The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1870-02-10
Grant on Estimates.


The speeehiof Mr.. Dawes on the extrav-
agant estimates of the administration for |
the next fiscal year, has been so generally |
and earnestly commended by the Repub- |
lican press, that Congress will hardly pre-
sumo to vote the appropriations for which |
the heads of the different departments |
have asked. So far as the public interests |
are concerned, the assaults made on Mr.. |
Dawes by Butler and the Republican del |
egatiOn in the House from Pennsylvania |
have been productive ofmuch good. They
have provoked Mr.. Dawes to fuller
statement than he would otherwise have
made, and to such verifcatiOn OF his
facts as leaves no doubt of the general cor
rectness of his position.
The great point of interest in his speech
cs is that our expenditures are increasing,
and that if all the appropriations asked
for by the administration be made, the
increase for the next fiscal year will be
more than S42 100000. For these estimates
the President and Cabinet must be held
responsible. If Congress cuts them down
it will he against the wishes and protests
of Grant and his secretaries. Mr.. Dawes
says the Committee on Appropriations has
worked for weeks with the heads of the
and seeking to gain a reduction, and have
obtained no satisfaction. He had but two
courses before him. One was to permit
the enormous estimates to go unchallcng
Ell, and the heavily-burdcned taxpayers
to be subjected to still greater extOrtions
and plundcring; and another was to bring
the matter fully before the House, and eX
pose the ini, uity.
For this eI posture, and the manly stand
he has taken, he has incurred the ill-will
/ of Grant and the Cabinet. For this, he
has been beset by Butler and his follow
ers in the House, and by the scrvile crea-
/ ture Forney through the administration
newspaper organ in Washington. For
ney, speaking for Grant through the adj
mlnistratiOn newspaper organ, has de
n0unced Mr. Dawes as renegade Repub-
lican, and has accused him of deliberate
f,,lsehood, and attempted to read him out
of the party. Butler charged him with
making an assault on the administration,
and with dealing heavy blow at the par
ty. Says Butler, pathetically: owe are
smitten in the house of our friends"
The relations between Grant, and But
Ter, and Forney do not admit of a doubt
that the latter speak for Grant. In their
assaults upon Dawes, they derive their in
SEPARATIONS from the President lie directs
Forney to inveigh in the Ctronicle and
he tells Butler to bully Dawes in the
House.
The latter made an effort to apologize
for Grant in his latest speech, but the
! facts stated by him killed the attempt. lie
says, in substance, that he went with the
estimates to Grant, and pointed out TO him
the great increase in expenditure they
rrnt,ll involve. that 4. MT ,,rnfccSpI /.
desire to cut down expenses and intro
duce retrcnchment and economy. He
said he had looked into the estimates o
the War Department, and thought h,
knew what they ought to be, and tina
they were cut down To the lowest point
This is singlar statement for a Presi
dent of the United States to make on sucl
subject. 1t is in fact, confession o
incapacity to judge properly of the bust
ness of the other departments, and an &C
Acknowledgement that he had not examined
their estimates. He had examined those
Of the War Department, because he
thought he could judge intelligently con
+ corning them, and said they were as low
as they could be.
. His ingenious confession of ignorance o
matters with which it is his business to ID,
thoroughly acquainted, was, as the speech
|, of Mr.. Dawes proved, but little more dis
creditsble To him than his assumption o
knowledge concerning the estimates o
the only department which had come un.
der his supervision. Mr.. Dawes says Their,
are to-day five hundred officers off duty
more than are necessary-Supernume
ries. The pay Ofthese officers amounts IL
Sl,25O,0OO year Was Grant ignorant
of that fact Is one and a quarter million
dollars SO Insignificant sum that il no
worth saving to the taxpayers He say
the estimates ofthc War Department hav,
! been revised by him and cut down to5th
lowest point, ard Mr.. Dawes points out
, single item where more than "A million DOL
lars can be saved. Was it not the dut,
, OF the President To recommend that thos
! officers be mustered out, that the countr,
might be spared the expense oftheir main
tenance?
y great many of the supcrnumcrarie
| are doing duty as civilians, and on Mon
: day resolution was introduced in Con
gress requiring information as to whether
: i'll addition to their army pay, they re
o ceiyed pay as civil officers. Five hundret
i army officers doing duty as civilians cal
wield an amount of political inlluenc
/ which will tell heavily on the political for
: tunes of a political party, or the fortune
9 of an individual
= VIII the Republican newspapers which
+ have sustained Mr.. Dawes rebukc the atl
: mlnistratiOn for lis extravagant and col
: rupt estimates, and rebuke Grant for di
? recting Butler and Forney to assai
: Dawes as "A traitor to his party Chicog
Times, Ftb. >.