St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1886-07-10
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, June 90, 1886.

With a nest of tilibusters in Con-
Chesapeake bay in the Corsair, some
patriotic citizens solicitously inquire,
Whittier are we drifting? Scarcely
had it become known however, that
Mr.. Cleveland had been enticed from
bis hard work of the past week, for
little recreation, than he was again at
his desk refreshed for another round OF
executive vetoes of spurious pension
bills.
Some idea may be obtained OF the
steady. hard work Of the president
lately, when 1t is stated that on one
day he approved eighty eight pension
bills and vetoed thirty, giving each
case careful personal attention before
action. The veto messages We're writ
ten by himself and each averaged over
page Of foolscap paper, closely writ
ten. In examining each bill separate
Iy. he had for bis guidance the reports
from the Senate and House Commit
tees and the reports from the Pen
sion Bureau.
The Treasury has never had SO re-
liable watch dog as President Cleve-
land. Not only has he beaten the
record on vetoes, but he vetoed more
bills on one day alone than any pre-
vious President had disapproved dur
ing his entire term of Office. His total
record is now about seventy SIX, while
previous to his accession the whole
number OF vetoes from the foundation
of the Government was only 100. All
but seven of Mr.. Cleveland's vetoes
we're of private pension bills. Before
his Administration only one pension
bill had ever been disapproved and
i that was by Gen. Grant
The prospect of an early adjourn
ment of Congress has also received a
summary disapproval from the Presi-
dent. He has notified the able legisla-
tive politicians who have been in the
habit of crowding through their
schemes during the last gasDs of the
session, that he intends to read each
bill carefully and inform himself of its
provisions before he signs it,
He asserts that he will not go to the
Capital and approve bills as fast as they
are brought to him for the sake of ex-
pediting adjournment. With regard
to appropriation bills he deems it as his
duty to consider every item, and he
swarns the members of the two Houses
that they need not send him long bills
appropriating large sums OF money
written day or two before adjourn
nent with the idea that he will approve
them blindly. With his feeling of res
possibility he declares that he can do
nothing Of the kind
While the Democrats are delighted
with Mr.. Cleveland's aggressive atti-
tude with relation to pension bills, the
Republicans are frothing with indigna-
ton. Representative Bayne, OF Pa,
made vicious attack upon what he |
called tile Presidents unparalleled mo-
nopoly of power, and the Republican
side applauded his vitupsration. Mr..
Bayne was insulted beyond expression
by the temerity Of this man (the Presi-
dent) who had sneered at the reports
of committees of this House and the
Senate. This man, himself no soldier,
but walking the paths of peace, while
these other men imperiled their lives
70 save the Union.
Some of the vetoed claims were SO
grotesque that the President, in his
messages, could not refrain from pre-
senting their ridiculous aspect, for in
stance this case. A soldier remained in
the army one month and seventeen
days, having entered it as a substitute
at time when high bounties were
paid. Fifteen years after this brilliant
service he discovered that an attack of
measles had had some relation to his
army enrolment, and that the disease
had Settled in his eyes, Another
claimant asked pension because Of
the death of son killed in action. .
Being poor, he sent his son to live with
an uncle and afterwards with stranger.
The son was killed in go but the father
did not know of it until '64. The
President thought after such an exhi-
bition of abandonment and heartless-
ness on the part of a father, he should
not be allowed any benefits Of a patriotic :
sons death. Il
The Republicans in the House of {