laws to col
lect under. During the same sixteen
months General Grants officers col
lected $40, 401, JOB of duties under the
tariff more shan Mr.. Johnson's OFF,
GERS collected during has closing six
teen months. Whenthis gain of FIFTY
ONE MILLIONS is cited. the answer is
sometimes given that the assessors
and collectors had to be confirmed by
a Republican Senate under j ohnson's
Administration. The reply to this is
obvious. Saying nothing of the OIL
GERS who changed their politics with
him, and who, being already IN office,
were beyond the power of the Senate,
that body can not nominate any one,
and often had to accept the best they
could get from him, and that, besides,
the inspectors, weighers, gaugers, etc.,
were not within their control at all.
4. The Debt. The few millions of
the national debt paid during the last
sixteen months of Mr.. j ohnson's term
viii be remem bered. and the contrast
between that exhibit and the $780,
O00,0 paid by President Grant dur
ing his first sixteen months rejoices
all who hold that the national debt,
as the cost of our national existence,
must be paid to the utmost farthing.
Not so rapidly, it may be hoped. In
the future, but that each year shall
see it's volume and its burdens mate
rally reduced.
5. RetrenchmeRt. In every depart
ment there have been retrenchments.
The clerical force at Washington has
been reduced by the thousand, every
year finding it smaller. The large
force of civilians in the employ of the
Oaartermaster's Bureau has been
steadily curtailed, devolViDg their
work, as far as possible, on soldiers.
The army has been ordered to be re-
duced, and the large surplus of officers
are to be mustered out. The grades
of general and Acknowledgement, Gre
ated by the war, are to cease when va
cancies occur in them. The major
generals are to be reduced TO three,
and the brigadiers to six, as vacancies
occur. And, after this year, four mil.
lions per annum will &c saved by the
various retrenchments of the Army
bill, without impairing its efficiency.
| Thus, with honest collections, the
destruction of the whisky rings (~s-
| lieving the honest tax payer from | AZ
| ing his own burdens and the burden
of the dishonest besides), with re-
trenchments in every branch, with the
appropriation bills for the future be-
| low the estimates, with the national
credit maintained, and the national
debt steadily diminishing, Republi-
cans have no cause to fear an appeal
against them TO the country.
6. Reduction IN Tariff and TdceS.
With all this healthy financial result,
the Republicans in Congress were
able to pass bill, for which the De-
mocracy refused to vote, reducing the
| burdens of internal and external tax
alton in the aggregate about EIGHTY
MILLIONS per year. In changing the
| duty on Bessemer steel rails from ad
Udlorent to specific, Chat is from per
cent. on value to a fixed amount), a
slight apparent increase has caused
them to be denounced. Without ar
| guing the point, for / have desired to
state facts rather than to argue them,
a word of explanation may not be
| amiss. Id UGlore771 duties give high
! duties when not needed. Specific du-
ties enable all, consumers as we'll as
| producers, to know precisely how
much duties are to be paid, prospect
i've of fluctuations In cost. When
| vention, were taxed 40 per cent. adj
was about 500 per ton. The duties
then amounted to over $50 per ton.
Increased production and competition
on both sides of the ocean brought
the price down to 800, $50, $50, and
finally to about $50 per ton. The last
Congress made the duty on them here
after specified as it is on tea, coffee,
sugar, etc., and fixed it at one and a
quarter cents per pound, or twenty
eight dollars per ton. This would be
less than twenty per cent. on their
price when first introduced into use !;
and would, if they rose to over sixty
dollars per ton, be less rate than
the fuctuating dd valOrens duty