Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1888-09-19

Total killed by Cleveland. ............33 1
Not by the number of pension bills sent to him
by Congress- with which the Executive has moth
ing to do, but by the number he kills, is the
Presidents feeling for the soldiers to be judged
This matter, the treatment of pension bills
under the several administrations, was well pre-
scented recently by Mr.. Cutcheon in the House
of Representatives, 1t is worth while, in view
of Commissioner Blacks partisan report, to
give here an extract from Mr.. CutcheOn s
speech:
During the twenty -four years of Republican
administration, extending from Lincon to Ar
thur. inclusive, there were but eight Vetoes OF
pension bills-al1 by President Grant-hve of
which were in the interest OF the benehc1ar1es
of the bill.
Now how stands it with President Cleveland?
During the first two years OF his administration
Congress sent % him for approval $40 acts. The
Constitution article l, Section Z, Clause p
directs that IF he the President) approve ian
oct he shall sign it, Therefore, if he does not
sign he does not approve.
Ofthese $40 acts President Cleveland
Vetoed and returned. IA
Disapproved without returning. ............. .155
Pocketed and defeated. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
Total disapproved .2S1
Approved and signed NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 6SS
Or he disapproved one act for every 237 that
he approved, or nearly one in three. Republican
Yetoes one in 538; Democratic vetoes, one in
2.37 in the ratio of one to 100.
In this statement of vetoes / have not in
cluded the fifteen Senate pension bills and the
thirty-two House pension bills making forty
seven in ALL which resident Cleveland has
vetoed during the present session of Congress-.
III three sessions Of Clevelands administra-
ton the pension vetoes already number III,
without counting the 157 disapprovals where
the bills were allowed to become law without
the Presidents signature Therefore, we make
this comparison
Vetoes of pension bills in twenty-four Repub-
Hcan years, eight or ono i'll three years.
Vetoes of pension bills in three Democratic
years, Hill in three years.
l should think further comment unnecessary.
This is much faireT presentation OF the case
than that made by Commissioner Black. After
giving these statistics Congressman Cutcheon
said:
"AIv point, Mr.. Chairman is just this, that the
President has absolutely nothing to do with the
number of pension bills sent to him. The Ques-
tion is, how does he treat them when they come
to him? Does he treat them in a friendly or an
unfriend1y way? 1 am justified in saying that
the general course OF treatment of President
Cleveland toward pension bills sent to him has
been unfriendly. He has already vetoed more
than IT'S pension bills, besides 156 he diSapproved
without vetoing them At one fell swoop he
struck down the dependent pension bill, which
would have benefited thousands and tens OF
thousands of needy veterans who were suffering
in the almshouses of the coun ry His whole
course has been adverse to pension Ieg1slat1on.
will say nothing here of the undignffed and I'M
becoming language in which many OF the vetoes
were cOuched.
General Black doubtless meant we'll by his
chief, but he has not helped him by his campaign
report. 1t is not the Commissioners fault, but
the fault of the record The cold 1actS are against
Mr.. Cleveland. He reveled i'll veterans wounds
and sutferings when election day was distant.
record or obscure the public's understanding
0f