Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1885-10-01
GOV. HoADLy USES A DIssEcrNG
KNIFE.
John Sherman as the Friend OF the
soldier-John Sherman as a Friend
ofthe Wool Grower-The Pre-
lenses and Inconsistencies
OF the Great Statesman
Exposed

teuses ana incOnststeuctes
OF the Great Statesman
Exposed.
Extracts from the speech of Gov. Hosdly Al
London Ohio, september %. 1851
Senator Sherman enjoys the reputa-
ton of being grave, wise and stead
fast statesman. II there is any cause
on earth In which his thoughts have
been carefully and considerably ma
tured and expressed, II is the question
of pensions due the American soldier,
disabled during the war. II now upon
this great subject we find the Senator
inconsistent and flexible, our faith In
his steadfastness in any other cause
will be diminished. The history of
Senator Sherman's advocacy of the
cause Of the soldier is peculiar. The
Republican state platform of the pres
ent year contains the following pas
sage:
"The Republican party of Ohio de-
mands the repeal Of the limitation con-
tanned in the Pension Arrears act Of
1878, SO that invalid soldiers shall share
equally, and their pensions shall begin
with the date of disability or discharge
and not with the date of application
1t SO happens, as will presently be
shown, that there is no proposition
which John Sherman has fought more
actively and vigorously than this, and
his surrender to this resolution indicates
that upon every other proposition along
the whole line he is ready to surrender
whenever his interests call upon him.
He is not yet to-day convinced of the
virtues of prihibition whenever re-
quired. His surrender to this resolu-
ton was made in his Mt. Gilead speech,
in the following language:
mo duty now rests upon the Gov
eminent of the United States more inn
portant than the general application
and execution of
OUR PENSION LAWS
for the benefit of union soldiers, their
widows and orphans. In this connec-
tion wish to say that, while the Mexi-
can pension bill was pending in the last
Congress, / opposed the amendment Of
fered to have pensions commence from
the date of disability, but preferred in
stead the general disability amendment
allowing pensions to all disabled sold
iers who have arrived at a certain age,
without regard to the cause of disabili-
ty. / am now prepared to, and will,
when the subject is again presented,
vote to place all pensioners on the same
footingas those who received pensions
under the law as it stood prior to the
first of July, 1880. As rule do not
believe in giving pensions prior to the
date of application but this general rule
was departed from by the act of Janua-
ry rs, 1879. The general sentiment of
the surviving soldiers of the war is that
no discrimination shall be made in ap-
plications filed after the first of July,
1880, but that all pensions shall COM
mence from the disability, and as such
is the clearly declared wish of the late
Republican convention, will cheerful
ly conform to it, end hereafter vote to
allow pensions growing out Of the civil
war to commence from the date of disa-
bility.n
In the National platform, adopted
June 8, 1884, the National Republican
party had also pledged itself to thesame
proposition iii the following words:
''The Republican party pledges itself
to the repeal the limitation contained
In the Pension Arrears Act of 1878, SO
that all invalid soldiers shall share
alike, and their pensions shall begin
with the date of disability or discharge
and not with the date Of application
Let us now see the course which Sem
ator Sherman pursued upon this subject
when q member of Congress, not when
he was q candidate, but when he was in
his seat; not when he was promising
with regard to the future, but acting in
the present, ard when his vote was Of
value and counted one. On the oath of
June, 1884, nineteen days after the
adoption of the Republican National
platform (the Mexican Pension bill be-
ing under consideration in the Senate),
Mr.. Ingalls,, of Kansas, had proposed
by wav Of amendment the very propo-,
siti0n for which the Republican Nation
al platform and the Ohio State plat
form of this year both contend in the
language which has just been quoted.
Mr.. Sherman worked against 1t with
all his force. He understood it fully as
is shown by the following passage from
the beginning of his speech:
This proposition repeals all restric-
tion as to time upon applications to be.
made for arrears of pensions and en-
tends all pensions back to war or date
of discharge or disability not only Of
those who have heretofore applied, but
of those who may hereafter apply
Mr.. Sherman was not mealy-mouthed
in his objection to this proposition.
That which is right this year when he
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