The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1886-08-05
Charleston News and Courierl
Thc Rreslaens and the OLD 9~l.
1lerg.

10 G00u0C1t 090 880 VH0 0OHo
dlers.
The Republicans In Congress find themselves
unexpectedly brough. TO public account by the
Presidents ve.oes of their private pension bills,
and are trying to obscure the plain point he has
made. that they have. betrayed the public trust
In granting pensions without due consideraiion, :.
ty putting forward The claim that they are the
especial friends and protectors OF the soldier.
The threat made ty one these pension moneen
iu The House on Wednesday, that the subject Of
the vetoes and of tie support they have received
from Democrats in the House will be made an
issue In the November elections, affords clear
indication OF the principal motive which has In.
luenced the Republican Representatives 70 20
50 largely into this pension business
Mr.. Cannon, Of Illinois, put the Democrats on
notice that they I" will have to d fend the ac-
ton of the President and of the majority of the
House before November, and he PROCESSES To
have high hopes of the result. These men,"
he said referring IN the rejected claimants, with
their friends and with public opinion, and The
sense Of justice in this country. will send Con-
gress here which win pass these bills and other
proper pension legislation over the President's
vetO" This sentiment was greeted with an
plause on the Republican side, from which II ap-
pears that the Republicans are banking heavily
upon the votes and influence of the claim
ants, and of their friends" TO elect q Con.
gress which will give them what they
want, whether they are entitled to IL or not,
and il they have TO override the Presi-
dents veto 70 get II. In other words the pen
sion m0ngers rely upon public opinion In their
districts To sustain them in converting Congress
into pension mill for undescrving claims, and
tovyo hNaSar lad et..f-
gard 10 such claims by the belief that il is the
surest road to popular favor and TO reelection.
Ii this plan OF campaign is adopted, the ad-
ministratIon will be arraigned on the ground, as
stated by Mr.. Jackson, Of Pennsylvania, that
the President is in sympathy with the party
opposed TO pensi0ning Union soldiers" that he
"dOes not propose that any Union soldiers should
he pensioned il he could avoid it," aud the veto
messages and the support they have received
from majority of the Democrats in the House
will be cited evidence OF the disposition of
the party towards the soldier element as q
whole.
The answer 10 this will be very easy and has
already been made in Congress The Presi-
dent has signed more pension bills than any
other President In the same space of time.
Nearly all the pension legislation of importance
has been enacted by Democratic Congresses.
OF the 9,654 bills introduced in the House dur
ing the present session, less than one-third,
I, 3,1O3, have been considered by the committees
and reported to the House. OF the whole num-
Der OF bills passed, about nine tenths, or 565,
were special pension bills, which have been ap-
proved ly the President and have become lava
Ninety bills have been vetoed and it il upon
these bills that the Republicans propose to ap-
peal to the old d-soldier element and to public
opinion and sense of Justice
After the exposure which the President has
made OF the character Gf these ninety bills we
have no doubt that public opinion will sustain
i'm in tncfo hat IL =.
themselves is thoroughly known, and it Is now
pretty well understood that they were passed by
a minority Of the House In many cases The
question which the old sOldiers will have to de-
eide is simply whether they will endorse the pol
icy of Congressmen 10 granting a pension 10
every man who has a disability and a vote, or
whether they will endorse the policy ofthe Pres.
ident in restricting the bestOwas OF such rewards
Tor service 10 men who were soldiers in more
than name and were actually disabled In service
We do not believe that old soldiers who are in
receipt of an honorable pension. faithfully earn
and deserters and bounty jumpers intent on OBJ
tanning charity at any cnst Gen. Bragg, of
Wisconsin, was Q gallant Federal officer, and, as
the commander of the famous Iron Brigade"
from his State, may he considered as quite as
true representative of the old soldier element
any man in Congress His sentiments in re-
gard to the Presidents action will doubtless be
shared by every honorable soldier who fought
under him or on the same side. Congress has
already gone too far in the way of pension legis-
latiOn, in Gen. Bragg's opinion, and he is glad
to find that there is man in the Executive
chair who has the nerve and courage to place
his hand upon legislation when he thinks II
improper. whether it is pension or railroad leg
islation." The President has only discharged
his duty in vetoing the bills which he disap-
proved, said Gen. Bragg, again, and the old sol
diers generally, we think, will adopt Gen
Bragg's opinion of his action.
The disappointed claimants and "a their
friends" will very probably object TO the vetoes,
and sustain that particular class of their friends
who pressed their claims through Congress.
With such support the pension mongers will
have to he content At any rate, the President
is right and knows he is right, and will not be
deferred from the performance of his duty by
threats Of any description. If the whole House
and the whole Senate should combine to pass q
bill, whether pension bill or not. which he be-
lieved to be wrong in itself, we have no doubt
that he would veto it all the same He is respou-
sible for his own opinions and conduct only, and
has shown by his every act in public life that he
is not afraid to meet responsibility. So long a.
he "means right !" and does what he believes 10
be right, the people will sustain him.