The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1874-09-04

- lt4 tllt- lNtlNt- Er-llstE stiilIo
priation bills for the current fiscal year
show a reduction. below those for the
last year. of sd. sG3. UO6. 96. This re-
suit is no sham. TO be made up bv deli
cheney appropriations hereafter There
Is reduction in the naval expenditures
OF -, 500. 900. arising in part from a re-
duction of the rank and file of the navy.
and reduction of the enlisted force of
the marine corps of twenty per cent.
| The reduction III army appropriations is
| S4,OO7, sos 81. made possible mainly by
d reduction of ). 900 III the enlisted men
of the army. The repeal of the salary
act saved over a million a year. Other
reductions We're made 10y reducing the
| force in various Departments Of the civil
service, and by cutting down contingent
| expenses.
NOvote or effort Of the Democratic
| members of Congress has Indicated Il
| purpose to secure greater economy
The work of reirenchment has marked
| the whole course of Republican Con
| gress since the close of the war. The
| expenditures now are a million less than
in 1865. The act of December 2I.lS12,
abolished, after June 30 1873. 22S asses
sors, 2i0 clerks. l, ,04O assistant assessors.
and saved an annual expenditure Of ST.
600 600. The expenditures are still
large, but about twO-thiriS of all grow
out OF n Democratic rebellion in which
no Republican engaged. The interest
on the national debt and pensions. in
all over $3.50, 600 900 a year. grew out of
the war Vast claims against the GOV
ernInent have grown out Of the war
The Republican party can safely be
trusted to look after these, SO that the
Government may be protected and JUS
tice done to cIuimauTS-the hast thing
some of them want.
The appropriations by private bills
through Congress, mostly for war claims.
amounted last year to S3. 3Ji ST. Il.
Senator Davis estimates tine war claims
mostly from the rebel States now pend
ing before Congress, the department auI
Commissioners of Claims at SIS. .JII,I2I.
Many of these are test claims which. il
allowed, viii bring millions more by
far the largest part OF ali are fraudulent
III character or amount, or both. The
President saw the danger of robbery
of the Treasury by these claims and in
December last recommended that le.si~-
latiOn be directed 10 tie defeat of un-
founded and unjust demands, " and said
that probably the largest saviu. TO the
National Treasury can De secured by
timely legislation ON these subjects OF
any of the economic measures that will
be proposed"
The House Of Representatives organ
lied Il Committee ON War Claims, and
the duty wIS devolved on me, as your
representative, of being its chairman. II
seemed to me that a report might BE-
made which would arrange most of their
claims into classes, and show what were
entitled TO consideration and what
should be rejected. upon principles Of
international -aw and tine usage Of ma
tionS. believe no effort has been made
before to thus classify claims and state
principles in this form. Tie report was
made, printed, and reprinted by the or
der of the House. reprinted in two of the
leading law Journals of the country, and
hope has done some good in protecting
the Treasury
The House passed bill Ia part in ac- |
cOrdancc with its recommendations to
protect the Government against fraud
ulent claims, and TO secure the payments
of Just ones, and it ROW awaits the Gc-
ton of the Senate.
The President advised that sciicInes
to repeal the statute which limits the
prosecution of claims to six years, in
the Court of Claims, should be ''receiy
ed with but little favor More than
-, 900, 900 i'll claims barred by the stat
ute, are now pending in Congress, after |
much of the evidence for the Govern |
ment has been lost, asking 10 90 into |
the Court of Claims. These should be |
carefully scanned. that 40 wrong be |
done to the Treasury. Let the people !
.-Nf q -.
on these, al we'll a. on political party |
questions. The Republican party can !
DE trusted To protect the Government |
from the enormous and fraudulent |
claim- which are coming up from the |
rebel States. ami yet do justice to- all. |
The accession OF the Southern Demo
cratic party to power will restore 10 IA
Vor and payment millions in amount.
Richard II. tiarrett, Il notorious rebel.
who harbored Booth after he had mur-
dered President Lincoln. asked Con
gress to pay him for his barn, burned in
the capture of the assassin. ] had the
privilege of reporting against his claim.
1t is not yet paid, and will not De by
Republican Congress William Cream
er, the proprietor Of that Castle Thun-
der, where so many Uui0H men suffer
ed imprisonment and death during the
rebellion, asked Congress to pay for Elie
use of this prison occupied for Union
military purposes after the capture Of
that city. 1t was my privilege To- re-
port, that by the usage Of nations, "a
Government does not pay di~loyal citl-
ZenS for the privilege of Suppr-~Siug "a
rebellion. nor for the buildings they oc
cupy or destroy while performing this
highest of all duties.
These are samples Of +le claims which
represented. Restore theSOuthern Dem
Ocracy 10 power and they would pay
them all regardless Of public law. or tine
ruin it would bring To the Treasury.
Congress was required to deal with
the question of currency
The Republican party gave 2" the
country the best currency It ever hat
No man can ever lose dollar by hDli-
ing greenbacks or national bank note
During all the years of Democratic rule
bank failures were common 49, Demo
cratic victories Then "a panic meant
that bank notes were wDrthic--. ami rri-
in and bankruptcy followed. During [
thirteen years OF Republican rule, We
had 80 panic until that of last Srptcm-
Der. though we have passed through the
most trying and critical periods in
finance that any nation ever witnessed.
But this was Il panic in which men
drew money from banks, and hOar.!-d |
il. because it wa- good IN all former
panics they tried to get rid of it. bacau--
it was bad. No general bankruptcy OF I
ruin followed thi, a. ia former panic
But the panic Of September last made
money scarce. and for "a time Interrupt Z
ed business. Democratic PI'ics could !
never be relieved By an incrr,s~- Of III"
ruined currency. But III th- panic Of /
September last. the Treasury relieved |
the stringency by an issue OF 80. ''j.-
OUp. Ii can not be- said that was dan
gerous imitation. when the fact j.. a. the
President says III his message, during
the last four years the currency has
been contracted to the extent Of So.
900, 900, ~ besides the practical cOutrac-
ton by an increaS= Of population and
business. ANY wild scheme Df imitation
would unsettle all values disturb the
relation Of debtor and creditor. increase
imports by unnaturally expanding pri-
ces to invite foreign goods. diminish
home products, throw labOr-r- and
skilled artisans out Of employment.
stimulate the export Of gold 10 pay for
imports, long postpone the resumption
of speci- payment, and prevent capital
from engaging in new enterprises be-
cause Of the uncertainty in all Things %
follow it.
But We need an adequate currrncy-
Congress acted wise and well. and pro
vided this by the act Of June -, lo1i,
without adding 70 the volume OF paper