The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-11-15

recruiting i. limited only b, the FOREGOING sections auiiy
section Ina Whit rru,Ic, tnt rr army .hau moi at
any one TIM" contain m.i uNnrirN thousand enlisted
mon 'ef-f ~ nfe''..,s i..r r'oi "'r ~ d. 'stV
J.iy -. 1S0'
If. therefore. any statute of the United
states uuthori2o- an army Of iivcl numbers,
or of twcnty-fvc thousand enlisted men. IT
Is the act of July 2l 1876, referred to 10y Mr..
MtCHAl.Y. who seek. t. convey the impress
sion that this was special law enacted 90
pre-. cribc 81, maximum force Of the army
ON q permanent footing. Whom we turn to
the statutes themselves. all doubt di.ap-
rc,r-. and the facts stand out wholly differ
cni from villa, they have boon represented
TO be-. What j. this law. upon which the
committee and Nh McCHARY rely So strong
iy; 1t is nothing moro than an appropria-
tion act. with the following title.
" a. afraili goigoYir af f. ". sso'.' hs '1i, ,,r
hrf.u't r", i0Jf r'l i7fT. anit H..ft pnIf..
"furt NItu.cs r recruiting ant trr.i 1riai.ou 0f rc.
crH.t'' ninety thousand dollar. And no mou', appfo.
lrH'ci %, ''rt '.l,i o. isld iol r.,uuns thc afH'
tf Hs m'-, a't.i's f. ilis' .aittfn.a incluiia-
iuN.u outs AND !. .l.iii stewards
1t j. thus seen that the limitation Of
twenty-five thousand mon was confined
entirely to the fiscal year which ter
minated on the 30th of June last. After
that dny no appropriation was voted
for an army Of any kind, and. though the
skeleton Of a military machine existed, there
wa. in the rcnl srn@c, no army at all, and
there could be- mono without Congress voting
the men and the money. Therefore, when
Mr.. MCCRAEY and others declare that an
army of twenty-five thousand mon is au-
thorizcd by law. they dc-igncily ful-fy the
statute book 10 deceive the country.
More than this, we explicitly deny that
thcrc is any law in existence which fixes the
numbers OF the army. or authorizes the En-
ccutiv", in the absence of an appropriation
by Congress, 60 maintain It, a, Mr. HAYES
has dared 70 do in contempt Of law and cx-
ample. The act of l7g1 organized the armyon
a certain basis, which has changed according
90 the necessities Of the country. In 1860
the army mustered thirteen thousand
mon. In 1870 thirty thousand enlisted
men constituted the army, and the az
grcgatc force has varied since that time
Substantially, rs in England an army
r. voted every year, and the Appropria-
ton act alone determines the number
BY no construction of law can the army
voted for one fiscal year Ice extended over
another, unless a now Congress shall exert
tine power reserved by the Constitution Of
voting supplies for the two years Of it, cX-
i-teuce, which j. The extreme limit
Hut forcyceptiondl circumstances. twenty
five thousand men would noNcr have been
voted o. the army in 1876 Tho Democratic
House had determined To subject IL To- the
general seal" Of rotrcnchmcut, which had
been applied t. all other branches of the
public service. Tic ial-ccryo of Sioux war,
started ana fabricated 10y the military chiefs
who have just HOW been caught in reporting
erroneous figures To- the Committee on APP
priation-, aud the loss Of CJsTERs COM
maud. mi-lod tho House and prevented
proper economy.
But the House az the last session cnlcav-
orcd t. correct this mistake in part. by
tin fixing the limit Of Nh" army at l7.c)
mcn. II failed TO pas, and at the end OF the
FISCAL year there WAS mo- lawful army on the
soil Of the United States. a. has been pre-
tended by The Committee ON Appropriations,
who hay" condonod thcusurpationo HAYES,
aud accepted az their guide. in voting away
the peoples money, the counsel of the mill
tary cahal that helped to force him into tho
White House