Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1870-02-16
CLEARFIELD Pa WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY lG 1870

cnuSettS, as he gives hiu tHiS unnefiteU
thrust, faithful are the wounds of a friend. +"
The Postmaster General sthe next victim
of these faithful wounds. What has he
done2 He has recomn ended the abolition
of the franking privilege. In this he repre-
sents the wishes of the people. One of the
great journals OF the country has been advo-
eating it for many years, making It almost a
speciality. 1t is an old abuse The public
interest. as well as the people, demand a re
form. Mr.. Creswell has the courage to un
dertake it, Doe. the gentleman take an
open issue with him upon this subject? |
do not so understand him. But he complains
that the amount to be saved to the Treasury
has been overstated The saving will not
be S., ,OOO, 600. as claimed by the Postmaster
General Well, suppose it is not, suppose
it is only 81 600. 600, is not that somethirg?
Is not that worth saving? Should this off
Ger be held up as u subject of adimadversion
and ridicu,e in a speech claiming to aIvo
cate economy, for trying to save to the cnun-
try that small sum, even ii ne was mistaken
in his belief that it would be five times a.
much 2 Such criticism is not becoming to an
earnest advocate of the proposed reform.
These are wounds indeed, but not the
faithful wounds of friend" They sug
gest rather the balance OF the text. They
would have been more appropriate than the
part recited 1t is not the cheer of a CD la
borer in good cause.
But my friend does not content himself
with only two victims ot faithful wounds,
While the glow is on him he calls the
whole Administration to account. Last
year President johnson made estimates of
the amounts which he thought would be sui
ficiept for his successor. General Grant
They were his last will and testament
Wasteful as his own Administration had
been, he determined to email a rigid econo
my upon his successor. The gentleman has
been adding upthese estimates. IL. makes
them amount to 1903. 900. 900. Bat he has
made a mistake He has left out sl7. 800.
600 of the estimates for the Post Office De-
partment With this omitted item inclId
ed. the sum is $500 800, 600. Dir. JnhnSOn
spent a good deal more than this himself
but he thought this sum would do for Gen
eral Grant
Very we'll, sir: General Grant has not
only got along with this sum but good deal
less and with reduced rate of taxation has
already paid nearly eighty one million dol
lars of the public debt. Brt the gentleman
further says that General Grant now asks
for more than Mr.. johnson thought he
should have. He saws the estimates for this
year amount to 1881 900 0Jo. Here Is an
other error. The estimates Tor this year are
a tri1e over three hundred and nj eteen mil
lion dollars. The Increased sum Is made by
footing the estimate for the Post Otflce De
partment Sll 100000 more than 1t really
is. When this correction is made 1t appears
that the whole estimates for this year are
considerably smaller than they were last
But this ia not ALL About six million dol
lars of the estimates Tor this year go to pay
interest due the sinking fund, which interes
is used to purchase more bonds for the same
fund. This is 40 part of the current e4pens
e.. Ii should be deducted from the esti
mates Ii will thus be seen that the John
son estimates exceed those of General Gram
by seven or eight million dollars. The gen
tleman from Massachusetts had it $23. .000,
900 the other way.
Mr.. Speaker, two things have been alleg
ed in this debate: first, that this Dill lnvclv
ed large expenditure of money and, sec
ond, that the general estimates OF this yea
are larger than they " ere last. L have sh0wi
that both allegations are unfounded IN fact
The sale of the old ground will put mor'
money in the Treasury than the remova! o
the old machinery can possibly take out
The show of hostility to the Administration
is only assumed to mislead the real Hopposl
| ton to cast a solid vote ag INST the bill
An Administration with a diminishing deb
and diminishing taxation cannot be success
fully charged with prodigality.
The old rivalry of location disguised as ;
| question of economy, and charging extrav
agance upon the Administration, is at thu
bottom of this fight With soue of the op
ponents of this measure the love of economy
is altogether a new passion. Their presen
| speeches condemn their former votes; an'
if this bill, through these diSgnises. shall b'
defeated as quite likely it may be, thei
subsequent votes, no doubt, will fall undo
the same condemnation. As the old anec
dote has it, the pigeons will be found in th'
letter, but none in the basket.