The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1888-09-19
THOSE PENSION vEToEs:
nSsw Republican senators numbered

How Republican Senators BIunderetI in
Regard TO Pensions.
President Cleveland has in nothing
more eonspicuonsly shown bis fidelity to
the people, bis principle of working hard
at the business of his Office and his fear
lessnesS of consequences than in his mes
sages TO congress in relation to pension
bills7 these yetoes in themselves would
make excellent earupaign literature IL the
Democrats had any need of material
The Republicans in tho senate have
seized Upon some of these effective wedhl
bus and have endesvUted to turn them
against the administration. They are not
likely To find much satisfaction In the
mosement because the people are quite
aware of what Is going on. The daily
press IS great destroyer bf shams.
As the case now stands, the Republican
senators are at disadvantage They
passeda lot of pension bills which the
president could not sign without & viola
tion.of his oath of office. and which he
has not Signed. The, purpose of the sen
ators was to refer this conduct of the
executive to the military sentiment of
the country. with the intentieh Of making
ont a eese against president who refuses
T. Sig pension bills. Hence. when the
documents were returned motion was
made to have 5000 copies of these bills
printed at the public expense for Repub-
land has 9 way of giving his reasons for
his officialacts and in relation to these
pension bills he followed his usual course.
The result is batch of veto messages that
are net only mighty interesting reading in
themselves. but which convict the Repub
ican senators OF outrageous carelessness,
If not worse, in passing bills to pension
unworthy persons. So when the Repub-
licans wanted to print the vetoed bills for
campaign purposes the Democrats were
quite willing. provided that the veto mes
sage went with them. The debate on
this point is Still going on. and each ref
erence to it shows the Republicans in a
worse light. It now. appears that the
woman Mnry Deherty, whose nalne has
been made prominent of late in connec-
tidn with these pension bills, is still the
subject of lively discussion. because
slie Is woman the Republicans thought
fitl to take up her case with
great flourish in order to put the
president in as ungallant a light as
possible before an unthinking public.
Mrs. Doherty, it will be remem-
bered, has husband living who is draw
ing pension. Sorue years ago, by fraud
and perjury, Mrs. Doherty succeeded in
obtaining a pension. but the fraud was
discovered and her pension was discon-
tinued. In spite of these facts tho Re-
publican senators ordered n second pen
sion for her. Tho president vetoed their
bill on the ground of fraud, and exposed
her as d pretty, tough citizen. Having.
us they supposed, committed the president
as cruel and heartless prosecutor of
women, the Republicans returned to the
attack. First they tried to make out that
the Doherty woman, who had been ar
rested nine times, was nine women, and
that the president had libeled her. Then
they impugned the information given to
the president by a clerk in the pension
Office to the effect that she had drawn
pension by fraud; finally they de-
clared that she had been injured by
an explosion in the arsenal at Philadel-
phia III 1864 and was entitled to n pension
Unhnppily for this little job Senator
Cockrell had been looking into it. Dis
missing the first explanation as beneath
contempt, he proved that the presidents
informant as to Mrs Doherty's previous
pension is q Republican of long experience
in the pension Office, two-thirds of the
clerks in which are also Republicans. AS
for Mrs. Doherty's statement about the
explosion, Senator Cockrell produced the
record. Every person wounded at the
time received lump sum of money from
The government anu gave receipt for it.
Mrs. Doherty's receipt is not there.
Her claim is therefore fraudulent once
more The Republicans have got them
selves into an awkward position of first
neglecting their duty and passing import
ant acts on behalf of a disreputable
woman, and then of justifying their
highly culpable action by producing per-
iured Testimony with no higher object than
TO make political capitafat the expense of
the President. A more undignif1ed spec
tacle it would be difficult to present The
public is quickly mastering the true in
wardness of the debate, and will not for.
get the performance when the time for
remembering it comes round.