Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1877-08-03

Our Standing Army.
The urgent calls upon the Federal Gov
eminent during the past week by the gov
ernors Of three States for United States
troops TO assist the state authorities in the
preservation of order has revived public
interest in the question of the size Of our
national army. They have put some adji-
tional difficulties in the way OF the project
of the Democrats in the last House, to which
the new Administration has virtually com
mlted itself, of large reduction of the
army during the present year. The strength
of the army at the beginning of the present
year was nominally about twenty -seven
thousand FIVE hundred men, but its real
strength was probably not much above
twenty-five thousand. The Democrats in
the last House of Representatives made the
reduction of the army party issue and in
sisted on fixing the number of men 10 the
army at II, 500. They furthermore proposed
to limit the executive power TO interfere in
Southern politics, their object being to force
the withdrawal of the troops from the sup
port of Packard in New Orleans and Cham
berlain in Columbia. The Republicans
were willing to concede reduction of the
concede the Limitation of the executive
power. Had the Democrats felt sure that
HAYES would have Withdrawn the troops
they would not have insisted on their point.
The consequence would have been that the
army bill would have been passed and no
extra session of the Forty fillh Congress
would have been required. The President,
aller the adjournment of the Senate, consid.
cred with his Cabinet for long time at
what date the extra session of Congress
should be called, and finally, not without
some doubts as to the strict constitutional
ty of such q course, postponed the session
until the middle of October. This post.
ponement left the Government without any
money to pay the army during the first
quarter of the present fiscal year. A good
many soldiers terms of enlistment would
naturally expire during this quarter, and
the Government was left without means
with which to pay them off. 70 meet this
diificulty the War Department allowed
those soldiers who did not wish to re-enlist
to retire in advance of the expiration of
their terms of enlistment, and at the same
time all recruiting was stopped. The en-
listment of at least 1900 men each quarter
is required TO keep the army at a maximum
Recruiting was stopped early in May. The
$500 cavalrymen added to the army for tenn.
porary service by the last Congress at its
first session have been dropped, and the
discharges of the regular force and stoppage
| oil recruiting nave DTOuBut Tue dIHly uOWH
| to about %, 600 men, or 1000 less than the
| legal maximum of the army. Had Con-
| gress assembled in June the army would
| have been cut down to 10000 men by this
| time unless the disturbances on tho Mexi-
| can border, which made many oil the South
| ern Democrats vote a temporary increase
of the army two years ago, and which have
been lately renewed, should have defeated
the efforts of the economists in Congress.
1t is the opinion of the best Informed men
| who are without prejudice on the subject,
that an army of 10000 men Is ample for
guarding the frontier against Mexicans and
| Indians, and for garrisoning our forts. 1t
| is the settled policy of the Administration
| 10 withdraw the United States troops as
| much as possible from all connection with
civil affairs in the various States, and leave
| to it simply the care of national property
| and national interests. This policy has been
sanctioned by the people, and the reduction
of the army to a permanent footing of 20, 00O
men would naturally follow from it, In
the light of these facts it cannot lie said that
| the army has been unreasonably reduced
| by President Hayes. He has dropped 200O
men, but the army is still 5000 larger than
the permanent force to which the Republi-
cans were ready to let it be reduced in the
last Congress. We cannot undertake &c
maintain a Federal army to be used as a
| police force in the thick settled States. A
| hundred thousand men would be INSULT
cent to meet an exigency such as has oc-
Cured during the past week, provided il
were settled that it is the business of the
Federal Government to step in whenever
the authorities of single city or several
cities lose control of the lawless element o
the population. The preservation of the
peace in this country is the business of the
local police and not the Federal Govern
ment. The army must necessarily remain
for the most part on the border, as we hav,
shown. Surprising the Government were
to keep garrison of 5000 or 1000 men a
the Capital TO meet an emergency such a.
has occurred during the past week, /
would not have enabled the Federal au
thorities to do much more than it has done
which is to furnish few troops at differen
points to aid the State authorities in pre-
serving the peace. That the Administra
ton. under the conservative influence o
Mr. Evarts aud General Devens, has con
fined the Federal aid to this channel of &C
tivity, and has refused 10 step in and sus
pend the writ of habeas corpus and call on
the militia, as many rash persons have ad
vised, is a matter for sincere congratula
tion.-BoSton Herald.