The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-04-11
THE ARMY BILL.

House and n now before the Senate. ID re-
| markable for it's brevity and conciseness, and
H. In all respects, a vast improvements On
any previous bill that have been passed
for many years. The attention OF the cDlln-
try has been centred OH the section which
foibids the presence Of the army at the POLLS
to the exclusion of any consideration VI
the other provisions Of the bill, and for
this reason we take advantage Of the dis
eusslon OF the measure In the senate TO
give general outline Of its!faatures
The bill contains but nine sections In ALL
but as the general appropriation bills. which
are about the largest passed by Congress,
usually contain scarcely more than three.
this may not be regarded az sufficient indlca-
ton OF the remarkable brevity Of this bill.
The first section covers all appropriations,
amounting In all to about $40 yDO.OOD, and
embraces substantially. the items recon-
inended by the conference committee OF the
last Congress. The present organization Of
the army is left Intact; all allowances for
servants quarters are abolished, but the com
mutation for officers quarters ID raised from
$40 TO st2 per month, and Ben Buffers rail-
road-telegraph clause - Incorporated. az
agreed upon by the committee Of conference
Of the last session.
The second section provides for revision
Of the arm y. regulations. The third section
relates to the officer detailed In the of1les Of
the Secretary of War as examiner Of State
claims, and gives him the pay of an officer Of
higher rank. The fourth section provides
for the consolidation OF the French and Span
ish proiessolships at West Point. The fifth
section Ia one Of more Importance than any
Ut Ethe preceding ones. 1t offers to each
| member Of tho next two graduating classes at
West Point the privilege Of choosing between
| an appointment to brevet leutenantcy In
the army, TO which each graduate is now en-
| titled, and 1850 cash and mileage to his home.
| This provision la limited 10 two graduating
classes. for the reason that students already
entered did not have previous notice oil the
further alteration of the law. which provides
that graduates shall be entitled TO appoint
ments. not, 40 formerly, by the fact Of grad
| uatipn. hut only In case OF vacancies
occurring In the authorized number Of Off
GERS This alteration OF tho existing arrange
ment Ia very material, and, we think, q
very senslbls one. The number of officers Ut
the regular army Is limited and appointments
can be made only to fill vacancies. The
indefinite number Of young men who graduate
yearly at West Point instead Of being thrust
into the army and on its pay rolls, whether
they are needed or not are simply made ell
gible to appointment in case Of vacancies.
The simple fact that they have graduated
from the Military Academy does not constl-
tute them officers and pensioners Of the gov
eminent. This we believe TO be very wise
innovation.
These five sections we're passed without
discussion an they came from the conference
| committee of the last Congress-. Tho debate
has all been On the sixth section. which pro-
hibitH the presence of the army al the polls,
and constitutes one Of the three great meas-
ures for which the Democrats have been con
tending This short provision, which does
nothing beyond eliminating from the legal
functions Of the army the duty Of pre-
serving peace at the polls. embodies one 81
the NEST sacred principles of constitutional
government, and the fact that 1t has 80
aroused the American people, constitutes a
splendid testimony to the sturdiness with
which they have maintained their devotion
TO that sublime faith in the dignity OF man
hood, and the value Of individual and civil
liberty which they have inherited from their
Anglo-Saxon forefathers. But this section Id
clearly understood by the people, and has
been fully discussed In Congress and by the
press. and our purpose In this article is to
call attention to the other features Of the bill.
which have been lost sight Of ID the discus
bsion Of this.
! The seventh section authorizes tho detail
of an officer not above the rank of captain to
superlntend tho education Of certain Indians.
and the eighth strikes out the provision OF
| the last net requiring government buildings
to be used for military headquarters.
The ninth section, and the last ia one OF
| considerable Importance. It prohibits pro-
motions, except In the Engineer Corps, and
tho case Of captains who have served over
twenty years. above the rank Of captain; It
provides for the computation Of pay, both In
the army and navy. on the actual term Of
service; It forbids the retirement Of officers
below tho rank Of major except on the certI-
ticate Of board Of examiners, and gives the
highest rank, exclusive Of brevet to officers
retired by reason OF wounds.
This IL but the outline Of the "army bill !"
which has been in every mans mouth for
months. but only because Of one single sec
ton Of It. II 10 not III all respects the bill we
should like to see from Democratic Con-
gress. yet everything cannot be done at once
that we would like to sec DONE We can at
least congratulate ourselves that the Burnside
| and Banning reorganization scheme has been
defeated and that the freedom Of the ballot,
unawed by Federal bayonets, has been
secured to the people. The Senate will UNI
questionably pass the bill as 1t comes from
the House, leaving 1t to Mr. Hayes to over
rule the manifest will Of the people II he dare
do 80.
The competitive examination under the new