Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1886-07-28
cRIIclsINe JnE PRESIDENT.
Interesting Debate in the House
on Mr.. Cleveland's PEN
sion vetoes.
Evidence Going to Show that the Execu-
tive Does hot Carefully Examine
the Documenta
The Democratic Chairman Of the Pen.
sion Committee Take Issue with
the President.
(Washington dispatch.

Washington dispatch-l
Immediately after the reading Of the
journal in the House the Speaker an
nounced that the regular order was the vote
on the demand for the previous question on
the motion to refer to the Committee on
Invalid Pensions the message OF the Presi-
dent vetoing the bill granting o pension to
Sally Ann Bradley.
Amid a great deal Of confusion Mr.. Bur-
rows, of Michigan, On the part of the Re-
publicans. and Mr.. Matson, of Indiana,
representing the Democrats, endeavored to
come to some arrangement to prevent the
time being frittered ava with roll calls.
1t was finally agreed that the demand for
the previous question should be withdrawn
and that MIR. Grosvenor, Of Ohio, should be
allowed fifteen minutes to oppose the mo-
ton to refer, with PERM sion to some Dem
ocrat to reply, il 30 desired.
Mr.. Grosyenor said he desired to heap
no Iecrimination or condemnation upon the
President for his veto messages. They were
caused by a total misrepresentation on the
part of the President Of his relation to the
administration Of the Government. He
tMr. Grosvenor) had read all the vetoes
coming from that prolific source of vetoes,
and be thought the trouble was the Presi-
dent understood it was his duty TO examine
carefully every act Of Congress, and il he,
as q member OF Congress, would not vote
Tor the bill, he gave no sort of considera-
ton or weight to the fact that the legisla-
tive branch OF the government had acted
afiirmatively upon it. The President acted
| upon the idea that the Executive had a
right, and it was his duty to decide abso-
lutely on every question. Another idea of
the Presidents was hat no private act
should be approved unless there was a law
authorizing ii, wholly oblivious TO the fact
that Congress was the law making power
and had a right to confer a pension upon
anybody.
MIR. Grosvenor then detailed the facts of
the special bill under consideration, and
commented on the fact, as he asserted, that
the President had approved the Fitz John
Porter bill on the very day hat he had We
toed the bill granting n pension to Sally
Ann Bradley, the mother of -four sons, two
OF whom had died on the battlefield, and
two of whom were in the hospital disabled.
Fitz John Porter would go on the pension
roll, while Sarah Ann Bradley would 60 to
the poor-house, and this was the Govern
ment which undertook to say that it was
dealing generously and literally with its
soldiers. The HOUSE was paralyzed and
AAaS ny kio vow III ~ SiJSlC HILL "
proposition tyrannical, in the direction of
absolute %usurpation, in the direction of turn
ing from its normal position the Congress
OF the United States, and turning over the
administration OF the generosity OF the Gov
eminent to one man. Applause on the
Republican side.l
MIR. Matson merely remarked in reply
that he had Just learned that in the Forty
seventh Congress a Republican committee
OF the Senate had reported that the woman
ought not to be pensioned for the same rea-
son the President said he thought she
ought not to be pensioned. Applause on
Democratic side.l
Mr.. Long (Mass.) suggested that at that
time the woman had a husband living who
was in receipt of a pension.
The bill and message were then referred
yeas, liz; nays, Ill.
OTHER PENSIONS.
When the veto message of the bill grant,
ing a pension to Francis Deming was
reached, the Republicans demanded and
were accorded half an hour for debate. Mr..
Boutelle, of Maine, arraigned the President
for what he characterized as his crusade
against the veterans of the country. The
time had come, he said, when the Demo-
cratic party felt itself sufficiently firmly
seated in the saddle to utter its defiance and
hostility to the men who went to the front
TO save the Union.
Mr.. Brumm, Of Pennsylvania, denounced
the Democrats as poltroons and towards,
who exonerated their President whenever
he chose to slap them in the face and spit
upon them. The action of the House re-
minded him Of the play Of Hamlet.
tLaughter.l He would substitute or the
young Prince the young, courageous man
Of nerve, President Cleveland, and for the
poor old Polonius the poor miserable cow-
ards Of the Democratic party. Laughter.
MIR. Hill, of Pennsylvania, made an ar
gument to show that the Democratic party
had the credit for much Of the pension
legislation of the country.
MIR. Curtin, Of Pennsylvania, said that
this vituperation and abuse of the Presi-
dent was all wrong. He asserted his en-
tire confidence in he integrity Of the Presi-
dent and in his desire to do his duty.
After further debate the message was re-
ferred without objection.
The next and last veto message upon the
Speakers table was then laid before the
House. 1t was o message vetoing the bill
granting a pension 10 Joseph Romiser, and
as this case is regarded as presenting
specially strong features, the Republicans
determined to make o fight over its refer
ence.
Mr.. McComas, of Maryland, said the
President declared that though the Com
mittee on Invalid Pensions had reported
that Romiser had fled a claim for pension
which had been rejected by the Pension
Office, there was no such case in the office.
The President said hat Romiser had never
fled o claim. II this were true the COM
mittee was indeed convicted Of gross care
1aaanaao md dpv1hfIoca tho proct1ant mazda
the statement to illustrate the loose meth
DDS Of the committee and his own accuracy
in examining the private pension bills. If
this charge were unfounded then the Presi-
dent was convicted of still grosser care
lessness, because the report of the commit
tee had warned him that there was o case
in the office. He tMr. McComas) held In
his hand the very bundle of pension papers
in the case Of Joseph Romiser. The
packet recorded all the proceedings from
the time of the filing of the claim in 1873
until it's rejection. The records showed
that the Pension Once found that though
Romiser was seriously wounded by q mimic
bal passing through his head and face, be-
cause he was not mustered in the Office was
"constra'n med" to reject the claim. When the
Presidents veto came to the House declar-
ing that there were no such papers he had
VcicpuOHtu W tue TeusiOu OmCe anu uhu
had no trouble in getting them. To-day
had not the President done likewise?
Why had he reproved the committee for
what proved to be his own carelessnessi
The committee had been diligent, the
President negligent. Congress had been
just; the President had denied justice TO
a citizen whose case he had never con-
sidered. Romiser, he said, was Justly en-
titled to a pension, because he had been
inspired by the spirit of the Minutemen
Of Concord and Lexington. There were
many precedents for the bill. The very
first Congress had passed a bill pensioning
the Minutemen Of Concord and Lexington,
and George Washington, unlike President
Cleveland, had approved it. Thomas
Jefferson, the father Of the Democratic
party, had signed a bill granting a pen
sion 10 men who had never been muster
ed into the army, and Andrew jackson
had signed a similar bill. Abraham Lin
coin, in a like case, had said that he
wOu1d mt ipuusro u,hothar MON