Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1877-12-06
Army APPEOpRlATIONS.
speech or Hon. Martin MaEinnis.

|. The following is the speech OF Hor
., Martin Maginnis in the debate on til
# Army Appropriation bill, in the House Q
u, Representatives. November 9th. 1t wa
r. the best speech delivered before the Hous
n In support Of military increase:
MR.. MAGINNIs. | renew the amendment
. Mr.. Chairman. wo,,ld not ictain the com
!, mittee now. as the members are evidentl,
o tired of this subject. but so much has bee,
Il said about the Texas frontier that an
q afraid the House " Ill think that is the onl,
j, threatened frontier in the United States
+ Certainly sympathize with those gentle
men from Texas; certainly | understand
their feelings. appreciate their danger. and
sorrow for their sad condition; but NIGH,
almost say this bill made discrimination
in their favor and against other American
. citizens equally deserving Of their country,
us much entitled to protection. and who
are quite as much threatened. Who will
say that the frontier Of Mexico. the frontier
of Arizona and Lower California. the
frontier OF Wyoming, and the frontiers of
Montana and Idaho are not as much threat
ened by hostile foes and as deeply Grim
soned in the blood of your people as the
frontier of Texas. That State is repre-
sented here by Il powerful delegation, lln-
surpassed in ability. and whose votes are
necessary to the success of the committee
1t might be said equally that this proviso
was Il sop thrown to them: but it would be
unjust to say so; the patriotic chairman of
the committee. in charge of the purse of
the whole country. feels upon himself the
responsibility of the protection of the
whole country, and only followed the law
of last year. No blame attaches to the
committee for their apparent discrimna-
ton. which would not strike out. flour
| fllOw-slltfercrs in Texas can get any con-
ISOLATION from these empty words. they are
welcome to do so. desire to call the at
-ten'ion of the House to tie fact that Texas
| does not stand alone in fear and aitliction.
In the Territory of Montana. during this
year. we have had Il halt hundred peaceable
citizens killed. and from three to four
hundred thousand dolllrs' worth of prop
erty destroyed: not one coach alone has
been stopped. 'ut our lines of travel have
bten suspended 10! weeks at a time. not by
any Indians Witl!,a our own border. whose
interests eon!lctcd with ours. but by inv;;-
sion from distant places beyond our con-
troll. That destructive invasion never could
hav" been accomplished if our military Or
0anizat;nns had hnen anviiin~ more than
increase the cavalry so as to re'l;cc out OF
existence the already emaciatell infantry.
Let ne ask those gentlemen who are IA
miliar with the history of the late Indian
wars. whether the infantry has not shown.
its efficiency. and if most of the fights that
nave been won against the Indians in the
last three years have not Eoea won by the
infantry or through their cooperation.
Cavalry have often gone in only to be mas
sacred. The infantry have often averted
disaster Our cavalry was massacred by
the Sioux. and it was by the aid Of the in
f:,ntry. commanded by Miles, Colonel Of
infantry. that Sitting Bull was driven
across the border. Your cavalry, endeav-
oriny to force its way over mountain trails
could not catch the Nez Perces, but Gen'l
Gibbon, with a hastily collected handful OF
infantry. marched two hundred miles, sur
prisetl them in the night. would have anni-
l,ilatcd the Indians if his force had been a
little greater: and finally, after march
of thirteen hundred miles. one of the most
extraordinary ever made. during all of
which time the inE,ntry in Howarl's conf
mand kept up with. if they did not out
march, the cavalry. those NeZ Perce Indi-
ans were stopped within forty miles OF the
Canadian border. and stopped by Il mixed
force of cavalry and infantry under General
Miles and compelled to surrender.
If YOU wish to make any discrimination
in the army or to lncddle with its Organiza-
tion at all. it would he better to adopt a
proviso that cavalry and infantry regiments
occupied with the defense of the Mexican
and Indian frontier should be recruited and
kept up to sixty men in each company.
Such organizations would be effective.
When General Gibbon struck the Nez
Perccs. if he had only had hundred more
men he could have ended that war then and
there. As have already said, he came up
on them in the night with six companies
of infantry, numbering in all one hundred
and twenty men, and aided by thirty vol
unteer citizens. many of whom were killed,
leaving their families without the benefit
of pensions.
Suppose those six companies numbered
six hundred men instead of one hundred
and twenty? Suppose this former Major
General of the United States army, the All
thor of Il standard work on military sci
ence. one of the most gallant and accom-
J plished gentlemen in our army, or any
} army. who went into the fight like an or.
,linary soldier. with his rifle on his shOnl.
der. and fought the savage foe like bush
; Nhacker--suppose he had the command q
: IA Lieutenant-C Colonel Of the army only, ht
, could have wiped ont the whole of the Nei
Pcrces and ended the war at once. Wha
! | is the use of having an army at all If 1t Il
! not to be properly recruited. but allowed
, TO remain ina skeleton condition danglin.
! from the scaffold of economy and bleach
5 iny in the wind OF starvation? Let the or
: ganization be completely destroyed ant
I adopt some other method Of defense; b,,
| if YOU do maintain its framework Of reyl
Y ments and companies. economy and patri
otis,n and decent respect for the lives
{. brave men cry ont that yon should maintain
I the companies ut such standard as vii
G enable them 70 defend themselves.
T not to punish the enemy and protect tn
. country.
Now.if you wish to re-organize the arm.
and reduce the number of regiments, do 8
! by proper bill which will lop off all eN
y crescences; and if you reduce the numbe
!. of organizations. at least let those whic
are kept in active service have respectabl
number of men. DO not take out tn
rifles and leave rickety framework stant
o ing. The Democratic. party, Mr.. Chal
man, is not responsible for the beginnin