The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1875-04-16
Tic Vice-President al. the Boa
~ Ell.

4
hih In reply 10 your Inquiry touch
ling nay ehsfiYg vete ia fsvor Of III,
uVrn,y hill. have to sss that l was fol
military committee Oi the senate; tha
most of tic Legislation relating TO tb'
army during the war Wa framed !.
that committee, and tha. more thar
IS COO nominations we're before it. Tui,
brought me In contact with and CAV,
me senc knowledge OF the Officers auo
men, their feelings, sentiments and SER
vices. There entered the armies during
the first two and half years OF the wal
about l,2:0,0C0 men, who were to re.
lceivc ss compensation &l3 per month
and bounty or el0o. The pay aud
bosnty, when promised, were at gold
rates, when the currency was at par
Iand when paid was not worth more than
fifty cents on the dollar. Under the
orders Of the war department aud the
act Of 1864, increasing the pay, and the
act OF July Of the same year, giving a
bounty of Sl0O for one year, 800 for
two years. and esoO for three years,
500 90 men were called for by the pres
ident. Hundreds Of thousands entered
the .rmies and received the increased
bsGnties three times larger than the vet
Grams had received who had enlisted du-
ring the first three years. These tbous-
snds not only received at the rate Of
IS 3s4 per month. but they received
large local bounties, The veterans
w ho had borne the brunt and burden Of
the 6rst three years. had suffered from
the inex .1erience of their officers and
their own want OF knowledge, and had
fought many and great battles for the
country. felt when they saw these new
men enter the army with national boun
tics three times larger than their own.
that justice demanded that they should
be put on all equal footing with those
raw rccruits. At fhe close Of the war
they looked with confidence TO the gov
ernment TO right this seeming wrong so
far as the equalization of national boun-
ties could do IL. When the XXXIXth
congress assembled Mr.. Nibiack. demo-
cratic member from Indiana. offered a
resolution for the eqaalizatio, of boon
ties, aud on the 10Th Of March | intro
dueed bill providing .o- the ecus Ira
tion on the bases of s. 3s per moniL.
that being the rats at which the DO ~ es
had been paid daring the iast year Of
the war. The serste military con.mit-
tee M , q most lhorousl investigation.
nd on lie SAD of Mfv reported ia "a
vor OF the bill. Mr. ochencs. from tue
committee in the house, re port
~. sirailar bill. which pssSe., by vots
Of ,se To 22; iailirg 10 pass the set.atc,
il va, put b. the house on al srprcpri-l
tio1 I'LL. The senate Lot agreeing. IL |
:. sni 10 "a committee of conference. II
prepared an argument rsoNin.Eg that
oiGi,rs Who had served three years
should receive al additional bounty OF,
> 100. and place V 2" the hancs OF .hsl
confereac 20; uiii,rs. Ills wss agreed
10. end - wee = ven 10 ll.o-e 10 had
SCI sd Bo' less tnar Two years, AMI the
bin t,caL.e Law in July. 1866, provid-l
ing. il was thought. in the aggregate
pboui one-haif of what was asked for.
~ stiie presses insisted tli.. y would
take from 4itO.ccO,0o0 to x20aOUc, 100.
Mr. F-ench. second fuoi'or. put II at
IOo. .CNC.oc and Mr.. Broadhead at aI
sill. bighs. sutn he sci expired in
January last a. III, ena Of 81 ycl.r. srd
the amount required proved TO bc. In
stead Of hundreds Of millions, &t2 .5l7,-l
2O4 90.
In 1870. under the lead OF Mr.. Cobb.
the house adopted without division q
bill for the equalization OF bounties. Ii
was not acted upon by the senate mainly
for the reason that the provisions of the
act OF 1869 had not been iuily executed.
knowing that The soldiers, especially
The old veterans. demanded action aud
tho eoualization of bountiss, the national
in 1873 of the liberal re-
publicans ard the democrats resolved
that they would do nothing that would
detract from the full reward Of the sOl-
dicrs. ard the republicans adopted a
resolution in favor OF additional boun-
tics. especially to those who had made
sacrifces; and surely the veterans who
had entered the army and fought three
years for bounty OF ouly 500, did
make sacrifices. In the cong .ess chosen
upon these platforms. the house, by {
majority Of 1877. passel the bounty bill.
| gave my casting vote for the bill. and
with my record and after my expressed
views. how could ] have done other
wise came ont Of the war with these
four convictions buried into my brain
and heart, that this nation should do
jusiic. 10 the men who entered the war
in its early years without bounty, or
with onIy bouaty oi H1v0; that il
should keep faith a. any cos: with those
who had furnished the mesns to carry
on the war. and those who held the oh
LEGATIONS Of the government; that it
should give citizenship and equality OF
rights to the freedmen; snd that by
lreneraua and hcn, fcent !, gislation il