The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-02-12
SAM COX ON The MOTH.
he Exposes A Fifty-Thous-
and Dollar Swindle.
And Deliver an Essay on The
Moth,
From an chronological point
Of View;
DESCRIBING ALSO THE RELIC
IoUS MOTH.
And The Political Moth.
Winding up With a Capital Eurlesque
ofthe Absurd Financial Speeches
Made in Congress.
And The Political Moth.
The clerk read as follows

MADE IN congress.
The clerk read as follows:
For preservation OF clothing and equipage from
moth and mildew, heretofore adopted and now in
use, $4,000.
Mr.. Wheeler-I move to strike out
the words heretofore adopted and
now" That process, Mr. Chairman, is not
applied simply to the preservation of old
clothing, although large amount has been
used in that direction, but is also applied
to the preservation of new clothing, and to
the preservation of tents. The process has
been thoroughly tested by board COM
posed Of General Hardie, General ingalls,.
and General Lee of the Quartermaster-
Generals Department. 1t seems to be
most efficient process
Mr. Cox--I move to strike out Of the
bill $4,000" and insert $4,000" in
line 120.
1t is curious that 50 much money should
be expended for preserving from moths
the cassimers, kerseys, cottons, tents, and
clothing on hand.
This House was hardly prepared for the
statement of the gentleman from Now
York, Mr.. Wheeler, that there were ST.
100000 OF uniforms now on hand.
Mr.. Wheeler-Not of uniforms, but OF
clothing, blankets, tents NC, growing out
of the stock accumulated during the war.
Mr.. Cox-I know, sir, that every day
these articles are wasting. Hence these
appropriations The money is to be pre-
sentative of the clothes and tents.
/ have report before me from Quarter
master General Meigs-perhaps the best
officer in our service. 1t shows that we
are spending hundreds of thousands to
Gubt rnntha Thau on fhan dom
tic or foreign enemies,
Before | come to that may | refer tt
the report of Quartermaster Bingham, o.
December 80, 1872? This report show;
that then we had 1928, ABS, S2l.27 in wooler
clothing and tents-mostly the former
This did not then include some forty two
thousand blankets, worth $l2S.000. No
did this include coats, jackets, trousers,
flannel sacks, blankets, goods made up anC
not made up. These items run into tht
millions, and the moths run into them
Laughter.
Here are $S,00O,O0 worth of coats, jack
cts, and trousers. Nearly eight hundred
thousand of these articles Of apparel for al
army of thirty thousand. Our appropria
ton is dollar and sixty six and two-third
cents per soldier-not per moth. Omittin
the wooden blankets and mounted grea
coats" for the cavalry suppose,l ant
the ''sky-b kerseys," there is splen
did objective point for the army of moths
which no great general of that corps shout
omit to attack if feeling we'll Did tn
moths fail? If they did, what need Of thi
appropriation
In this list we have at least one millio
and a quarter yards of flannel not mad
up. We have millions of dollars of TIL
peculiar wooden property not yet made u
into uniforms.
1t is subject to the attack of the moth,
large part of this is still on hand, either
uniform or otherwise The gentleman csI
fesses to seven millions. Now, according
the report Of the Quartermaster-Gene
just referred to, there were $350,000 az
propriated in a couple of years last past fl
a peculiar kind of process, which is sal
to prevent moths getting into this cloth an
clothing The QuartermasterGeneral
this report asks this Congress this year fl
100000. j copy his statement.
The expenditures on account of the moth al
mildew proof process of George A. Cowles Il c
during the fiscal year, have been $350,C)O. This i
cludes $2C0,C00 appropriated for the current hsc
year, but made available for expenditure durir
the last fiscal year To prepare such articles
wooden and Gotten fabrics on hand have not Y
been submitted to the process, an additional sum
$4,000 has been asked in the.estimate for the cor
Mr.. Wheeler-And we give them ha
oft,
Mr.. Cox-Why do you reduce I? Yo
give them $4,000. / know that. / sti
propose to reduce it. / do not understan
whether we can by law sell out all this clot
and clothing at once. l hope so.
Mr.. Wheeler rose,
Mr.. Cox-The gentleman knows l ha;
only five minutes and he must not int
rupt me.
Mr.. Wheeler will not trench on IL
time of the gentleman.
Mr. Cox-YOu can get the floor at al
time. / would prefer, rather than be fgh
ing moths at such an immense expense,
give these uniforms away. Observe tho
eminent colored patriots in the gallery
They sit with us so regularly Gre
laughter. They toll not. laughter
neither do they spin They are the iii
Of the valley Yet Solomon in all h
glory would not be arrayed like them
they we're clothed with these sky blu,
uniforms Renewed laughter Tn
sit yoDder, uniformity, day after day al
why not 10 uniform? Let them appear
the gallery properly arrayed in the colo
Of the Republic-heayenly blue Laug
ter.
Why, Mr.. Chairman, any man who do
business, instead of paying at the rate
three or four hundred thousand dollars
two or three years to prevent moths fro
getting into clothing would sell the who
concern out. Moths are the evidence
laziness and negligence. But am gro
ing personal. 1t takes more to keep o
the moths than the clothing and cloths a
worth according to our systems of inant
1t is very curious, that / find so mu
'motheaten clothing" sold. Attic depC
Of Jacksonville and Philadelphia alor
according to the quartermaster' repo
there were sold as follows.
Year. Jacksonville Philadelphia Total
1869 ...... $145,4TS II 1871 g95 ~ $at1 ara
1870 ...... 1,525 % 1911 O4O 4si 2S2 565
1871 ...... 6l,02i 20 1874 1868 IL 2a5 aso