The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-10-12
Ex-UniOn Soldiers Turned Out of Office and
Replaced by Men Who Fought Against the
Nation in the Confederate Armies.
High Premium Paid by the Democratic
Party to Those Who Wore the Gray.
President Cleveland's Sneering and Brutal
VetOes-Treatment ola Soldiers Widow
A Contrast with Abraham Lincoln.
SENATOR HARR1soN,s SPEECH.

the Democratic Administration.
The following is a speech made by Senator
Harrison with special reference to the relation
of the Democratic administration to the ex-
Union soldiers:
Fellow citizens-There are some things con-
| nected with this administration of special inter-
| est to soldiers, and | will ask their attention
while I state them. know the power of the
soldier vote is diminishing; the column is moving
on, and from its head. the aged and infrm are
| dropping into the grave. I know there are not
so many Union soldiers to vote now as there
were in 1865, and yet, my comrades, there is
still large body of the surviving veterans of
that war, and if they faithful TO them
selves as they were to the country,
they have the power to rebuke
| those who now show disposition to forget the
liberal promises with which they sent the boys
| to the field in 1861. Some of you went out Dem
ocrats and came back Democrats But politics
cannot break the bond of comradeship. honor
you as honor any other soldier. give you in
creased honor, because, in many cases you went
| to the war In spite of the beguements of those
| to whom you had been accustomed to look for
political advice. What liberal promises were
made, my comrades, in 1861 AID 1862 All!
when the stress of war was on. when
| the old ship was in the storm,
how profuse were the promises made to the
boysl Shall they be forgotten nowY Shall our
people in these times, when increasing years and
| infrmities are bringing to many of the old
soldiers needs they never felt before, forget
them9 I pledge myself, and 1 am
sure l can pledge the Republican party,
to be faithful, generous and liberal to the SOL
diers that survive, to care for them, and to
honor them until tho last veteran Of the war
sleeps his last sleep. Applause.
1t was not, perhaps, much to be wondered at
| that when this administration came in the APP
pointments to office under it should be enormous
ly to the advantage of the confederate soldier.
There is not citizen or soldier here tonight
who does not know that at least ten times as
many confederate soldiers have been appointed
to Office under this administration AS
Union soldiers. 1 say it was to be expected, be-
cause the seat of Democratic power now as be-
fore the war, is in the South, and when the
offices came to be distributed it was to be ex-
pected. suppose that nearly all the offices in
the Southern States should be filled
by, confederate soldiers. If the same
rule had been applied in the North
we should have less cause to complain; but ap-
peal to any Democratic soldier who hears me,
| whether that is true in Indiana Last fall l as
certained by careful inquiry that up to that time
there had been 361 Union soldiers and eleven
| soldiers widows turned out of Office in this State
by this administration, and only ninety SOL
| diers and one soldiers widow appointed. The
| Civil-service Association OF Indiana report that
In the internal districts. practically a
clean sweep has been made. In the Indianapolis dis
trict of fty-six former incumbents fftythree have
| been succeeded by Democrats. Ffty-two soldiers
were formerly employed; now there are but four
There Democratic soldiers in Indiana Of
repute and intelligence, and many of them we're
candidates for these places, but they did not get
| them.
In the beginning OF the Forty-sixth Congress
the Democratic party came into control of the
Senate, and they at once looked about to possess
the patronage. They introduced resolution
| intended to give the control of all the appoint
ments to the Democratic Sergeant alarms and
| the Secretary Of the Senate When this resolu-
ton was offered Senator Edmunds moved to
amend by adding the following:
But no officer employee of the Senate who
served in the forces of the United States in suppress
| ing the late Rebellion shall be removed except for
cause stated in writing to the President OF the SEN
| ate and approved by him in writing
The yeas and nays were called upon this amend
| ment, and every Democratic Senator including
| Senator Voorhees,, voted against it. What next?
Senator Carpenter then moved, as an amend
ment this:
i But no Office employment made vacant by the
removal dismissal of a person who served in the
forces Of the Union during the late shall be filed
| or supplied by the appointment employment of
person who served in the confederate army during
the late war.
That is, you should not put out Union soldier
and put in a confederate soldier. The yeas and
nays were called again, and every Democratic
Senator present voted against this amendment
and every Republican Senator for it. Every
| Democratic Senator voted that Union soldiers
| might be displaced and confederate soldiers put
in their places. l had occasion in the Forty
seventh Congress to inquire as to the number of
soldiers employed in the departments at Wash
ington under the Republican administration. and
l found that about 40 per cent. of all were
soldiers soldiers widows I then looked into
the condition Of things about the Senate, which
| was under Democratic control, and
found that only little over IA per cent.
in the Secretarys Office Union soldiers,
while % per cent. had served in the eonfeder-
ate army. found, also, that in the Sergeant
! atarmss office seventeen persons, orless than 16
per cent. of the force had served in the Union
| a
! 10 per cent, in the confederate army. That
| was the first advent of the Democratic party to
| power in the United States Senate, and ask
! Democratic soldiers why it was that their In
diana Representatives, who had control of
| appointments thore could not secure larger
per cent. of Union soldiers employment about
the Senate. | found that the aggregate salary
paid to Iudanians employed about the Senate
was $4,000, and that only one soldier FROM cur
State was on the payroll and he was getting
1920 per year The House of Representatives
was Republican in the Forty seventh Congress-,
and found that over 80 per cent of its en-
| ployes were Union soldiers.
But let US look at one or two special appoint
ments made by Mr. Cleveland Mr. Lawton, of
Georgia, was appointed minister to Russia, but
inquiry developed the fact that he had never
had his disabilities removed. This man was
selected to represent this government at the
court of Russia, the administration forgetting
probably, that the Gear was side during
the war. Laughter and applause
There was another distinguished rebel Mr.
| Kelley, of Observation-Disclosures chiefly for I'M
repentant disloyalty-who had to be honored
They had hard time getting place for him.
They first sent him to Italy, and she would
not receive him. They tried Austria. and she
| would not have him. and finally they located
him in Egypt [Laughter.l lie is the man who
declared that this government was ''bloody
| usurpation."
My Democratic soldier friends if you had been
| selecting man to represent this country abroad
| hav fhat ind IF ma and
| is this the sort of work you intend to endorse
when in your platform you indorse this admin
| istraton?
| THE CASE OF SOLDIERS WIDOW.
alluded little while ago to the treatment of
| an Indiana soldier by this administration, now,
| LET me tell you of its treatment Of q soldiers