New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-07-17

THE PRESIDENTS ATTACK on UONEN.
With the Presidents private life the public
has nothing to do. hat his official manners are
subject of legitimate criticism, like any other
detail Ct his official conduct. The debate in
the Senate the other day upon the pension
vetoes revealed him as a President who does
not hesitate in the eager pursuit Of cheap pop
ularity to indulge in mean attacks upon the
characters of poor and frendesS women. This
is not a large business for the President of tho
United States to be engaged in.
The latest instance is that of Mrs Dougherty.
This woman. while working in an arsenal
making cartridges suffered a severe accident;
she lost her son she became partially insane,
if not wholly so. The Pension bureau rejected
her claim as il often must do in really deScrv-
ing cases but the Pension committees of both
houses Of Congress. one Democratic and the
other Republican. decided that, to use Senator
Hawley's words. 1t would be "wiSc and gen
erouS'' to give her pension. The President
vetoed the bill alleging that the woman was
" of very bad character and had been under
arrest nine times for drunkenness, larceny.
creating disturbance, and miSdemcanors of
that sort" The language leaves the impress
sion that the woman is now VIGOROUSLY bad
character. The fact is as Senator Davis, Of
Minnesota, showed, that all these accusations
relate to period prior to 1872. She was ar
rested before that date seven times, the other
two cases being of another person entirely.
From 1872 to 1888 her conduct had been
proper. Yet as the Senator says. the PrcSi
dent Of the United states has gone back fifteen
years TO investigate the character Of this poor,
Old dccrcpit half-crazcd woman for the pur-
pose Of putting an imputation upon her, and
thereby justifyng the veto" Senator Davis
also stated that on the day of the veto report
as to this woman had been withdrawn from the
Pension Bureaus files, and delivered to the
chief of the Washington police, which had not
been returned. Here. then, we have the PrcSi-
dent Of the United States. after two Con-
greSsona committees and the two houses Of
Congress have decided that this woman shall
have a pension of few dollars month. hunt
ing through the poce-cOurt archives Of Wash
ington to discover whether at a time when she
was probably half-crazed by disease and grief
she had been locked up Il few times. What
if she had been? Mol Pitcher was not a per-
son Of rigid morals but her patriotic services
are gratefully remembered. We quite agree
with Senator Blair, who is certainly not ac-
customcd to cOndoninG immortality. that the
Presidents notion that all he has to do to make
pension seem improper is to anix personal
stigma upon the applicant is entirely erroneous
Another case Of the same kind. which was in
dignantly recalled in this debate, was that Of
Harriet Welch. Her hIsbard had been pen
stoned for a gunshOt wound in the leg and
applying for increased pension, was directed
to appear at Green Bay, Wis, for examination.
Returning home on the cars he fell between
them, owing, as il was believed to the weak
ness of his leg, and was killed. Congress
awarded her pension, which the President
vetoed, emb odying this contemplate sIur in
the message:
Though this widow admits that prior to her marriage
with the deceased soldier she had married another
man whom She could only say she believed to be
dead, believe her case 10 be a pltiablc one.
Seven children had been the fruit Of the
marriage with the soldier, upon which the
President chose to cast this utterly needless
reflection. The Senate Committee SLY "thero
is nothing in the evidence to Justify it," But
he seems TO be gwen to sweeping reflections
Of this nature After enumerating the al
legged dark spots in Mrs Doughcrty's record.
he could not stay his hand from SAYING:
But there IS much to fear that this case VIII
find It's parallel in many that have reached a success
ful conclusion
This is pleasant reading for soldiers widows
and their friends. Really, we think with
Senator Blair, that if Mr.. Cleveland must write
these veto messages, he could do it cas- a
gentleman, not to say like a President"