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Show THE COST OF AN INDIAN WAR. It is a popular belief that frontier ; wars are very expensive to the government, govern-ment, and I notice that eastern advocates advo-cates of the peace policy are already making this point a text for argument. Careful investigation reveals the fact I that our forces are subsisted in the field more cheaply than in the garrison; gar-rison; and that, omitting the necessary neces-sary mortality occasioned in action, it agrees better with all branches to be thus subsisted. Cavalry and transportation-stock are everywhere the extravagant arms of the service. But, in tho field, we find the savings iu these departments alone makes up for loss by wear-aud-tear in all others combined. Let us take General Crook's column for illustration: The allowance of grain for each horse, per diem, in garrison, is 12 pouuds; of hay, 14' pounds. For mules, 9 pounds of grain and 14 of bay are regularly issued. At the nearest military posts, graiu costs 4 cents and hay 1 cent per pound. With the column at present are 1,300 horses nnd 1.200 mules. the cost for sub sistence of the former at the posu-being posu-being ?S06, and the latter $600, per day, total, $1,406. Here we use no forage, the stock living entirely upon the nutrious grasses of valley and plain. Admitting that no forage is used fsr ninety days, which is really far less than the length of lime anticipated, there is a saving of $126,540. To onset this, there are only the two tangible items of a large expenditure of ammunition, and the I cost ot hiring extra scouts and uidc-v. ! To n-.icl li.e extra drain of amiuuni . ami, o't.iO.00 i rounds have been pro ! viikd, which, at a liberal estimate, cis i k-sa thiiii $20,000. Willi the ex cepLiun ul a few couriers, whose total cost tu the government will not exceed $1,000 per month, no salaried scouis are employed. Our Indian bcoinn receive nothing but rations for their work and they are with us only about one hull" ol ihe time. At 25 cenLi per day, which is a fraction more than tint cu-t ol a aoldier's ration, ., n; -....ii,..;, f.i.. - rtfiv rl,.v-' ili..i .HllL'r-, 1U1 HIVII 1U1.J w. ...V ieivice, will cost Uncle Sam less than 14,000. Previous campaigns have demonstrated the fact that the actunl lots of animals lrom all causes is more than balanced by the value of horses and ponies captured from the savages. Wagons and other equipage lose no more by wear-aud-toar than they would in service at the forts. The ooid'. -ii.. oo f,r clothing remains re-mains unchanged; wbiio, iu.;iam of provisions, there is a slight gain to I tho service indirectly, as rations are cut down to the lowest limit, and tho money-value of savings credited to the company-fund. Chicago Tril'unc. |