The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-06-30
The Campaign in the Senate.

The senate intends to do some campaign
work. The report of Senator Davis, the
chairman Of the committee on pensions, ad
vising the passage of certain private pension
bills over the Presidents veto, is intended,
doubtless, to afford the republican senat-
OTIS an opportunity to attack the President,
and influence the soldier vote against him.
Mr.. Cleveland has vetoed more private
pension bills than any of his predecessors,
and the record shows that he has signed
more. A much larger number of such bills
has been passed since the democratic party
came into power than during any equal
period of republican rule. 1t cannot be
said, therefore, that the democratic party
is opposed to granting pensions.
The reason the President vetoes 50 many
private pension bills is that he conScien-
tiously examines them. Before he signs
any bill he makes himself thoroughly &C
quainted with it, and if he is satisfied that
it is meritorious and just he signs it, but If
he is convinced that it is not strictly in &c
cordance with the law and the facts he
vetOes it. Could be do otherwise and at
the same time conscientiously dis
charge his dutiesl
The practice of his predecessors was to sign
all the private pension bills sent to them, on
the presumption that congress had thor
oughly examined them. This presumption
was a violent one. If there is any part Of
its duties which congress does not attend to
strictly it is that which relates TO private
pensions. 1t is seldom that more than one
or two senators know anything about the
private pension bills they assist
in passing, and the number of
representatives who take the trouble
to inquire into all the particulars Of
pension claim is remarkably small. 1t
can be said truthfully that not more than
one or two members of the pension commit
tees of congress ever know anything of the
merits of the applications for pensions for
which they are expected to vote.
Under the circumstances, therefore, the
free use Of the veto power is necessary. OF
course the President could follow the prac-
tice of his predecessors and sign all the
private pension bills, but if he were to do
SO he would no longer have the reputation
of being a conscientious chief magistrate.
When Senator Davis report comes up
for consideration, the republican senators
may say that the president is using the veto
power arbitrarily, and that in doing SO he
is making precedents that will prove to be
dangerous to the institutions of the country,
but they will not dare to say that his vetoes
are intended to increase his popularity.
OF course he Is liable 20 make mistakes,
and it may be he has toedpension bills that
ought to have become laws, but if no has
he is unconscious of having done so. All of
his vetoes appear to be so strongly fortified
by the law and facts that there is no reason
for thinking that he can be attacked on any
of them successfully. The discussion that
Senator Davis report is likely to call out
will, in all probability, do the President
more good than harm. 1t will show that
at least some of the applications for PEN
ions are fraudulent, and that the President
is only doing his duty in vetoing pension
bills which practically ignore both the law
and the facts.