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CONGRESS, U. b. 



bounties was without law. It was probably 

 the greatest stretch of power that has been ex- 

 ercised during this war. I do not know whether 

 it was necessary or not. I think it was not 

 necessary. I believe that if the authorities had 

 in good faith, commencing last March, enforced 

 the law which was provided for them accord- 

 ing to the terms of the law, by the month of 

 July they would have had the army filled up. 

 There is no doubt of it, in my judgment. They 

 eeem to have delayed action, to have put it off 

 from day to day, showing timidity, anxiety, 

 fear of the people ; deterred at one moment by 

 the mob in New York, at another by threat- 

 ened political movements in other parts of the 

 country ; and finally, in October last, they fell 

 upon the measure of offering bounties without 

 law. 



" This section of the bill, if it passes, will, in 

 my judgment, involve the expenditure of over 

 one hundred million dollars. There arc three 

 hundred thousand soldiers called for. The 

 bounty offered to veterans is $400 each ; to 

 other persons $300 each. Counting one hun- 

 dred and fifty thousand, or one-half the num- 

 ber required, as veterans Senators can figure 

 it up for themselves and it amounts to over 

 one hundred million dollars an immediate de- 

 mand on the Treasury of the United States. 

 This money has not been paid out ; no portion 

 of it has been raised except the $12,000,000 

 paid in as commutation money." 



Mr. Wilson, of Massachusetts, followed, say- 

 ing : " Mr. President, I think the passage of 

 the first section of this bill, with the limitation 

 put upon it, that it is only to continue till the 

 fifth day of January next, will save money to 

 the Treasury of the United States. I agree 

 with the Senator from Ohio that the offer of 

 these bounties by the Government was made 

 without authority of law. The Government 

 had no authority to offer bounties for any per- 

 sons to enlist beyond the extent of the amount 

 already received as commutation. But, sir, 

 there had been a great deal of misrepresent- 

 ation in the country in regard to the enrolment 

 act, or conscription act, as some choose to call 

 it. Its results, as well as the act itself, had 

 been misrepresented. It was said be a failure. 

 Sir, it was not a failure. If not a great and 

 eminent success, it was no failure. The Gov- 

 ernment made a draft of about one-fifth of the 

 persons enrolled between the ages of twenty 

 and thirty-five years in some of the States. 

 The Government undertook to raise a class of 

 very perfect men. The Government said that 

 in the volunteer service a great many men had 

 been enlisted who had broken down after a 

 few months' service, and that we ought to 

 have nothing but perfect men. They made, I 

 think, one hundred and twenty-four causes of 

 exemption, and I undertake to say that any en- 

 rolling board could let off nearly every drafted 

 man under these exemption clauses. About 

 one-fourth of all the persons drafted through- 

 out the United States were held to service. 



About sixty thousand men were placed in the 

 service, either as drafted men or as substitutes, 

 and about forty thousand men paid the com- 

 mutation, and the Government was authorized 

 to offer bounties to that extent, which would 

 raise forty thousand men, and no more. 



" The Government then, instead of going on 

 and making another draft, in which, beyond 

 all doubt, in drawing the same number of men, 

 they would have obtained at least twice the 

 number of soldiers or twice the amount of 

 money obtained by the previous draft, called, 

 on the 17th of October, for three hundred thou- 

 sand men, promising to pay veterans a bounty 

 of $400, and other persons $300. Supposing 

 they obtained the men, one-half from each 

 class, here was a promise of $105,000,000 as 

 bounties. The Government had then about 

 nine million dollars paid in as commutation ; 

 the Government has now about twelve mil 

 lions. That was all the money the Govern 

 had to pay the bounties promised. 



" Now, sir, the first section of this bill un- 

 dertakes to legalize and to fulfil the pledge 

 made by the Government to the people of the 

 country and to the States. The proposition 

 of the Government is limited to the 5th day of 

 January next. The promise was that persons 

 enlisting before that day, the 5th day of Jan- 

 uary, should have these bounties. "We propose 

 to accept the proposition and to fulfil the prom 

 ise ; but we propose to close it on that day and 

 fall back upon the bounty of $100 for persons 

 who are drafted or who volunteer after that 

 day, not allowing it, however, to substitutes. 

 "We require the man who is drafted to pay the 

 whole sum himself to get a substitute. 



" I agree with the Senator from Ohio that 

 we ought to have great care in regard to our 

 expenditures and to the condition of our treas- 

 ury. From the first hour of this war I have 

 felt that our great danger, if we had any dan- 

 ger at all, was in obtaining money and not in 

 obtaining men, and I am more convinced of 

 that to-day than ever. As long as our cur- 

 rency is sound, as long as we can meet our obli- 

 gations promptly, as long as the general busi- 

 ness of the country is prosperous, we can main- 

 tain and prosecute this war. Had the treasury 

 failed, had the currency of the country broken 

 down and interrupted the trade and productive 

 industry of the country, then we should have 

 had at once a strong opposition to the Govern- 

 ment. The condition of the treasury of the 

 Confederate States is full evidence to the whole 

 Avorld that they must go down, that they can- 

 not succeed. They are weaker in that than in 

 their armies. I agree, therefore, with the Sen- 

 ator from Ohio, that it is very important to be 

 careful as to what sums, either for bounties or 

 any thing else, we pay in carrying on the war. 

 It is important that we should be careful to 

 keep the credit of the Government sound, the 

 treasury full, the currency solid, and the pro- 

 ductive industry of the country prosperous." 



Mr. Hendricks, of Indiana, said : " Mr. Presi- 



