The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1879-03-06
Extracts from, ona,c Jou.n.l..


tsry Affairs, submitted the folio wing
| report:
Hon.sED. Sayers. President OF the sena'e:
The Committees CT Military and on Indian
Affairs and Frontier PrOi ection, TO whom was
referred : resolution concerning The frontier
battalion, have bad the same under constdera-
tion and majority OF said committees have in
strueted me- TO submit tbs follO'.In report:
The appropriation for maintaining The frontier
batf alion in the field wAs - % coo (Si5O COO and
$780, 0O. II covered the period from September
/, 1877, to December 81, lesS, OF, one year and
our months.
From sud amount should be deducted the
value OF public property, ordnance aud ordnance
stores, camp and garrison eQcipage, etc, paid
! for out OF said appropriation, now on hand,
Forage and subsistence paid for tsuli
cent to last to March 81, 1873; lay
three months), on hand Dec. 81, 1878. g. 500 90
Balance OF said appropriation on hand
uneSpended..-....--- ....-.----.-.-. l'OOO tO
Total .......... ..................s4 .s4l, ,22s so
Deduc.ing this amount from the aforesaid
appropriation OF s20O,0O. We have Tor The
amount actually expended for frontier defense,
and in the suppression Of lawiessness ard
1rime by the frontier battalion. from Sep.e1ls
four months, the sum Of SIS, ,17l.50. Nowyeto
obtain the actual amount for Ihe fiscal year be-
ginning September J, 1877, and endlng August
81, 1~7S We subtract one-fOurth Of said amount,
say 81, leaving as actual cost for the Us
cal year sll9,O1S 63.
Inc average force Kept IN Inc Uei0 Tor Inc ns-
cal Year beginning September /, 1877, ana end-
ing August 81, 1873, numbered l6l men. The
cum expended Tor their support, all other
expenses for that ,ime we have seen, amounted
to S1l9,O7S 6s. Dividing This amount By the
number OF men, we mud that eSrh man in The
said battalion cost the state SI26 O9 per anBum.
II must be borne in mind that This sum in
| cludes large amount expenaed IN the purchase
of supplies TO subsist prisoners, TO pay eXpeR-
ses incurred IN send1ug detatchmenls TO con-
vey prisoners to different counties, incidental
RyDHnGGE incurred scanning
pense of sending small attachments of on
| long distances; all OF which were paid out of
es'S appropriat OH. Te further elucidate the
question Of ccst, will remai k that the averge
! amount paid for selT.ce per month to each man
| in the State service, includi-c SA'cers, nom
| commissioned Officers and Privates, Is sl2.S6.
| per month, or nearly 81. Il. per day, making a
| total of $5l4 81 per year. Bv d. ducung this
sum from S126.09, we have SPLIT per year,
| or CSC per day, as the average cost of
subSistirg each man, and for for3gimg his horse,
| also for ind ng prisoners, paying extraordinary
| expenses incurred by scouts, detachments
making long marches, medicines aud all other
| expenses, olrect or lnCident,L The matter OF
| supply ing State troops by permitting company
commanders to purchase was tried under Gov
| ernor Davis administration, and was found to
work badly. The prices paid were eXorbitant.
| We copy from accounts approved by an audi
| tOrial board, and paid by the Comptroller,
| namely: Corn, 81 per bushel; hay, $40 per ton !;
| flour, 10 cents per pound; sugar, 331sGt fOc per
| pound; beef, 10c per pound; beans, 25c per
| pound; rice from 25l3315c per pound; salt 11sc
| per pound, and other articles in proportion.
When the frontier battalion first went into
| service, the quarteImaster and cOmmissary Of
subsistence procured supplies by letting con-
| tracts to the lowest bidder to furnI-E them. The
| prices paid were per pound: flour, Sc; bacon,
1910; beef, Az; coffee, 33l135c; sugar, l5Il7c;
| beans, 15c; rice, 14c; salt, sc; corn, 81 per
| busAel, ane in proportion for other articles.
These articles were for troops stationed in
| JACK and dlacent counties, occupying re same
territory as hose for whom the first mentioned
| articles were purchased.
The quarterma ter resigned in February, 1875,
and the commander OF the battalion was ordered
| 10 perform the duties of quartermaster and COM
| mssary. He adopted tine plan of purchasing
euppIes from first Class merchants in large mar
| kets and at wholesa prlces, and forge from
| farmers. not permitting any middle man to de-
| rive profit at the expense of the State. In
| June, 1875, he made purchases and paid as fol-
| lows for men stationed In jock and adjacent
counties Four, 4Iac per pound; bacon, l6c
per pound; coffee, Z per pound; sugar, 111ac
| per pound; beans, nc per pound; nee, 101ac
per pound; salt, 3Rc per pound; beef, 3Ac per
pound; and for com, Sl.4O per bIshel. Thus
plan of supplying the from ier battalion has been
| continued up to the present time. Orders for
| the supplies ana vouchers showing the prices
| examined by ths committee, and they
show a gradual decrease in the cost Of
supplies, as the prices Of the articles
| have declined in the markets; and the bills
| for supplies purchased in the month of Decem-
| Der last and delivered in camp show that the FOL
lowing prices were paid: Flour, 81 per pound ;
i DaCOn, sac pOtllus COucS, i5tlC per pouuus
sugar, lie per pound iice, lOc per pound; sans,
| 52lc per pound; salt, lac per pound. and com
| at from tOc TO 81 per bushei, according 10 the
! distance which II had to be hauled.
