Mr. WILSON. It is avery plain provision. It is that no bounty shall be paid to any soldier who has been discharged at his own request, unless for transfer to the Navy or for the purpose of acceptingqpromotion or appointment in the Army or avy or after 2 years of service. lf:1.man asked to be discharged for his own account, under 2 years of service, he gets nothing. If he served 2 years we give him the bounty, because we think 2 years is so long a time that after he has served that period he ought not to lose the entire bounty. This clause as to 2 years, in this place, only applies to those who themselves asked to be discharged. There has been great criticism made on this measure, and Iwis simply to say one word in reply to it. The Senfrom Oregon spoke of it. Let me tell him that this measure has been studied and written carefully. It is one of the best drawn bills presented to the Senate this year from any committee. Alter bein drawn up here it went through the hands an received the careful and thorough revision of the PayMGen of the Army. It then went under the revision of Mr. Brodhead, of the Treasury Dept, then under the eye of the SecyWar, and through the hands of some 6 or 7 of the best informed men in the various Depts. It was specially discussed and considered in reference to its provisions concerning those Depts. The object was not to take into account troops that had been temporarily raised for local purposes. Some say there will be a large number excluded by that provision, but I do not think there will be a great many. The Senfrom Pennsylvania spoke about equalization. Let me tell the Senator that this measure is one of absolute equalization. That is as clearly demonstrable as any proposition in Euclid. It is based on the highest bounty ever paid by the Government of the U.S., $8 33 a month. We accept that as the basis, and on that theory the bounty of the Federal Government is made equal in every case. l Now, it is said we are to equalize it in regard to local bounties. I say $8 33 a month is not the measure, if on include not only the bounty of the Federal Government but the bounties of the State governments as well. On that basis, instead of the measure bein $8 83 permonth, it should be at least 25 dollars. During the 1st 2 years and a half of the war we paid at the rate of $100 for 3 years’ service. The early men who enlisted ot but little from the local authorities; but after the Federal Government offered $300 for volunteers and $400 for veterans, the State authorities and other local authorities carried up the bounties on their part to $300 or $400 and in some cases to $500, so that the men enlisted during the last 18 months of the war got their $300 U.S. bounty, while the men enlisted at the beginning of the war got, many of them, but $100 bounty for 3 years’ service.