The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1888-10-11
An Arrangement Of the Presidents
ProdigiOus Use Of the Veto.
A Veto Equivalent to One Sixth Of
the Legislative Power.
A Comparison of How Other Pfssi-
dents Had UsedIt.
lOaning Government Money to Pet
National Banks.

speech IN Michigan. ARRANGEMENTS
had been made to have the meeting at
Recreation park, but an icy wind from
the west warned the managers Of the
occasion TO cancel that part of the pro-
gramme and hold the meeting at the |
Detroit rink, with capacity of some |
5000. The rink was crowded an hour |
before the time set for the opening pro-
ceedlngs, and multitude larger than |
that within the building was turned |
away for want of room. From the mo-
ment that the Maine statesman
appeared at the main entrance until he
mounted the platform the audience
maintained a continuous cheer, and
when he reached the platform great
yell of welcome assured him he was
among personal friends. General Al
ger acted as chairman of the meeting
and introduced Mr.. Blaine, who spoke
as follows:
Mr.. Chairman and Fellow-citizens-
Despite the Hon. Don Dickinson, men
of New England will venture to call
men of Michigan their felloW-citiZ6ns.
Applause and laughter.
1t was said at the beginning of our
government that the veto power was an
anomaly in the republic. In assuring
the preservation OF constitutional lib
erty in that great document, our ances-
tors largely copied from British prece-
dents 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 1858,
two hundred years ago this year. So it
struck the mass of people in the colo
MES. accustomed as they were to Brit
| ish law, that to give a president the
| right to veto any act of congress aud to
require the votes of twO-thirds of the
house to O'erride that veto was to con-
| fer upon the president most extraOr-
binary power. 1t gave him power in
/ the senate and house equivalent to
one-sixth of the whole legislative pow
er of government. the difference
between majority of one and a vote
of two-thirdS, amounted to one-siXth
of the whole power Of congress, SO that
our president to-day Yields the legis-
lative power of thirteen senators and
fifty-fOur representatives when in his
executive capacity he vetOes bill.
This power so extraordinary was
usually used with great caution by our
earlier presidents. General Washing
ton in eight years used it twice. The
first Adams never used it at all. JEFF
feTson considered it very erroneous
but still considered by modern democ-
racy as the great prOtOtype-iI
eight years never used it at all. Mad
iSon in eight years used it three times
Monroe used it once and John Quincy
Adams never. So that in the first
forty years of the national government
measuring from Washington to Jack
son. from 1889 TO 1929, the veto power
has been used only six times. TheI
came in the great leader of the present
democratic party, as it has been organ
lied for sixty years, General Andrew
Jackson.
Upon the mention of Jackson
name number of vOciferOus Demo
.. Gratis in a corner of the hall set up ;
yell of applause to which Mr. Blain,
: replied: General Jackson was {;
man worthy of your cheers be
cause, however, his contemporaries o.
those who have succeeded him differed
from him on certain great questions
they remember that the first efforts OF
the disutiOniSts were strangled in thu
: cradle by that grand OLD hero" Thi:
quick and happy retOrt upon the WoulC
be disturbers of the meeting was re
ceived by the great audience with al
outburst of hearty cheees. After thii
} had sunk into quiet Mr. Blaine contin
ued as follows:
, In the next forty years the veto wa
J used sixty times. and of this sixty owe
, fifGy of them were by democratic presi
: dents (applause), so that that the part
which processes to be SO intensely dem
ocratic has uniformly resorted to TIT
one man power to thwart the populal
will. Up to March 4th, 1875, when thu
present president of the United States
was inaugurated. the veto power of TIN
/ government had be used in all abou
Z seventy-five times-that was from I78!
to 1885, one hundred years, lackinC
t four, and now Mr.. Cleveland, tat thii
) point the discordant element in thu
! gallery. as If by concerted arrange
: ment, broke out with applause 70
Cleveland, which was Immediately anC
geographically drowned by deluge Of
, Kisses from the body of the audience
, Resuming, Mr.. Blaine said:l Mr.
Cleveland. in three and One-half years
has used the veto over 800 times
(cheers and cries of "hear,' "hear''
: or had when 1 left New York. da!
. before yesterday. How many times
he has used it since
; of those vetoes by President CleYelanC
there ha ye been used 2O6 to the presen
political position of 81 per month, few
believe, of Sl2 month to wOrkeC
down and starving soldiers of tn
United States lcheers and cries of hear
; hearl, and he is the first president o
, the United States that ever vetoed
bill for the relief of soldier that had of
, fered his body to the cannon shell of thu
} enemy of his country. ICheeTsl.
: wish had those vetoes here and haC
} time to dwell upon them. They hav,
all been issued in pamphlet form anC
they Furnished the exposition of the
J difference between the republican anC
democratic parties of today as to thu
manner of treating soldiers u
. the republic l commend i
as one of the best poIitica
: documents in point. Mark you, Mr.
Chairman, there was not in any one O.
these Vetoes, l believe, the charge tina
the men TO whom pensions were to b,
D given had not been soldiers of tn,
4 United States. There was not a singh
question but that those who were to b
benefited by the pension sought, wer,
in sore aud pressing need Of bread
I There was not in any single case tn
slightest question which involved tn
constitutional power of congress T
: grant pensions. Every one of Presj
dent Cleveland's vetOes of pensio
{ bills read prec sely as though the
Z were the decisions of the commission
ers OF pensions for application fo
pension under existing laws. We n
all know that from the foundation @
the government general pension law
provides for the general classes O
cases. We do our best by tile geners
n law to reach all cases, but in general
q iZing there will be aiway
: found exceptions and every on
q Of those 206 that were met from tn
: president, came outside of the geners
! law, but outside OF the personal meri
= of the men who applied for relief lar
r plause) every case had been before In
committee Of the republican senate
Every case had been before a commit
z tee of each house, and every case ha
I been passed through republican sen
|. ate and y democratic house. 1t wOul
n be hard to imagine more Impartial leg
; islation than that should produce, ant
. they met every time with { he resolut
veto of the president. Some of them
a even out of the grimacy and out O