The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-05-09

WASHINGTON, May Sine PRESIDENT
TO-DAY sent to the House of Represent
atives two veto messages. The first IS
as follows:
10 the House of Representatives.:
return without approval your bill
Eo 147 entitled IAN Act Increasing
the Pension of Andrew ]. Hill. This
hill doubles the pension which the per-
son named therein has been receiving
for a number of years. 1t appears
from the report OF the committee TO
Thich the bill was referred that the
claim made by him for an increase of
pension has been lately rejected by the
Pension Bureau on the ground that the
claimant is now receiving pension
commensurate with the degree OF dlsa-
biIitv found to exist The policy of
fre0aeutly reversing, by special
amendment. the decisions OF the
Bureau invested by law with
fine examination of the pension claims
fully equipped for such examination,
and which ought not to be suspected OF
auy lack OF liberality to our veteran
soldiers, is exceedingly questionable: 1t
may well be doubted If the committee
OF Congress has better opportunity
than such an agency to be Judge OF the
Is any lack of power in the Pension
Bureau for full investigation, it should
be supplied. If the system adopted i5
INADEQUATE TO do full justice 10 the
claimants, it should be corrected, ana If
then, in want of sympathy and consid-
Grafton for the defenders of our govern
ment. the Bureau should be reorgan-
lied the disposition to concede the
most generous treatment to the disabled
aged and needy among our veterans
should not be restrained, and it must
be admitted that in some cases justice
and equity cannot be attained without
charitable tendencies of the government
in favor of the worthy objects of its
care INDUCED under fixed rules. These
conditions sometimes justify a resort
to special legislation, but l am con-
WINGED that the interposition by special
enactment in the granting OF pensions
should be rare and exceptional. In the
nature of things if this is lightly done
and upon slight occasion, an invitation
is offered to the passage of claims by
Congress which upon their merits could
not survive the test of an examination
by the Pension Bureau, and whose only
hone of success depends more upon
svmpathy often instructed than upon
right and Justice. The fundamentally
of the pension claims is thus oYerr1led
and dIscredited, and there is danger
that in the end popular prejudice VIII
he created against those who are worthy
and entitled to the bounty of govern
nent- There have lately been presented
TO me OF the same day for approval.
nearly $40 special bills granting and in
creasing pensions and restoring 10 the
pension list the names OF parties, which,
Tor cause, have been dropped To
1rrkr ehax~
Hferred to the Pension Bureau for ex-
smination and report. After a delay
absolutely necessary they have been
returned TO me within few hours OF
the limit constitutionally provided
for Executive action. Two hundred
and thirty two of these bills are thus
classified: Eighty-one cover cases in
which favorable action by the Pension
Bureau was denied BY reason of the in
sufficiency of the testimony filed TO
prove the facts alleged. These bills
have been approved on the assumption
that the claims were meritorious and
in the passage of the bills, government
has waived full proofs of the facts.
Twenty six of the bills cover claims re-
iected BIZ the Pension Bureau, because
the evidence produced tended to prove
that the alleged disability existed be-
fore the claimants enlisted. THenty-one
cover the claims which have been de-
MED by such bureau because the evil
dence tended TO show that the disability
though contracted in the service was
not incurred in the line of duty. Thirty
three cover claims which have been
denied because the evidence tended to
show that the disability originated after
the soldiers were discharged from the
army. Forty-seven cover claims which
have been denied because the general
pension laws contain no provision I'M
yer which they could be allowed, and
tEeniy-iour claims have never been
presected TO the Pension Bureau.
estimated the expenditure involved in
the bills at more than SIS, 900 annually;
though my inception of public duty
leads me to the conclusion upon
the slight examination which / have
been able to give to such Of these bills
as are not embrased in the 6rst-class,
above mentioned, that many of them
should be disapproved, am utterly uu-
able 10 submit, within the time allowed
me Tor that purpose. any objections to
the same. They VII, therefore, become
operative without my approval. A
sufficient reason for the return of the
particular bill now under Consideration
is found in the fact that it provides that
the name of Andrew J. Hill be placed
on the pension bill. while the records of
the Pension Bureau, as well as the
medical certificate made a part of the
report disclose the fact that the name of
The beneficiary is Alfred ]. HILL.
Sslgnedl. GROVER CLEVELAND.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, May s.
The second veto message is as fol-
I herewith returp ,,;,ho,,. ..,
tbili, No. 3,0l9. entitled aAn sct IN in,
etease the pensions of Abigail Smith ~
sshien bill originated in the House of
representatives This proposed legis-
.saon does injustice to very worthy
saSioner, who was on the pension roll
NC llhle OF the passage OF the law
Which took effect on the 10Th dsr ~
-99Arch last by virtue OF which ali nen-
Sons OF her class were increased from
10 siZ per month. Under this law.