The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-10-04
Blaine AT DETROIT.
Thousands of Citizens Turn out
to Hear the Statesman.
GROVER CLEyELAND'S vETOES
Discusscd.--A Comparison that Is not
toGrover's Crcdit--Thc One 0Ean
Power as Inaugur"ted by a.
Democratic Administration.

meeting was held at the Detroit rink.
With capacity of some G,0OO the rink
was crowded an hour before the time
set for opening the proceedings, and a
multitude larger than that within the
building was turned away for want Of
room.
General Alger acted as chairman Of
the meeting and introduced Mr.. Blaine,
who spoke as follows:
Mn. CHAIRMAN AND Fellow CITIZENS:
For, despite the Hon. Don Dickin.
son, the men Of New England will still
venture to call the men Of Michigan
their fellow citizens. Applause and
laughter.] 1t was said at the beginning
Of our government that the veto power
was m anomaly in Republic. In as.
suring the preservation OF constitutional
liberty in that great document our an
cestors largely copied from British
precedents Which their ancestors had
brought with them when they came
to America. And in England there had
not been veto by the crown of any
act OF Parliament since the revolution OF
l6SS, two hundred years ago this year.
SO it struck the mass of people in the
colonies, accustomed us they were to
British law, that to give the President
the right to veto any act OF Congress and
to require the votes Of two-thirds OF
the Senate and two-thirds of the House
10 override that veto was to confer
upon the President q most extra
ordinary power. 1t gave him a
power in the Senate and the House
equivalent to one-sixth OF the whole
Legislative power OF the Government.
The difference between a majority Of one
and vote OF two-thirds amounted to
One-siXth OF the whole power OF Con-
gress. So that one President OF to-day
wields the legislative power Of thirteen
Senators and hfty-four Representatives,
when in his executive capacity lie ve-
toes a bill.
A POWER SO EXTRAORDINARY
was naturally used with great caution
by our earlier Presidents. General
Washington in eight years used it twice.
The first Adams never used it Mt all.
Jefferson, considered very enormously,
but stillconsidered by the modern Dem
ocracy as their great prototype, in eight
years never used it at all. Madison in
eight years used it three times. Monroe
used il once and John Quincy Adams
never. So that in the first forty years
OF national government, measuring from
Washington TO Jackson, from 1853 to
1929, the veto power had been used only
six times.
In the next forty years tho veto was
used sixty times, and OF these sixty
over fifty OF them were by Democratic
Presidents Applausel, so that the party
which processes to be so intensely DEM
ocratic has been uniformly the one
which resorted to the one man power 10
thwart the popular will. Up to March
4th, 1885, when the present President Of
the United States was inaugurated, the
veto power OF the Government had been
used in all about seventy-tive times;
that was from 1889 to lSS5-one hun.
dred years lacking four.
And now Mr.. Cteveiand-
TAT this point the discordant element
in the gallery, as ii by concerted arrang-
ment, drowned Mr.. Blainc's voice with
applause for Cleveland, which was i'm
mediately and energetically drowned by
a deluge cf Kisses from the body OF the
audience
Resuming Mr.. Blaine said:
HOT SHOT.
Mr.. Cleveland in three and one.half
years has used the veto over three hun.
dred times [cheers and cries OF Hear"
heart, or had wheu 1 left New York,
the day before yesterday, and how many
times he has used it since do not know.
[Chcers aud laughter.l And Of these
vetoes by President Cleveland have
been used 2O6 TO prevent pititul pen.
sion OF 81 month OrSSa month-a few, l
believe OF Sl2 month--to worn-down
and starving soldiers OF the United
States. [Cheers and cries OF "hear,"
"hear"l. And he IS the first President
OF the United States that ever vetoed
bill for the relief Of soldier that had
offered his body to the cannon shot and
shell OF the enemy OF his country.
[Cheersl.
l wish had those vetoes here and
had time to dwell upon them. They
have all been issued in pamphlet form
and they furnish suCcinCt exposition
OF the difference between the Republic
can and the Democratic parties OF to.
day as to the manner Of treating the SOL
diers OF the Republic. / commend it as
one Of the best political documents in
print. Every one Of President Cleve.
lands velOes Of pension bills reads pre-.
cisely us though they were the decisions
oithe Commissioner OF Pensions for an
application for pension under existing
law.
Every case had been before the com.
mittee OF a Republican Senate; every
case had been before the committee OF a
Democratic House, and every case had
been passed through Republican Sem
ate and Democratic House. do not
intend, Mr.. Chairman, to dwell on the
subject Of pensions and have intro
duced it now in order that it might be
placed vis.a-vis with another subject,
viz: the great surplus in the Treasury OF
the United States, part OF which |
think might have goneto that poor sol.
der without eudangering the stability
Of the government, Applause and
laughter. THAT surplus the President
has been acCumulOting with great zeal
and industry for more than year and a
hall, refusing to apply it to the reduction
OF the public debt.
The President and his Secretary ofthe
Treasury have ameliorated the danger
by giving more than sixty millions OF it
as a loan without interest to some Ma
tional banks scattered all over the coun-
try; and this day and hour your money
and mine, aud the money OF every citi-
pen OF the United States, to the amount
OF more than sixty millions OF dol
lars, is loaned without a cent of
interest to certain national banks in this
country, and contend although have
not time at present to 20 into that sub.
jCct) without shadow Of substantial
right under the law. That sixty
millions OF money is secured to the Gov
ernmentSb the men who borrow it,
JannsitinV hnn1s nf tho TTnitod Stotaa