Year: 1876

Tilden for President against Hayes, the
nominee of the Senatorial Grant ring,
without whose consent he is powerless
to make a single removal from office in
the interest of civil service reform by
the provisions of the Tenure-ofO Office
Act of 1867, for which he voted, and
which stands still on the statute-book
unrepealed. CONSTANT READER.


That Terrible Confederate Con.


gress-What it Succeeded in Doing.
There has been a great deal said about
this Confederate Congress, as they call
it, andit is. not popular Congress,
confess. That is, mean, with certain
people. 1t was very unpopular Con-
gress with the lobby at Washington. 1t
was very unpopular Congress with a
large number of people whose names
were on the pay-rolls of the different
departments at Washington, and whose
only labor was to GO to the department
once month, and sigu the payroll and
draw their pay. 1t was very unpopu-
Congress in the departments who by long
usage had been in the habit of having a
great deal mora money than they needed,
and who were thereby, if not taking care
of themselves, at least taking care Of
their friends. 1t was very unpopular
Congress with everybody that was sub
sidized in its interest. But / imagine
that when the conduct of that Congress
in this behalf is understood, it will be a
very popular Congress with the men who
pay taxes, and with the men who labor
to increase the productions of their
country.


Well, what did they do? They went
into these several departments. made
little figure, just as I stated, so / would
not misstate anything. They found a
deficiency bill, estimated by the depart
ments, of enormous proportions; and
that has been one of the dodges of the
Republican party from the beginning
little before the election to put down
the expenditures a little bit; not very
much. | don't want to misstate them,
1 think they did reduce the expendi-
lures last year about nine millions.
They did something in that line, but it
was not their main object. They put in
deficiency bill, while this Confederate
Congress Gas the Republican newspapers
seem to delight in calling it) reduced
two million dollars. They put in for
tifcation bill for a lot of old fortiica-
tions that are of very little value either
to the people or to anybody else except
the people who get the job of keeping
them up, which bill this Confederate
Congress reduced three million dollars.
They put in navy bill, and, by the
way, our navy costs more than any navy
in the world, and is worth less. l think
that is abont fair statement of it.z-I
do not refer to the naval officers nor to
the men engaged in the navy. / do not
refer to the personnel of the navy, but !
refer to the navy itself, its ships, its
appointments. 1t costs more and is
worth less than any navy in the world.
/ do not know whether we have any
ship that it is safe to send any man out
to sea on. Perhaps Mr.. Secretary Robe
son has one that he takes his friends
around in, but apart from that l don't
know whether they have anything that
is seaworthy. That may be Slight
overstatement; but that navy bill this
Democratic Forty-fourth Congress cut
down eight million dollars They put
in postoffice bill. with all their sys,
tenn of fast mail trains, as they called
them, which were intended entirely for
the benefit of the New York daily
newspapers, and which never did
anybody else on the face of the
earth any good, for they are run just at a
time when business man can not put
his mail in for business purposes, but il
is very important to have that metro.
politan New York press on your side,
and it shows how wonderfully well il
pays. A voice, "were not the Cincin-
matt papers benefted?"] l don't think
it was good for any Cincinnati paper
except the Times, perhaps. We cut
that postofice bill down eight million


dollars, and did not interfere with the
postal arrangements. They put in ar
army bill of enormous proportions
They went SO far as to get up an Indiar
war. Now, do not speak unadvisedly
when I say they got up this Indian war
They failed to keep their treaty stipula
tions with the Indians. / am not on tn,
side of the Indians. think about tn,
only good Indians are the dead ones


But still there are some things that W,
ought to regard as sacred. They pu


in an enormous army bill. We Gu


down that army bill eight million dollars
and have not interfered with any prope
; use of it; and the fact is, that if the.


will just take their army out of th,
Southern States, and not want to carr,
the Southern States by military force
and will put the army out in the West
our brave frontiersmen will find plent,
of protection from the army that w


have.


They put in sundries civil bill. Thi


bill is a peculiar one. 1t makes up al
sorts of things. This bill is general,


full Of stealing. We cut it down tel
million dollars below the estimate. The,


put in river and harbor bill, which W


cut down nine millions below the esti


mate; and, by the way, Ihave been yer,
much interested in seeing criticisms OF
this Confederate Congress, as they call ii


because we did not cut that river an,
harbor bill more than we did.


Now, we cut that river and harbor bill
, down Just about as low as we could, an;
we sent it over to the Senate, and the
: made pretense that they were going t
i, cut it down still further. Instead q
, that they added to the river and harbo
} bill several hundred thousand dollar
: This was added by this virtuous Reput
lican Senate, and it was forced upon thi
S wicked and outrageous Democratic Coz
D federate House. But, after all, we CT
S down their river and harbor bill mir
D millions below the estimate. Their Ii
E dian bill and their Indian ring! VIII,
: my fellow-citizens, it would be then
e for long discourse; it would be tt
e most exciting novel that could be wri
e ten, if anybody could describe.in full tt
: thievery connected with this India
d ring. They got scared about this ther
C selves, and they cut it down, and ol


House was only able to cut down abo1
n one million below the estimate.


= Then came the last legislative, exec
Is tive and judicial bills. This was gre
d point. This is where we are moved
c. tears. This is where all the wickedne
n of this Democratic Congress culminate
10 This Democratic Congress, upon agra
Ie Investigation, determined that the