St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-05-09
CARELESS LEGISLATION
President Cleveland Makes Suggestions
to Congress on the Subject Of
Pension Bills.
A Veto Message on Two Such Measures
Serves to Emphasize His
Remarks.
Secretary Manning Finally Persuaded
to Retain His Portfolio and Act
as a Whipper-in.
Indiana Democrats Said to be Dis.
satisfied with the Chief Exec
utive's Course.
The Presidents Surprise PARTY.

The Presidents Surprise Party.
Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON. May S.-The president
surprised the house to-day by vetoing two
private pension bills. When the first mes
sage was read it was received as good
Joke on the committee which had recon-
mended the passage of the bill, and mem
bers of the committee took 1T good ma
turedly. In that case the pension of a
widow had been raised from IS to $12 a
month, and the president disapproved the
bill because he feared that if it became
law, the old lady might lose the increase of
pension between the date of the
general law, under which she was
already entitled to the increase, and the
date Of the approval of the special act. In
the second case the reading of the message
by the clerk was followed with the closest
attention. Every sound but the clerks
voice was hushed, and every ear turned to
catch the meaning. 1t was quite novel
thing for a president to take the trouble to
examine for himself the merits of private
claim, and everybody recalled the fact that
during the present session congress had
passed hundreds of pension bills almost
without knowing
WHAT WAS BEING DONE,
aud that the senate had actually passed
nearly 400 pension bills in one day without
even going through the formality of read
ing them. The president disapproved of
the second bill upon the merits of the
claim. and because the name given in the
bill was net the name of the person in
tended to be benefited which is another
evidence of the carelessness with which
pension legislation is enacted. The mes
sage stated that all the bills had been re-
ferred to the pension Office for report, and
he had been able to examine one
class, numbering eighty-one bills, in which
the evidence had been sufficient, in the
judgment of the pension bureau. These
cases he has approved and the rest, with
the exception of the two vetoed, he was
obliged to allow to become laws without
his approval, because he had not time to
examine each case, but he ventured few
general remarks in regard to them that
may have wholesome effect on congress,
although some self-sufficient members are
inclined to resent the unfavorable compari-
son between the capacity of the pension
committee and that of the pension office to
justly dispose of
CLAIMS FOR PENSIONS.
At any rate it is believed that the presi-
dents moral support will strengthen the
purpose Of those members of congress who
have lately evinced desire to check the
passage of special pension bills for the
benefit of individuals whose claims have
been rejected by the pension Office after
full and careful examination, with all the
war records at its command. The feeling
that halt should be called in the pension
craze is not confined to one party, but the
difficulty is to find determined and infuen-
tlal men who are brave enough to take the
lead in the face of the certainty that they
would become the targets of political as
sault by the demagogues who assume the
role of champions Of the soldier element.