| This plan of purchasing directly from large
dealers, adopted by the commander Of the fron-
tier battalion, instead OF having them furnished
by contractors, as had been done before, has re-
suited in saving to the State of about rs per
cent in the cost OF supplies. and the late Adju-
| tant General estimates the total amount thus
saved duriI the last four years at $4,000.
| no % lnN.s cd
| ing the whole time from February, 1875, to De-
| cember 81, 1873, and CLEAN the above facts from
| them. They have also examined the orders
made for these supplies and the orrespondence
| III rel alton thereto and find that the supplies
| were purchased by the commander OF the ron
| tier bat alion, the vouchers approved by him
| aud sent to the 40 jutanJ General and the pay
| ments made directly to the parties from whom
the supplies were purchased.
| Under this system Of management, as shown
| above, the average cost per man of the frontier
battalion has been S726 per annum The average
cost per man in the United s. ates army II Sl1U0
| per annum, or 50 per cent. more than the men OF
The frontier battalion have cost the State Of
| Texas.
! When the frontier battalion was organized in
| May, 1874. the counties OF Wise, Jack, PalO
| Pinuo, Erath, COmaL che Brown, San Saba, and
Mason, were sparsely poPua ed frontier couL-
| Ties, subject u frequent lncursions from lu-
| dians, who sometimes penetrated As far interior
/ as Denton, Bosque, Parker, BuInet and Blanco
| counties. No new counties had been organized
for twelve years previously; but on the contrary,
| the counties of Young and Steph ms which once
| had organized governments had been e-tiIely
depopulated, and very few people were left IN
/ Jack, Palo Pinto ana other counties, their in
| habitants having been driven into the interior
/ by the Indians.
/ result Of their operations, the people out there
say the frontier has advanced in some directions
one hundred and fifty miles. The conniry behind
| Is filling up with Industrious inhabitants add
| ing much 10 the wealth OF the State as the iol-
| lowing comparison OF taxable property will
| show:
| The assessment rolls re.urned to the Comp
| troller in 1874 of the then frontier counties OF
| Bandera, Burnet, Clay. CJmsDche, Eastand,
Frio. Gillespie, Hamilton, Jack, Ker Kinney,
| Lampas $, LlanO, Mason Maverick Menard,
Montague, Palo Pinto, Parker, san
Saba, Wise and Young, only show tax
able property Tor the amount oi
Sl0,426 423. ! hose OF lSlS, for the same coln
ties amount to $21 9I0, ,2i5, the increase IN -four
years being $1i AS, ,e22. The first assessment
| made by the counties of Coleman. Pecos and
Shackeiford was in 1875 amounting to S22O. 1914
that for 1878 is 81 AS, ,l57, an increase in less
than three years OF $1,224,963.
The FIRST assessment for the counties Of Cal
lahan, Tom Green and Presidio was returned Il
1871 for 81 62S 06S. 1hs following year the rClis
| showed 50 OIL ,104 taxable properly.
The above comparison is made on the sam
basis as the assessments for 1874, and does not
| include a large amount OF unTend, red property
which is returned by the assessors to the
| Comptroller; still 1t SHOWS an increase of taxa
| BILE property on the frontier since 1874 of $i3,
| lOl.S1l, tlal may DC TsEultg AtNIlDultu 10 tllt
| service of the frontier battalion.
The counties OF Young, Clay, Shackelford,
| EastIand, Coleman, Kimble. Tom Green, Nc
Culloch, Preside, Pecos, Taylor, Stephens, Nc
| MuIlin and Callahan have been settled and or
| ganized since the frontier battalion was called
ou' in The spring Of 1874, and those Of Run
Re,ls, Edwards, Concho. Tnrockmorton, Domey
| Wheeler and Archer have population enough fO
that purpose. The settlements have extended
| as far west as Wichita, WllbFger. Knox Bay
Ior, Haskell, StoneSall, Fisher. Jones, Holan
Mitchell, Scurry and Kent, which viii soon be
| come organized il properly projected
There was fight with Indians In Bnrnet ol
| Blanco county, only fifty miles from Austin
| inst before the frontier battalion went into ser
vice AS another result OF the protection g1veI
along the line OF operations, the grounds o.
| Hhich Indians were met and fougnt IN 1875 b.
our rangers is now inside the frontier line
| many miles and q thriving people arc repayini
| IN taxes the expenditures made TO enable then
| TO settle on the rich lands without the fear o
| depredations by Indians. Like causes are siil
in operation; the frontier is still plshing on
| farther and IL protection Is continued 70 tn
| aortler settler not many years will elspse be
fore we viii have no frontier bat foreign one
The field OF operations covered ythe iroune
| battalion has been the organized coln.iez O
Cooke, Montague, Clay, Den on Delas
Wise Jack, Shackeiiord, Stephens. Pail
| Pinto K-aih, Eastland. Callahan, Taylor
Tom Green, Coleman, Brown. Comanche, Ham
ilton, Lampasas, San saba, McCullOch, Menard
| Mason Lfano Burnef. Williamson. Travis
! 3 auco. Gillespie, Kimble, Kerr, Kendall, Frio
Bandera, Medina, UvAlde, kinney, Msyeriek
Afaecosa McMulien, Ia sale, webb, ZapGta
starr ana 81 PAso, and the territory covered
| BY TWENTY-FIVE unorgsuized cJuntics, extend
inc as far north as Wheeler In the Pa
| Handle as far eouth as starr county On N
Rio C;rande and ss far west - the fccos rive
| rivers Defschmenis OF the command have u
tended the courts AZ the reqaest Of the di-tris