The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1876-02-03
Congressional g
FORTY FOURTH CONGRESS.
FIRST SESSION.
WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. 81, '76.
HOUSE.
VEST POINT CADEMY-CUTTING DOWN |
EXPENSES

VEST POINT ACADEMY-CUTTINu DOWN
EXPENSES.
The House then went into Committee
of the Whole, Mr.. Hopkins in the Chair,
on the Military Academy Appropriation
bill.
Mr.. Banning addressed the committee.
He spoke of times being hard, money
being scarce and taxation heavy, and
said that il was the duty of Congress to
cut off every unnecessary expenditure
and to exercise the most rigid economy.
In doing this, much aid or assistance
might not be expected from the other
Republican, side of the House, because
his (Democratic) side had taken away
the luxury which the Republicans had
enjoyed at the public expense, and had
exposed to the country their eXtrava-
gance and wicked waste of public money.
He was not surprised that the Republi-
can members charged the reductions in
this bill to the ignorance of the commit
tee which reported it, because Republi-
can legislators arrogated to themselves
all wisdom, and regarded the people as
ignorant. Success had crazed the brains
and turned the heads of members of the
Republican party, until, in place of Lin
coin and Stanton and Chase, battling for
freedom and against fraud and corrup-
ton, the country was burdened with the
present extravagant Administration, with
its Whisky Ring, its Indian Ring, its
Credit Mobilier, its Pacific Mail Subsi-
dies and its Real Estate Pool. He trust
ed that no Democratic member would be
diverted from the path of duty by such
El,oI
Amnesty bill. Theirs was plain and
straightforward duty, easy to compre-
hend-the investigation and posure Of
all frauds and the reduction of the bur-
dens Of the people by cutting off every
unnecessary expenditure. Coming down |
to the details Of the bill, he argued in
justification of the reductions made in re-
gard to the pay of professors and cadets.
Mr.. Randall, Chairman of the Commit
tee on Appropriations, replied to the
criticisms made on the bill in yesterdays
debate, and disclaimed all desire to en-
barrass the efficiency of the West Point
Academy. If he thought the bill would
have such an effect, he would not advo-
cate it, He showed that under this bill
the pay and emoluments of senior pro-
fessor would be $4,000 year, and of
junior professor $4, 100, and he thought
that fair and liberal. These professors
had an advantage over professors at
other colleges, in the fact that in their
old age they had the privilege of being
retired on thrse-fOurths pay. The propo-
sition, stripped of all its difficulty was,
whether $4 900 year was sufficient for
senior professors, and $4,l00 for junior
professors. Passing to the question of
the pay of cadets, he showed that the
increase made in 1867 was only in the
shape of an allowance of an additional
ration, and he claimed that in point of
fact cadet had no interest in the mat
ter, inasmuch as his entry pay went to
his support, and none oft ever went into
his pocket, except that at the end of his4
years term ninety-six dollars, being the
saving of two dollars per month, was
given to him for the purchase of mill
tary suit. There was not the slightest
feeling on the part of the committee to
interfere in any particular with these
young men. 1t would be far from him
to embarrass in any way these young
gentlemen who hoped to be and proba- {
bly, would be of as much service to the
country as their predecessors in the
Academy. He wanted to repel the idea t
that there had been any purpose on the I
part of the committee to embarrass the
administration of the West Point Acade- {
my, which had sned so much honor on 1
the country. The committee had taken c
some trouble to find out the allowance to c
military cadets in France, Prussia and
England. At the Polytechnic School in
France, the pay ran up high, but the +
average pay Of military cadets in France >
was $3.50. In Prussia it was less, the
maximum not being much above $l2O, !
and running down in some schools to :
500. In England, so far as the commit !
tee was informed, the pay was less than
S400. !
Mr.. Hurlbut asked Mr.. Randall what
was the difference between the pay of \
common soldiers here and in those coun- I
tries. 7
Mr.. Randall replied that he had not :
looked into that. !
Mr. Hurlbut suggested that the pay of !
common soldiers abroad was about one :
fifth of the payment Of common soldiers
here.
Mr. MCDougall asked Mr.. Randall as
to the difference in living here and
abroad.
Mr.. Randall admitted that it was much +
higher, but denied that the disparity WAS Ii
to the disparity in pay. f
Mr.. White avOwed himself as not only
in favor of reduction of the pay of ca +
dets, but as also in faver of a reduction e
Oftheir number from 80 to 210, by which b
$1,000 year would be saved. He would Il
also cut down the strength of the army ii
and would reduce the number of mem Il
Oers Of Congress to 200, believing that 81
hat number could do the business much a
more satisfactorily than 300 could. D
Mr. Holman, a member of the commit
ee, admitted tn 1t a reduction of the pay C.
)f cadets seemed rather ungracious, and b
therefore, he was anxious that the real b
acts should appear, which showed that
instead of this being reduction, it was Of
n fact large increase over what the ca f
lets had received in times correspond tu
ng in point of expensiveness with the &C
present day. From 1920 to l845, the al Ii
owance OF cadets had been only sixteen b,
lollars mouth; from 1916 to 1857, thir- p
Y dollars a month; from 1857 to 1864, hi
7hich covered period of great expen- d
lveness, $500 a year. The proposition oil
ow was simply to go back to the pay of &c,
nat period, except that it was increased 81
y forty dollars month, and he had no al
oubt whatever that the allowance of Sc
$40 a year would be found ample. Com
lg down to the pay ofprofessors, he ar
ued that the provisions of the bill in re- tel
Dect to them were extremely liberal. th
n conclusion, he said that this was the it,