292 



CONGKESS, U. S. 



victions as to the proper course to be pursued. 

 I wish the Senate and the country to know 

 that at this time there have been appointed one 

 hundred and eighty brigadier generals in the 

 United States Army one hundred and seventy- 

 two irregular or volunteer brigadier generals 

 and eighty brigadiers in the regular army. 

 The pay of these officers is $3,954 a year, in- 

 cluding their legitimate pay proper and a por- 

 tion of the commutation of their rations ; but 

 in addition to that, they draw upon an average, 

 as I have learned by investigation, a commuta- 

 tion for quarters amounting to $300 each, a 

 commutation for fuel amounting upon an aver- 

 age to ninety-six dollars each, a small commu- 

 tation for lights ; and besides they receive med- 

 ical attendance, drugs, medicines, and stationery 

 free. I think it safe to say that the expenses 

 to the United States growing out of the 

 appointment of brigadier generals alone is 

 $1,000,000 a year. 



" Now, sir, I am prepared to say, and I think 

 the facts justify me in saying, that the neces- 

 sities of the army and the country do not re- 

 quire one half of this number of brigadier gen- 

 erals. We went through the Mexican war 

 with only three generals in the field. Brigades 

 and divisions were then commanded by colonels. 

 Eegiments were commanded by captains. In 

 some instances regiments were commanded by 

 first lieutenants. They acted bravely; they 

 vindicated the honor of the country ; they up- 

 held the honor of its flag upon every field. 

 The comparative expense, therefore, of con- 

 ducting that war with officers enjoying those 

 ranks was nothing at all by the side of the ex- 

 pense that we are now incurring." 



Mr. "Wilson, of Massachusetts, said : " I con- 

 cur with the Senator from Iowa in the opinion 

 that we have had quite enough general' officers 

 nominated. Still, sir, I think the Senator is 

 somewhat mistaken in some of the views he 

 has expressed. We have in the field something 

 more than six hundred regiments, making one 

 hundred and fifty brigades, and, of course, they 

 require one hundred and fifty brigadier gen- 

 erals. We have forty-five or fifty divisions of 

 the army, and theyrequire so many general 

 officers. Then we have several departments 

 or corps d'armee in the service, which require 

 some ten or fifteen general officers. We have 

 had nominated one hundred and seventy-five 

 brigadier generals for the volunteers, and about 

 twenty major generals. I believe the one hun- 

 dred and seventy-fifth brigadier general was 

 nominated this morning, and his name will be 

 down here by and by. A few of these nomi- 

 nations, I believe, we have rejected ; a few more 

 I certainly hope we shall reject for the good 

 of the service and the credit of the country." 

 Mr. Fessenden, of Maine, followed saying : 

 " It is .absolutely necessary, in my judgment, 

 that Congress should bring itself to consider 

 the question of expense, and as well with ref- 

 erence to their own particular friends as to any- 

 body else. They should remember that the 



country has to pay for it, and that we should 

 not have any more of these gentlemen appoint- 

 ed, if we can help it, than are necessary in or- 

 der properly to command the army. It is not 

 for me to say how many maybe necessary; 

 but let the gentlemen look at the question for 

 a moment. My honorable friend from Massa- 

 chusetts says there are so many brigades in the 

 army. We all know there are a great many 

 more than Congress ever intended there should 

 be ; that we intended in the beginning, and we 

 so legislated, that the number of volunteers to 

 be raised should be limited to five hundred 

 thousand; but although Congress in its Ian- 

 gauge expressed the idea, and it was stated so 

 over and over again, it accidentally gave a 

 power which extended to a million, or was so 

 construed as to extend to a million, and under 

 that our army has been swollen up to over 

 seven hundred thousand men. At this day I 

 do not think a man can be found, anywhere 

 who will say that half a million are not all that 

 we can possibly need or use ; and yet we have 

 this number of troops in the service, though 

 not actually in the field. There are regiments 

 in my own State to-day that have been raised, 

 staying there who have been staying there for 

 months paid by the Government, efficient 

 men, the choice men of our State, waiting and 

 begging to be called into the field and not to be 

 left there doing nothing ; not armed ; ready to 

 do everything, anxious to be in service ; and 

 the answer is : ' We have no occasion for you ; 

 we have got so many men here more than 

 we know what to do with ;' men who make a 

 most elegant appearance on days of review, and 

 who undoubtedly would fight well if they could 

 only get a chance. There are more men than the 

 Government knows what to do with here on the 

 Potomac to-day. What occasion is there to send 

 for others ? So it is in every State in the Union ; 

 there are men who are paid from month to 

 month, and who have been paid for months, 

 not armed, not called into the field, absolutely 

 for the reason that the Government has no oc- 

 casion to use them ; and yet no step is taken to 

 disband these men. Why not disband them, 

 if they are not wanted? Because we have 

 ' seven hundred and fifty thousand, if that is the 

 number two hundred and fifty thousand more 

 than we ever intended to have therefore my 

 friend from Massachusetts argues you must have 

 a number of generals to correspond ! I dare say 

 we have more brigadier generals to-day than 

 there are brigades organized. What is the 

 reason why we should go on and appoint gen- 

 erals to correspond with a number of men that 

 are not needed and are not used ? It is extrav- 

 agance of the most wanton kind ; and we may 

 as well express our opinions upon it openly and 

 let the country understand it. I mean to wash 

 my hands of it. I have tried to do so here 

 over and over again repeatedly. I offered a 

 proposition the other day to stop all enlistments 

 until the army should be reduced to the proper 

 level, until we should get down to the number 



