Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1877-11-14
a REPUBLICAN, MINORITY IN the
HOUSE GAIN A VICTORY.
Tim h = Ala L, Ahn Iox-a. H..

congress over the army appropria-
ton bill, was notable one. At the
last session of Congress the democ-
racy made no appropriation for the
army, because q republican Senate
would not agree that q provision
should be tackled upon the bill declar-
ing that the army should not be used
in the south. Suppose for instance,
that in the Congress of l86O-6l, the
democracy had possessed the power
and had proceeded to do the same
thing in order to secure to themselves
q successful rebellion?
The facts are that this refusal of the
democratic House, last year, to make
an appropriation, has taken from the
pockets of the soldiers hundreds of
thousands of dollars and the proceed
ure was revolutionary one. 1t was
saying that the President of the Unit
ed States, who is the commander of
the army, and whose boundcn duty It
is to use the army for the preserva-
ton of the nation and of peace and
order, should be deprived of the
power to do his duty; should be
stripped of a power which, under the
constitution, belongs to him as CO.
ordinate branch of the government.
Had it been carried out, then the Gov
ernors of Virginia and Maryland, in
the great labor riots that occurred
this year, would have called in vain,
had the President obeyed such a law,
for troops to suppress the riots.
1t does seem to us that none but
once traitors and their abettors, still
having in their hearts the same feel
ings that made them traitors, would
ever have sought to engraft upon an
appropriation bill, such q feature.
Now in this Congress when the APP
preparation bill comes up, the same
party seek to cut down the army to
5000 or 10000, as q condition prece-
dent to paying them. They now vir-
tually say, that though you have not
been paid your just dues for many
months and have suffered great loss
thereby, yet we still will not pay you
unless q republican Senate will ac-
cede to our demands that the army
shall be cut down to mere handful.
The army is in the hands of q Sher-
man, Sheridan, and therefore the
democratic party would crush it out
reverse this state Of things and let
the army be led by Beauregard, .
Johnston, and we should witness NO
such revolutionary methods practiced
by democracy in the House. II il
true they have abandoned their old
ground Of insisting that the army
shall not be used on southern soil,
since democratic Governors were the
first to call on the President for troops
only few months ago, when these
Governors were powerless to enforce
order in their own states, but now
they want 10 reduce the army to .
skeleton.
Fortunately Texas ia in trouble
with lawless Mexican marsuders and
the members from that state dare not
face their constituents after having
voted to reduce the force of soldiers
which protect them and 80 the demo.
Gratis from Texas could not be held
with their party and these united
with democratic member from CAL
ifornia and one from Michigan togeth-
or with solid republican vote, saw
cd the army from virtual annihila-
ton by the bare majority Of three
against reduction. Again and again.
ON the 9th inst, the solid democratic
vote in the House. save the Texas
members and two others, charged up-I
ON the army to wipe it out, but thanks
TO a solid republican vote with the