The daily gazette., 1876-02-28
RETRENCHMENTl
SENATOR SALISBURY ON THE
WEST POINT BILL
SiO,OOO,00O Absirpcted from the Peo
pioor DE- aware IN Is years.
THE REAL 1sSCF economy AND
The REJECTION OF ExPEN-
DITCREs.
TBE DEMOCRATS FOR RE-.RENCHMEST
THE REPUBLICANS OPPOSED To TT.
From the Congressional Record. Feb. 90.

From the Congres sslonal Record. Feb. 90.
MR.. SALISBURY. The preposi-
tio1 Of the House OF Represent tatlves is
to pay the professors, nine in number,
four of them $500 each and five of
them So, ,0e9 each. The Appropriation
Committee of the Senate have seen
proper to propose an amendment to |
pay, in addition to the pay provided |
by the House, these nine prssessors |
nearly $500 apiece. That is, four of |
these professors, if the amendment
prevails, won d have in cash payment
$4,000 and five of them would have
$500. That is the proposition now
before the Senate. The question is,
shall we act upon the suggestion of the
House or act upon that proposed by
the committee? 1t is simply qustion
of economy that is presented, but
learned Senators on the other side in
this debate have seen proper to seek
to change reissue. The Senator from
New Jersey, who is an able lawyer, as
well as the Senator from Illinois, also
a distinguished lawyer, seeks to change
the issue presented by the bill and the
amendment to the question as to the
competency of an Appropriation Com
mittee to change the law fixing their
compensation. That is the issue which
they desire to be presented in this case.
1t is fsreign to the real issue; but it l
saw proper to Join issue with the SEN
ater from New Jersey and the Senator
from Illinois as to the competency of
an Appropriation Committee 70 vary
the compensations which have been
provided by law l need not cite many
instances TO establish the right of the
committee SO to do. Do we not know
that the compensation of men in the
civivil service has been repeatedly
)changed upon an appropriation bill :?
1t has only been a few years since yeu
lraised the salary of the President of
the United States from $25, GOO 10 $780,
coo upon an appropriation bill; and it
has only been few years since you
raised the salaries of the justices of the
supreme Court upon an appropriation
bill, and mauy ether instances might
be given In which the compensation of
Government officers and employees has
been changed on appropriation bil'g.
But | do net mean to be diverted
from the real issue presented by this
bill and by the amendment. say
again the issue presented is one Of
economy, of reduction of expenditures.
That is the issue, acd the people of
this country will understand it. On
this side of the Chamber we say that
the expenses of this Govecnment have
been toe large, and we propose 10 cut
them down. Gentlemen upon be
other side take issue upon that, but
seek to divert us from the real issue by
raising false issue in this discuss on.
Is it not time that the expenses of the
| Government were reduced? What is
the condition of your country today?
With country possessed of the nat
ural elements of wealth. with fertile
soil, with climate congenial to health,
with the very bowels OF the earth teen
ing with mineral wealth, what is the
condition of the country ts.day. The
business Of the csMntry PROSTATE, the
industries of the country are languisb-
ing, the people of the country are be-
ing oppressed by onerous taxation !;
and when we hear their appeal for re-
lief and seek to reduce the expenses of
the Government we are met by gem
tlemen on the other side of this Cham
Der who deny that there is any extrav-
agance and thwart the efforts that are
made for the relief of the people.
Let it go out before the country ; let it
be understood, as 1t will be understood,
that on this side of the Chamber rs well
as in the other Hous- OF Congress there
is disposition to grant relief to the op-
pressed Industries OF this country, to re-
lieve the people from taxation, but that
we are met by opi vsition stern and de-
| tar al h,lf h,. nDnnlp Of this pnnnfrv y
shall still languish under opp essive tax
alton, and that t he Treasury of this COT n
try shall be depleted to pay high salaries
10 professors in academies. l want this
issue presented correctly before the peo-
lple. We are in earnest. l would do no
injustice to these professors, but my dis
tinguished friend from Kentucky has de-
monstrated as clear as a sunbeam that
they are better paid to-day than profess
sors in ordinary Institutions in this land.
Yet with these facts staring us in the
face, seeing as we do that these men are
being paid far beyond the pay that is ac-
corded to gentlemen in the same line of
business, paid better than professors in
most OF the colleges OF this country, we
propose still to keep up an extravagant
military establishment and oppose a re-
duction of the salaries of the professors,
and propose to give them large COM
pensation.
Sir, go for economy, not only in this
particular but in everything, until the
oppres sed people of this country are re-
ived from the onerous burden of taxa
ION which has too long oppressed them,
md which has reduced many of them to
0 solute bankruptcy. l hope the Sena e
xlll not be Indifferent to the appt ais
tuat are constantly made. No longer
than last evening | received letterfrom
the city of Boston, in which the writer,
whom L do not know, detailed to mo the
wretched condition of many persons in
that city. H. told me that there were at
least eight il ndred people in that city
who on that night, beci fuse they were,
out of employ ment, would be compelled
: to sleep upon naked boards, with no
Of her clothing than hat which they
wore in the daytime. We know that in
every section OF the country there is
great distress. live in an agricultural
immunity, perhaps better of than
many sections of the country, but pick