The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-07-05
THE SENATE AND TIE PRESIDENT.

THE SENATE AND THE PRESIDENT.
The report Of the Senate committee on the
arrogant and fippant manner in which the
President has vetoed so many pension bills
sent to him for approval will strike the impair
tial mind as deserved rebuke for the offense
the ex parte evidence of an under-offcial,
tacitly instructed to find exception to these
claims, should SO arrogantly and fippantly put
his unqualified condemnation upon them, is
something that the Senate cannot be expected
J to submit to without complaint. 1t is fact
that the committees to whom these claims are
submitted by the Senate and by the House,
before they are acted upon by those bodies,
have better means of understanding the
merits of such claims than the Commissioner
of Pensions can have upon cursory examina-
ton of the same by clerk, and with
the bias he cannot help feeling when
he realizes the Presidents wishes in the
premises. The Presidents instructions
to CRITICALLY examine" such claims, and
to report if there be f'any objections to
their approval, means that some objection of
some kind must be found upon which to base
veto. OF course, under such circumstances,
it is impossible that they should escape con-
domination by the gentleman who begins their
hasty consideration with the determination to
pronounce against them.
In all this contemplate business the Presi-
dent has shown himself to be narrow, big
oted and bullying man. His language reveals
that he reioices over the fact that some tech
nical flaw enables him to apologize for pro-
nouncing against them, and the brutality and
sneering contempt for the claims of the loyal
men who exposed their lives to save the coun-
try in its hour of supreme peril show that he
has greater regard to Saving" few dollars to
the government to be squandered in some
other direction, than to do the Nations whole
duty to its patriotic and heroic defenders.
The journal has already pointed out the
scandalous features of some of Mr.. Cleve-
lands vetoes, on which he is doubtless hoping
to build up record for craftsmanship. IF
there be anything else in them than the mean
est exhibitions Of spleen and of narrow
conceptions Of what his duty should
be, we have failed to see it. The
being able to do this thing, as though it was
source OF pleasure to him that he can stand
between these applicants and the pitiful com
pensation they pray for. At the very time
this is being done the government is being
run at heavier expense than it was when that
party was in power that believed in giving
these men their dues. The public debt is not
being discharged, and there is danger of a de-
| fciency in current expenses. The public
when it is asked that the men who put down
| the Democratic Rebellion be paid for the same
he steps in and says no. And this he does
not in the way man would who is simply do
! ing his duty, but as one who takes satisfac-
ton in it. and rejoices that he is able to do it.
He has not been content to say that he could
not approve this OF that bill, but has gone out
| of the way to sheer at the claims
made and at the men making them. He
has proved himself to be a man
with contelnptibly narrow views, and one
of the Holman school, who would rather
save a dollar at the expense of ten, or at the
greater expense OF the Nations honor, than to
do anything that would really be honorable
We misiudge the American people if they do
not pronounce against this way Of doing bust
ness. The mistake made by the American
people was in selecting man with so little
conception Of the nature of the duties devolv-
ing upon the chief magistrate Of this great
and prosperous country. To play the part of
penurious cheese-parer, he has usurped the
eminent, and has seen fit TO accept the hasty
and dishonest report of his server over the
careful investigation conducted by Congress
in the matter of investigating and passing on
these claims. If it is to be accepted that this
| is a better way to do this business, and
that the committees appointed for this
purpose are incapable of performing
their duties, we might as well set
Congress adrift, and let this great
man do all the business of governing the CO.
600, 900 people making up the American Re-
public. Up to this time it has been insisted
upon that there were some things that the
President could not attend to personally and
that these of necessity must be delegated to
others. To this end was Congress designated.
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