Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-07-27
Hon. Charles A BOutelle.
UPos THE DEMOCRATIC CRUSADE AGAINST
PENSIONS FOR UNION SOLDIERS.


cra,s in Congress to render the payment OF
pensions TO soldiers odious, Mr.. Boutelie
made strong and effective speech, portion
of which we copy, as follows
read, sir. few days ago, in paper pub
| lished in this city, an account of the marvel
Gus industry of our Chief Magistrate in this
crusade that he has inaugurated against the
veteran soldiers Of his country. l ind that
one hundred and forty-one cases that he has
considered have been disposed of by him
within ten days, or two hundred and forty
hours, counting night and day. so that II ne
had sat up nights and gone without 1000 ana
rest he would have devoted but two hours
apiece to the pension cases which had occu-
pied the attention Of representatives and sen
ators, some of them, tor weeks and months
I find il stated in one batch of these bills
that he occupied only between the hours OF
10 O'Clock in the morning and and 3 o'clock
in the afternoon to dispose OF nineteen
veto messages in pension cases, hve hours IN
all; but allowing an hour for luncheon, ~hich
would not be an unreasonable time for gen.
tleman Of his avoirdupois, it would leave
four hours, two hundred and forty minutes,
or less than thirteen minutes for the Presi-
dent to dispose of each case-cases, too,
some of which had occupied the careful at
tention of the committees of the two branch
es of Congress for months at time.
That is the calm, Judicial review upon
which the President seeks to set aside the de-
lberately expressed judgment of the Senate
and the House of Representatives And this
newspaper further tells US that the President
was jocular over his work. 1t saws:
In writing the veto messages the President was
quick TO take advantage of any discrepancies in the
reasons given for allowing pensions and MADE them
appear In very terse language sometimes with vein
of humor.
"a vein of humorr, God help the nation
whose Chief Executive can find no more TT
ting subject tor his gibes than the battered
wrecks of great war from which he held
aloof; the widows and the orphans OF those
who may sleep in unknown graves where
they fell, but whose white foreheads have
telt the kiss Of angels.
Truly it has been said that the spirit and
style OF these veto messages have no prece-
dent and it is safe to say that in his heartless
,neers at the unfortunate he need fear no fu-
ture rival or imitator.
With great questions OF national ana
international Importance pressing TOR
action; with scandal in his CABINET
so gross that his own party papers demand
his attention to it; with our fishery interests
paralyzed by foreign aggression, OF which 1t
seems impossible to induce the administration
to take note; with daily atfronts TO our flag
and arbitrary seizures of our vessels by the
petty authorities of British colony, calling
aloud for the exercise of craftsmanship, or at
least some show of interest, the executive
head of this great nation can find nothing
more important to do than to haggle with
Congress about few private pensions, and
the papers announce that he denies himself to
callers on business, and postpones Cabinet
meetings in order to devote himself undls-
turbed to the grinding of his grist of pension
vetoes, What employment for great
statesman in his MISUNDERSTANDING poor
Jokes at sick soldiers and gllby arguing
away the little pension that would barely
keep the wolf of hunger from the door OF
some destitute but loyal home!
My God, Mr.. Speaker, what spectacle
this presents! | think | can see the muse of
history looking at the grand procession of the
chief magistrates of this country. seeking gu,
the illustrious features in the lives of each to
be tepicted in the great pantheon of Ameri-
can history, and can imagine the expression
| of inefiable disgust which would pass over
the features
| The Speaker. The time of the gentleman
has expired
tonsl time to Mr.. Boutelle.
Mr.. Boutelle. | say, sir, | can imagine
the change of expression-I will not charac.
terize it. for l need not--whch would pass
over tho features of the Goddess of Liberty
| as she might be called upon to survey the
allegoricsl representations of the Characters
| tic achievements of our great rulers, frescoed
| forth in the Rotunds of the Capitol, as her
| gaze should first rest upon the picture OF
| Abraham Lincoln standing on the battlefield
| of Gettysburg, amid the graves of the heroes
of the Union, and there dedicating and pledg-
ing tor all time to come the gratitude OF the
American people to the Nations defenders
and then passing to the next panel. upon
which should be deineated with all the felicity
of art the picture OF the Chief Magistrate of
to-day, sitting in his shirt-sleeves, with hi:
collar unbuttoned, perspiring over the vetoe:
OF little pension bills to the heroes of the
American Republic. Applause.
| have not time. Mr.. Speaker, to advert in
detail TO many phases of this question that
ought to be discussed here, but do desire to
call attention TO one statement that has beer
made repeatedly upon the floor of this House
| A few days ago the gentleman from Wis
consin Mr.. Bragg in his attempt to set W
the claim that the democratic party had beer
the only friend of the soldier since the war
made this statement:
| Who was it that repealed the limitation upon ar
rears, and gave the soldiers whose cases pend
ing their pension from the date OF their disability
| 1t was the democratic party. OH
| do not wonder that he said "Oh!" AM
few days ago the chairman of the Commit
tee on Invalid Pensions, refusing to allow al
interruption to correct him and insisting or
| the correctness of his statement. reiterated
the assertion that il was the democratic party
that had passed the srrears-of-pension bill
On Wednesday, July Z. the following col
loquy took place
Mr.. Grosvenor. VIII the gentleman allow me
question:
The Speaker. Does the gentleman from Indian.
yield2
| Mr.. Matson. do not. Gentleman say that tn,
comparison between the two parties as to thei
course this subject shows the balance on the
side, will submit, and gladly submit to the sol
diers of this country the question to where tn.
balance is Al the legislation friendly TO the ssidie
that has amounted 10 anything since the tcdr IA
been girea bg democratic Rouse Of Representa-
| ftees.
| Mr.. Brumm. BY republican votes.
Mr.. Mstson. II was democratic House that orig
mated and under the leadership of Gen. Rice one
legged democratic soldier. passed the original bill
giving arrears of pensions.
/ Mr., Boutee. VIII the gentleman give the vot,
as II was given in the Houses
| Mr.. Matson. decline TO yield.
| Mr.. Speaker, desire to place on record
I here and now the vote by which the arrears.
of pensions bill was passed. On the 18th
! day of January, 1878, the bill granting ar.
neutrality-suspicious., bill that had been intro
| iuced by Mr.. Cummings of Iowa. a republi-