New-York tribune., 1875-02-24

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penditures and clamoring for retrenchment
and reform. Secretary Robson rose to the
hight of the occasion and offered employment
to hundreds of voters in the Navy Yards 10
Gated in the several States where elections were
pending. We are aware that the thought'ess
and flippant will break in at this point WIN
some offensive and perhaps sarcastic remark
about the absurdity Of initiating measures Oh
retrenchment with On increase OK expenses
But hold. The Secretary was not born yester-
day. lie always begins so. And in this case
for this reason: He knew, as everybody else
knew who had taken the trouble to read the
resolutions Of Administration Conventions,
and to consider them independently Of the acts
of the party. that in order to insure rctrench-
ment and economy, it was necessary 10
have an Administration majority in the
next Congress. Obviously enough, then, far
reaching policy of retrenchment involved the
election of a majority of Administration mem-
bers. 1t was in fact the only way to retrench-
ment. Remote, perhaps, but in the end as
certain as death or taxes. This was the
Secretary's invention. He filled the Navy
Yards to save Congress, and with Congress the
Administration policy Of reform. 1t may be
What of it7 1t was no less great, no less
sagacious. Neither failure nor success could
touch its merits as q plan. Moreover. 1t paved
the way for still more brilliant stroke of
genius. 1t gave the Secretary an opportunity
to answer the clamors of the press and the
pOpulace for retrenchment in q manner which
they could not fail to understand. The week
after election the men were all discharged.
Could tanything be more simple and salts
factoryP
The latest proposal of Secretary Robson in
the line of retrenchment is embodied in an
official communication to the Chairman of the
Senate Naval Committee. He proposes to try
upon one of our iron-clads-he suggests the
Puritan--a system of mounting and protecting
counterpoise guns, known as the "Ridgway
Battery" 1t will only cost trihe of
s5OO,OOo, and he says il will add very largely
to the efficiency of our naval force, and will
be an act of wise craftsmanship. This, like
other suggestions from the same source in the
direction of an enlightened economy, will be
liable to misapprehensiOn and msconstruction.
Some people no doubt will imagine an incon-
sistency between it and the professions of
economy on the part of the Administration
But it must be remembered that the
Administration has suffered defeat in
several Navy-Yard districts, and it is
the dictate of economy as well as
of wise craftsmanship to increase the effici-
"ency of the naval force" on that account
Nor is it any answer to this request that the
present Administration has so effectually es-
tablished the principle of arbitration, and 30
perfectly developed the Quaker policy in the
treatment Of the Indians-in short, has so
carried out in all directions the Presidents
initial maxim, "Let us have peace" that
there is no more need of bursting guns and
experimenting in ornaments. Argument like
that is trivial and shallow. AS well say that
divinity student struggling with debt and
supported by the bcnefactions of the pious,
should refuse to purchase boxing gloves and
employ an instructor in the manly art of self
defense merely because it would run him fur
ther in debt without materially assisting his
preparation for the ministry of the gospel of
peace. Now, no right-minded person would
say that
And here is Secretary Robeson. Retrencher
of the acknowledgements a mere trife of
S5OOOOO to try the Ridgway Battery" with.
Poh Let him have it. 1t will never be
missed out of the $4O.OOO,OOO we are going to
add to the taxes.