Mr. HALE. I move to amend section 19 by striking out the concluding sentence, as follows: and hereafter no graduate of the U.S. Military Academy. being at the time in the Army of the U.S., or having beenthercin at on time for 3 years next reccing, snail be cligi is to appointment as an O car in e subsistencedepart, ment. I do not propose to spend much time on this gropOsition, nor do I propose to go into any ise ussion as to the character of the Milit Academy at. WestPoint, the desert of its graduates, or the merits of those officers who are not graduates. But I submit that this clause of the section which I have moved to strike out does put an unjust and improperdistinction in this bill against graduates of the Military Academy. Now, I certainly have no desire to bestow praise upon the graduates of that institution at the expense of officers who are now graduates. I have no desire to claim any undue or unrea sonable merit for the raduates of WestPoint; but I think we shall al a so that during the war we have just passed tfiI ough, not only the officers who have gone into the Army from civil life, not only the rank and file of our troops, but the officers who are graduates of WestPoint, at least, as well, have all commended themselves most highly to the favor able consideration of the country. A great deal has been said about the necessity of a WestPoint education for men to buy bise uit. I do not think it is a question of necessity. I do not think it is a question as to whether an education itself at WestPoint shall be required for this Dept. But this Dept does afford one of those sources of promotion, one of those rewards of merit, which certainly ought to be open to ever de serving man in the Army. It is in itself at a trifle, It is true. Probably in the ordinary course of vacancies that shall occur in this Dept there will not average 2 appointments 0. year; but I am entirely unwilling. as a matter of principle, to say that in military offices, in O cos requiring military knowledge or military education to administer successfully, as I claim these places in the subsistence Dept do require to a large extent I am entirely unwilling that anyone of these should be closed against officers of the Army of any character whatever. In the present organization of this Dept, the organization as it existed during the whole of the war of the rebellion, or during the most of it at least, the head of the Dept is and has been a note of WestPoint. As to the efficiency, ability, and inte with which he has managed the affairs ofirt at Dept I think there is no question whatever. Other gentlemen connected with the Dept have distin uished themselves by their administration of its usiness. Othersw o are graduates of WestPoint have acquired in the service of this bureau no less distinction, no less good repute among all who are familiar with their operations, than has been acquired by themselves and others in the field and many of those who are Officers of WestPoint now in this Dept have distinguished themselves greatly in the field before receiving their appointment as well as on detailed service while they have held their commissions here. I submit that there is no sufficient reason why this clause should be retained in this bill, standing, as it were as a sort of stigma upon WestPoint, a mark of exclusion of officers from a certain line of promotion in the Arm. I can see no reason why we should not eqn y exclude them from the QuarterMGens Dept. Indeed the chairman of the; committee, I understand, substantially admits it. The truth is, both these Depts require not merely business capacity, but they also involve in no small degree full and accurate kuowledge of military organization,of military law, and of the theory upon which the system of our Army organization is based. I certainly ho that the chairman of the committee on Affairs will consent that this clause of the section be stricken out, or that the House, in any event, will unite in saying that it ought not to be retained.