New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1877-05-09
By the President:
WILLIAM Nj. EvARTs,
Secretary of State.

DY lu6 I6sluShts
WILLIAM M. EvARTs,
Secretary Of State.
Upon this subject the correspondent of
the Cincinnati Enquirer writes:
Postmaster General Keys says tonight
with reference to the postponement of the
special session: 81 fancy the Cabinet is
as much surprised as are you newspaper
men. Until we met to day we supposed;
or at least q majority of us did, that it
was all settled. In fact, it has been un-
derstood all along that 1t was settled that
Congress should be called to meet June 4,
and we expected to have the proclamation
submitted to-day calling it on that day."
To a question how the sudden change
came about he said: "The President, you
know, has been opposed to an extra ses-
sion all along; so has Secretary Evarts;
so has Secretary Schurz. Mr. Wheeler
has been particularly adverse to having
an extra session called. The rest of us
all thought it could not be avoided. The
Secretary of War has been decidedly of
this opinion, and as his department was
the one most interested, all of us, includ-
ing the President, have rather deferred to
him The President, however, has never
entirely given up the idea that somehow
it could be avoided and has broached the
subject at each Cabinet meeting. McCra-
ry, however, has always replied at
once that he could not run his
department without an appropriation,
and the matter has always dropped there.
To the surprise of us all, the Secretary of
War announced that be was convinced
that he could get along until October,
should Congress be called then. As soon
as he announced this the idea struck the
President favorably at once, and the
change was effected in a twinkling. 1t
was done almost before we knew it. Sec
retary Sherman opposed the change most
strongly, but finally yielded" Concern
ing the cause OF McCrary's sud-
den change of opinion the Postmaster
General said; "It came out that before
the Cabinet meeting McCrary, who was
anxious to carry out the Presidents de-
sires if he could, called his heads OF bu-
reaus together, and held a sort of Cabinet
meeting of his own. During his discus
sion with them he asked the Paymaster
how it would be about pay. The Pay
master replied that it was customary to
| pay the troops once in two months. There
would be one pay day before the close of
the present fiscal year, June 80; that if
Congress was called in October only one
pay day would have to be passed; that
that was not an unusual event, either in
time of peace or war. The result wonld
be that if Congress met In October, aud
passed the appropriation bill, the
soldiers could then be paid four months
at once, as was not unfrequently done.
Meanwhile, if any officers or men abso-
lutely need money, there are plenty OF
| a. -
their pay vouchers, a not uncommon oc-
currence in the army. From the heads of
the bureaus of transportation, subsistence,
ETC., the Secretary learned what he knew
before, that the law allowed the depart
ment to make contracts for clothing, sub
sistence and transportation in advance oi
an appropriation. Being satisfied on the
pay question. and believing the service
would not suffer if q number of officers
should take umbrage and resign, he final
ly made up his mind that he could gel
along until October, and 80 announced tc
the Cabinet" To query as TO whether
this decision settled the matter, Key re
piled, laughingly: 20, law can always
be repealed, you know, but l guess thii
will stand" Key reports Hayes as mucl
pleased with this decision, which is in ac
cordanee with his earnest desire; and Ke,
adds that it is in accordance with the ar
gent request Of many Congressman ant
business men. throughout the country
His attention being called 10 the fact tina
the session was put of until just after th,
Ohio campaign, Secretary Key said
''Yes, that point was mentioned in tn
Cabinet, but the reply was made that VI
can not consider that-we must be abov'
party politics. So, said Key, 1--WE mad
It the fifteenth, so that Ohio men wouls
not have to come here in the heat Of tn
fight"
The following special dispatches re
lating to this subject appeared in thi
mornings Democrat;
WAsHrNeroS, May S.-An effort win b
} made in the Cabinet to-day to have th
call for an extra session reeonsidered an
changed 10 the original time, June 4 {
: Is. i is generally understood that d
Secretary Of War declines 70 undertak
J 10 carry on the department without du
ieeis{atiou. He holds that ons aruav a,