CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



193 



Mr. Burnside: "The substance of it was 

 that." 



Mr. Logan: "No, I said that the Senate 

 and the House, the Congress of the United 

 States, had passed the bill referred to within 

 the last two years or during the last Congress. 

 I made no reflection upon the committee what- 

 ever. I only stated that my knowledge of the 

 case grew out of the fact that it was presented 

 to the committee several times while I was chair- 

 man. I said nothing about what the committee 

 did when I was chairman, or what they did when 

 somebody else was chairman ; I only stated that 

 I knew the fact because it was presented there 

 several times when I was the chairman." 



Mr. Burnside : " Mr. President, I have said 

 what I have to say on that subject. Now I will 

 say with reference to these two men, Colonel 

 Huller was dismissed, I believe, peremptorily by 

 the Secretary of War without any trial. If I 

 remember aright, he was dropped from the rolls 

 for disloyal talk at a convivial meeting one night 

 in camp. The Military Committee, for reasons 

 best known to its members, upon an argument 

 presented which I am not going to speak of 

 here, because it would not be proper for me to 

 do so decided to allow the President to act as 

 he thought proper in that case. Inasmuch as 

 this man had been dismissed without even the 

 formality of a court martial, it was thought to 

 be fair to allow his case to be opened. I must 

 1 say, without reference to my own vote, that I 

 was in command of the Army of the Potomac 

 at the time the occurrence took place, and I did 

 not believe Colonel Ilaller was a disloyal man. 

 I do not believe to-day he was disloyal. He 

 fought gallantly in every battle he was engaged 

 in ; but for some reason the Secretary of War 

 took that action, and I am not going to criticise 

 it. He has gone to a higher court than we can 

 create here, and to a better Judge. I am will- 

 ing to let that matter stand just where it is. 

 Colonel Haller was placed before a board of 

 officers, created by authority of Congress, and 

 that board of officers made a certain recommen- 

 dation to the President of the United States, 

 and he has taken action by nominating Colonel 

 Haller as colonel in the Army, and the Senate 

 has confirmed that action. 

 ^ " Now, in reference to Colonel Wyse, he re- 

 signed from the Army because he was ordered 

 on a duty which he could not perform, and 

 which it is well known he could not, and he re- 

 signed. I do not mean to say how I voted in 

 his case. The Secretary of War held his resig- 

 nation for more than a year, I believe, or cer- 

 tainly a year, and the whole thing had passed 

 out of consideration. Colonel Wyse thought 

 that he was as much an officer of the Army as 

 I was at the time ; and suddenly, after this long 

 space of time had passed, his resignation was 

 abruptly accepted. He did struggle for rein- 

 statement, and his wife struggled to aid him, 

 as in duty bound. The Military Committee 

 considered the case. It thought in its best 

 judgment that it would be well to allow the 

 VOL. xx. 13 A 



President, if he thought proper, after investi- 

 gating the case, to reinstate Colonel Wyse and 

 place him on the retired list. 



"That was the action of the Military Com- 

 mittee on these two cases. I do not mean to 

 say that it was right; I am surely not disposed 

 to say that it was wrong. I mean to say that 

 it is not legitimate and fair criticism to criticise 

 the action of the committee." 



Subsequently, on June 7th, the bjll was again 

 considered. 



The Presiding Officer : " The question is on 

 the passage of the bill." 



Mr. Allison, of Iowa: "I ask that the bill 

 be read." 



The Chief Clerk read as follows : 



Be it enacted, etc., That section 1218 of the Revised 

 Statutes of the United States, being in chapter 1, title 



-,. / "IT* _ 1 Oj_ . l" 1 _ :* - 1 ' , 1 , 



States, or of either of the States in insurrection during 

 the late rebellion, shall be appointed to any position in 

 the Army of the United States," be, and the same is 

 hereby, repealed. 



Mr. Dawes : "Before the Senate votes upon 

 this bill in its present shape, I desire to have 

 the statute read which it proposes to repeal, so 

 that we can all understand clearly what is being 

 done in this summary manner and with so little 

 apparent attention to what seems to me a very 

 important matter." 



The Chief Clerk read as follows : 



SECTION 1218. No person who has served in any ca- 

 pacity in the military, naval, or civil service of the so- 

 called Confederate States, or of either of the States in 

 insurrection during the late rebellion, shall be appoint- 

 ed to any position in the Army of the United States. 



Mr. Dawes: " If I understand the bill in its 

 present shape, it proposes to remove that barrier 

 and open the Army to being filled, if the ap- 

 pointing power shall deem it proper, by any 

 person who has proved himself recreant to^the 

 flag and to the oath of office which he took to 

 serve his country faithfully in the Army of the 

 United States without exception. I desire, be- 

 fore a vote shall be taken upon it, without argu- 

 ing the question over and over again, that the 

 Senate shall distinctly and clearly understand 

 what is proposed. 



" If the Senate are prepared to strike down 

 this last barrier or last distinction between the 

 officers of the Army faithful to the flag and 

 those who were faithless to it, if they are pre- 

 pared so to vote, then let them vote for the pas- 

 sage of this bill." 



Mr. Davis, of Illinois : " The Senator from 

 Maryland [Mr.Whyte] introduced this bill for the 

 benefit of a particular person. The Senator is 

 not here, but is sick in bed. My understanding 

 was that he wanted the bill to pass for the ben- 

 efit of this particular man and not any general 

 bill ; and it was agreed between the Senator 

 from Arkansas [Mr. Garland], who offered the 

 amendment, being spurred to it by the Senator 

 from Vermont [Mr. Edmunds], that that should 

 be non-concurred in, and that this bill for the 



