The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1878-05-10

Ah0teo INCH III bhc army 70 twenty
thousand" Mr.. T~hrockmorton Of
Texas, made a lengthy speech In the
House of Representatives on the Sd
inst, from which we CLEAN the follow
ing:
We are called upon to reduce the
army and to repeat the fearful expert
ences of the past. The Modoc war, the
Sitting Bull campaigns, and the late
Nez Perez war have harrassed the from
tier and excited the public mind. They
have affected the different sections in
which they ensued most injuriously by
creating a sense of insecurity and pre-
venting immigration. In these wars
on the western and northern frontier,
from the most accurate official data 1
can obtain, from 1866 to 1877, there
were 646 officers and soldiers killed and
wounded by Indians. The killed aver
age about 2 to l more than the wounded.
There are official accounts of the kill
ing of 1876 citizens and the wounding
of O.. In 1876 onr loss was 28e regulars
killed, 12S wounded, The extra cost
of these wars has been great, that of
1876 alone has been estimated at ST.
100000. From 1866 to 1877 1 estimate
the total extra cost at IS, 900, 900; and 1
think an accurate calculation would in
crease the sum.
The facts Of history justify me in
saying that all these wars and their
terrible results might have been pre-
vented had the regular army been sufi-
ciently large to have oyerawed the
Indians or to have defeated them with
out waiting for re-enforcements. One
hundred men more would have enabled
General Gibbon to have crushed out
the Nez Perez war before much mis-
chief had been done. .
1t may not be improper to make some
observations on the strength of the
regular army at different periods since
the organization of the Federal Gov
eminent. In 1894 the regular army
numbered 1920 men. The census of
1890 shows a population of 1925, 214.
Allowing an increase of 1000, 600 for
four years the aggregate population in
1894 amounted to 1925, 214. This di-
vided by 1929 shows an average of ]
soldier to every 1856 souls. The army
in 1907 numbered 1896. The popula-
ton in 1910 was 1929, ss1, an average
of 2, 1853 inhabitants to l soldier. In
1880 the prospect of a rupture with
Great Britain caused an increase of the
army. In 1917 the army was 1921
strong. 1t was increased soon after.
The population in 1920 was 1888, 1922
an average of l soldier to every LIZ
people. A financial pressure caused
the adoption of q rigid system of econo-
my, N truly deplorable as far as the
frontier "a concerned, as we shall see,
and in 1920 the the army was cut down
from 1884, 1 to every 7sS people, to
6,391 men, an average of l soldier to
every 1907 people
Time does not permit me to follow
the subject further than to mention the
averages in 1860 and at present. The
population in go aggregated 81, 443, 32l,
the army 2,931, an average Of l soldier
to every 2,432 people. At present we
have at least 10000, 900 of people and
an army of $4,000 men. The average
is n soldier to every 1000 souls.
Can 1 not in the name of justice md
of humanity implore you to economic
where life is not imperiled, to drop a
few millions from the appropriations
annually made to extend and repair the
works for your harbor defences, your
torpedo stations, and for other matters
intended to protect commerce and to
promote commercial intercourse, and
not to reduce the armyP If you are
determined to lay bare the breasts OF
our pioneers to the strokes of their enc.
mics, if you intend to prepare a feast
of blood, pillage, and rapine for the
savage and the Mexican marauder, pass
this bill, reduce the army, and when q
few hundreds of men, women and chill
dren have been massacred in cold blood
you may stand up with Pharisaical
composure and say to your constituents,
"Thank God, 1 helped to save the peo-
PIES money"
The motives which induced men to
establish and organize governments,
were to secure to themselves certain
rights; for instance, the security Of
person and property. and protection
against aggressions from any quarter
whatsoever. \ state must perpetuate
its existence in order to effect the ends
for which it was instituted, hence self
preservation is the first law Of nations
as well as individuals; and this is the
highest and hottest duty a government
can perform. There Is q contract be-
tween the state and its citizens-the
terms are explicit; the state guarantees
protection to the citizen, and the citizen
discharges all the duties of allegiance
to the state; it is the return he makes
for protection. The duties are recipro-
cal, they exist together or not at all;
where there Is no sovereignty. no pro.
lection, there can be no allegiance,
Protection is IN individual right; it
travels with the citizen wherever he