The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-04-06
THE FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS
Mr.. Frye Announces that He Is Prepar-
ing to Twist the British Lions Tail.
Debate on the Army Bill Reveals the Fact that
Standing Army Is Dangerous, and that
We Are Great and Wonderful People.
Senator Frye NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. on the
Bill to Increase the Army.

Mr.. George reported unfavorably, from the COM
mittee on Territories, bill to enable the North
west Trading Company, private corporation, or
ganized under the general laws of Oregon, to pur-
chase certain lands in the Territory of Alaska.
The committee, Mr.. George said, recommended
the indefinite postponement of the bill.
Mr.. Dolph asked that the bill be placed on the
calendar. He had expected, he said, that the
debate on the bill would bring up the whole
question of the disposition of public lands in
Alaska, and he still thought that question an
important one for Congress to look into and de-
eide. Mr. Dolph thought the committee had
given the bill slight consideration.
Mr.. George said the committee had given the
bill enough consideration to conclude that it was
very improper bill.
At Mr.. Dolph's request the bill was placed on
the calendar.
Mr.. Cameron offered a resolution, which was
agreed to, appointing Mr. Sherman chairman of
the committee on foreign relations Mr. Harri-
son member of the same committee. Mr..
Spooner member of the committee on the Dis
trict of Columbia, Mr.. Stanford a member of the
civll-servlce reform committee and Mr.. Mitchell,
of Oregon, a member of the committee on addi
tional accommodations for the library
Mr.. Plat formally submitted his proposed
amendment to the resolution heretofore intro
duced by him in relation to executive sessions
The amendment recites specifically the Senate
rules affected by the resolution Mr.. Platts OBJ
lect being to avoid point of order on his reso-
luton that it did not recite the rules which it
proposed to amend. The amendment lies over,
under the rule, Mr.. Platt saying he hoped to adj
dress the Senate on the subject-matter OF the
resolution on Wednesday or Thursday next.
The army bill was then placed before the Sem
ate. the pending question being on Mr.. Hale's
motion to strike out Section q which provides
that hereafter the army shall consist of 10000
men.
Mr. Plumb took the floor and continued his re-
marks in opposition to the bill. He had recently
received a letter from IAN old citizen" of
New York censuring him for his opposition
to this BILL The ''old citizen" informed Mr..
Plumb that there were $1,000 Socialists in New
ford them mince meat. Mr.. Plumb had no
doubt this 'old citizen" was man OF considera-
bic wealth, and that as he acquired wealth he
neglected, by degrees. his duty as citizen un-
til now he felt it beneath him to perform these
duties while at the same time he called on the
general government to do for him what he had
neglected to do for himself. This letter. Mr..
Plumb thought, fairly represented the ideas on
which the proposed increase OF the army was
favored by some. He hoped the bill of the SEN
ator from Illinois Mr.. Loganl for the equalza-
ton OF bounties would be passed before the sal
aries and emoluments of the regular army were
piled up so high that there should be found no
more money in the Treasury. Mr. Plumb
thought the Senate could postpone a bill to in
crease the emolumenJs of the regular array I'M
til the volunteer army. of which Mr.. Logan
thought so much had had justice done it. The
Senator from Illinois, Mr.. Plumb said, would
not need to make insulting references to his Mr..
Plumbsl calling in order to secure his support
of such bill as that. He referred again to the
expense of the proposed increase, and cited fig
ures to show that the increase would be Sc, 0OO,-
900. AS to personalities, Mr.. Plumb said they
had been introduced into the debate by the SEN
ator from Illinois himself
Mr. Frye interposed with some remarks on his
resolution about the fisheries. He regarded it
as very important that the matter should be dis
cussed and settled. It involved matter, he
said, that looked to war. He read resolutions
of fishing association at Portland, Me-. pray /
ing that the american government send armed
vessels to the fishing grounds to protect our fish
ing vessels. inasmuch as the Canadian govern
ment had forbidden American fishing vessels to
enter Canadian ports for any purpose except the
merest purchases of speter. Mr.. Frye said he
understood the Canadian government had fitted
out their cruisers to prevent American fishing
vessels from entering Canadian waters. He was
only waiting for single American vessel to be
seized; then he proposed to introduce bill of
less than ten lines closing the ports of the United
States against all British colonial fishing, freight
ing, or passenger vessels, all along the line or
the great lakes and the Atlantic coast, and we
would then how long Canada would carry
on this operation which she had now entered on.
Mr.. Cockerill then took the floor in opposition
to the army bill There was, he said, ample
power to protect our institutions without single
regular soldier. Our liberties did not depend on
a standing army, but on the patriotism of our
citizens. We needed no standing army in this
country Eternal vigilance is the price of
liberty" standing army was danger to any
republic, and was in direct contravention of
of a republican system of government.
To-day, If occasion demanded, we could put in
the field from five to eight or ten million of
as good soldiers as ever marched to the music of
the battlefield. Whenever the people of the
States. with their militia, aided by the
President of the United States with the militia
of other States, could not enforce rights and re-
dress wrongs in the several States, then self
government would be failure. If English sol
ders were to appear on the coast OF Maine--in
case of the suggested by the Senator from
Maine Mr.. Frye]-the patriotic citizens of
Maine would immediately organize and come
forth as militia, under their State officers, and
would destroy any force that 1t would be possible
to land on the soil OF that State in the next
twelve months. Our foreign wars had been
fought by volunteers; our civil war-the greatest
war in history--had been fought by volunteers.
'Our great people" said Mr.. Cockrell, isolated
as we are knowing the wrong from the right,
conscious of the rectitude and purity Of all our
national aspirations. content with our own pub
lie domain, under our own vine and fig tree, COW
citing nothing which belongs to our neignbor, and
tions-with no national animosties. fancied
grievances wrongs to avenge, absolutely,
nation, bearing charity to all and malice toward
none'-we have no need of any standing army to
oppose any foreign foe or resist aggression from
any foreign nation. The people of this Repub-
lie can successfully resist all the combined ma
tions of the earth" Mr.. Cockrell asserted that a
greater fraternity of feeling existed in the United
States to-day-from the lakes to the gulf, and
from ocean to ocean-than had ever existed in
our history and never bad the sentiments of
peace and good will among our people been held
in higher regard than it was held to-day. There
lence, as there would be under ali governments,
but the public sentiment of the country would
suppress it. All that the country needed in the
way of militay organization was small, com
pact organization on the Indian border
Mr. Sewell favored the increase proposed by
the bill.