The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1875-03-17

Bounty Equalizatiou BIZ.
Our neighbor of the Independent we
think very ungenerously strikes back,
in regard to the approval we gave the
President for not signing this bill, by
making a personal attack on us,
without considering the reasons We
published as the foundation for com
mending the Executives course
Surely, the expenditure of 30 vast an
amount of meney-over two hundred
millions of dollars, and the bulk of it
going into the pockets Of those who
were either acting as home guards"
claim agents." or were, like ourself,
doing such DANGEROUS service as was
required to capture john Morgan, at
Indianapolis, or wherever he might he
found Cd within the State of Indiana
should be sufficient to exhonorate US
from the eensure of our contemporary,
who was not only cooked and primed"
throughout the war. and at this good
hour also, in the service of - his
bleeding country! 1t shows that we
are DISTINGUISHED. and do not desire
bounty" for our INEsTIMABLE SER
vices!
As terrifying our views regarding
the bill, and as Strengthening our
commentator of the wisdom of the
President in doing as he did, We
copy the following editorial remarks
from the Cincinnati Commercial, of
March 10th:
1.-THE prodigious Bounty Bill. which
would have taken out of the Treasury
an fndeterminate sum, ranging from
See 000, 600 to $500, O0O, 600, also failed
by fortunate technicality, to become
a laH The bill had passed the House
with a rush, as such demagogue meas
ures usually do. In fact, it had
passed that body already four times in
previous years. 1t was got through
the Senate With an amendmen au-
thorizing the issue of new bonds. or
National promises to pay, to meet the
drafts it should make upon the Treas
nry It was only got through BY the
casting vote of Vice President Wilson,
the division on the bill being thirty in
the affirmative against thirty Ia the
negative. That bill taking. perhaps,
a hundred millions out of the Treas
ury, should become law by the vote
of less than a quorum of the Senate,
representing less than half of the
States which make up the Union (thc
proportion voting for it being only
fifteen States out of thirty-seyen)
would have been monstrous. When,
therefore the bill got back from the
House, which had concurred in the
report of the conference committee
accepting the Senate amendments, the
question required on the Senate's
agreeing 10 the report of the confer
enee committee. it was wisely moved
by Senator Sprague, of Rhode Island,
to lay the report upon the table. This
was done by a vote Of thirty to twenty
four, thus distinctly expressing the
will of the Senate that the bill should
not be passed. and reversing. its for
mer determination. That this great
est Of all the grabs with which the
Treasury was menaced has failed, Is
certainly fortunate for the tax payers,
however mucl, it may be lamentcd 10y
the immense army of claim agents
who bore so efficient part in pushing
it through Congress.
In addition to the above, we find
the following short and explicit mes
sage, prepared by the President in
pencil, which he had drafted for
transmission to the House, where the
bill originated. House bill No = is
herewith returned without my ap
o.o,ol 10, tho roaaOus
|. That it appopriates from the
treasury a large sum of money at q
time when the revenue is insufficient
for current wants.
2. I do not believe that any con-
siderable portion of ex-soldiers who,
it is supposed, will be bene6ciaries of
this appropriation. are applicants for
it. but rather it would be measure
for the relief of claim agents and mid
die men who intervene, or would IN
teryene. TO collect or discount boun-
ties granted by it.
Ease