American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1881-02-19
Tho Bill for Grants Retiracy.

| John A. Logan pushes his so-called
Grant relief bill, one might suppose that
| Grant was freezing and starving i'll some
| back alley. :
The Logan bill should not become n
law, for. the following reasons:
/. The army retired list is, by the
| very terms of its creation. list for the
use of officers of the army only; and
Grant is not an officer of the army.
z. The number of this list is limited
by law to four hundred. There are now
three hundred and ninety nine on it, and
unless the terms OFT original bill are
modified il, will bar out for the present
allfothers, However deserving, by grab
bing the last place for Grant.
8. The retired list Is limited to per-
sons who, by reason of age or of wounds
Or disease are deemed unfit for active
service. Grant has not reached the
statute age, has no wounds OF disease
acquired in the line of service, and can
not befetired under any of the stftuto;-
ry proeisio6s! e. q
A. The act of July u.s.. 1870, stiff in
force, prsscribes that officers on thV re-
tired list ''shall receive seventy five per
centum of the pay of the rank upon
which they are retired'' The Logan
bill declares that Grant shall have sahe
fulr.pay Of General, in violation Of this
statute, thereby also drawing an-unjust
in Grants favor 6ver4ev-
cry other person on the list, and oyer
officers who have been far 1ongerr epn-
nected with the army than he was. Gen.
eral Sherman, who haSrisen to as high
rank as Grant, will only be retired on
three-fourths Fay. a.,
IS. The retired list was created for
the purpose, of Withdrawing officerswho
shall be disabled orr siiperannnated,
from active command The Logan bill,
Overriding Che Whole theory of the re-
tired list, declares .'That at any time
when the President shall consider that
anemergeney has, arisen requiring the
! services of General Ulysses S. Grant on
active duty, he is hereby authorized to
assign him to any command cpmnen:
surate with the rank Of General. THIS
extraordinary misuse of the retired. list
Is not Made subject to.the desife-ar. de;
mand of Congress, but to the mere
opinion or will of the President, III :
6. Congress, considering that the two
highest grades in our standing army
were. totally disproportioned to the
number of. troops, declared by a. law
still in force that ..when a vacancy
occurs inlthe Office of General or Lfeui
tenant General, such Office shall cease,
and all epactments creating or -reg,ila-
ting such offices shall, respectively, be
held to be repealed" The Logan bill,
overthrowing this law, creates another
General, and docs norpermit the office
to necessarily lapse when vacatedby its.
present incumbent, = General W. IT,
Sherman. :, irais. &.
Z. A system of.organizatioR and Rset
of military laws have been .frahaed,'
based On Title XIV. of the Revised.
Statutes, whose first. words declare that
The army of tho United States shall
consist of one sGeperl y, etc.. The Lo-
gan bill brings two Generals into the
army; and, with no attempt at first re-
vising military customs and the regula-
t tier tpgeseribing-the duties, the rights
as the wording 81 the i IaMthe n&speral ,
simply opens way for suddenly, and
in a moment of emergency, making the
grade of General double-hcaded. 800.
:. g. Should It be said that there is no
intent to call Grant into active service,
but that the provision looking to that
end is merely designed to Justify the
award of full pay instead of three
fourths pay, the precedent becomes in
the highest degree dangerous Gre
alton of sipecure by resort to sub
terfuge.
9. Grant quilted the army in order to
get larger pay, higher office and more
extended fame sas President. Having
:ssrved eight years in that office, he has
no. claims to return to the army for the
purpose not Of rendering service but of
drawing a salary. =: -...-..-- -....
= 10. There is nothing in Grants pc
cuniary condition iustifying this appeal
l. = ~
.er method of procuring him n pension
SsveulI mot be one that violates All mill.
tary laws and customs of service that
stand in the way. IN y. SIN.
: or 80 - -'--'- 1850
y Aristocratie' Palperism:.-.-......is
!. There is. . memorial before the-sen-
ate. calling on Congress to make some,
provision for the Maintenance Of all ex-r
Presidents. . The idea of the petitioners
sscerns to be-4hat9a man who has held
the Office of Chief Magistrate Of this
democratic Republic is. too exalted a
being, to degrade himself with any soe-
cupalion. and that the people of the
United States SHOULD see to it that his
dignity is not abridged by,a scramble
for honest bread and BUTTER a. = .
n 1t is a matter OF regret that this pre-
posterous notion finds tolerance in the.
Capitol, and we entertain very decided
conviction that the alleged statesmen
who are inclined to favor it will do well
to unload such folly as speedily as the
process of discharge can be. readily eff
fected. 'ts - - ..-.-....--....... ..-..ils
There is no more reason for setting
up a retired payroll for ex-Presidents
than for exlpostmasters, ex-gaugers,
ex-clerks, eX-messengers or ex-ilOor-
scrubbers. The theory on which the
proposition rests is one of the most Of
fcnsiyesand oppressive. characteristics
of monHrohical institutions.
We compel no man to take Office.
We pay our Presidents, a good salary.
When that is paid we owe them moth
ing. -
If we once take start in the bust
ness of putting ex-ofiicials on the Treas
ury, we shall soon have n full lead of
that sort. "Onr ex-Presidents are no
more sacred than eX-pound- masters. If
both have performed their duties and
received the pay stipulated, the people
are quit of them. II our ex-Presidents-
cannot mako a living. OF. get support
from their friends, the poor asylum is
open for their reception. Manga man
as good as any ex-President has ended
his days in that last resort for Indigence.
-Washiagso" ~fpstsEz Ssts.
--..Honest Money! Nichol IS now
spoken of by Republican,. newspapers as
a ''critter' and a 'foot-sore political
tramp" AND yet he esweilss with,
sense of his own Importance apd trades
upon an, alleged intimacy with Gar
- L<-11l-z- ssEe -.