Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-10-04
BLAINE SPEAKS AT DETROIT.
A Speech Devoted to the Veto Power and
the Disposal of the Surplus.

Speech Devoted to the Veto Power and
the Disposal of the Surplus.
DETROIT Mich, Oct THE Republican
demonstration here yesterday was intended
to have been held outdoors, but the weather
nterferel and made it necessary to change
the arrangements, and the meeting was held
in the rink, where Nh. Blaire addressed
5000 people, many of them being lalies
Gen. Alger presided, and introduced the ora
tor Of the occasion, who began his speech as
follows:
Nh, CHAIRMAN AND FELLOW CITIZENS: For, de-
spite the Hon. Don Dickinson. a New Highlander
may still venture to call citizen of Michigan his
fellow citizen,-It was said at the beginning of
our government that the veto power was an
anomaly in it, 1t occurred To the of the people
in the colonies that to give the president the
qualified power Of vetoing any act OF congress
and TO require the votes of twothirdS Of the sen
ate and twd-thirls Of the house TO override that
veto was to confer upon the president a most ex-
traordinary power. 1t gave him, in the senate
and in the house, that which was equivalent to
one-siSth Of the whole legislative voting power
because the difference between a majority of one
and vote of two-thirds amounts to one-sixth Of
the whole So that the president Of to-day, when
be vetoes q bill, welds the power of thirteen sen
ators and iifty-seven representatives in addition
to his ordinary executive functions. A power so
extraordinary naturally used with great eau
tiou by our earlier presidents.
Mr. Blaine then enumerated the number
of times the veto power had been exercised
by the earlier presidents, and said:
Then catnA into office the great leader Of the
present democratic party, as it has been organ
lied for the past sixty years, Gen. Andrew Jack
son. Applause He is worthy of your cheers.
beralISp however his cont afurarariaS or those
who have followed them have differed from him
on certain questions, it has been remembered
that the first effort of the southern disunionists
was stranged in the cradle by that soldier presi,
dent. Applause
He added that up TO March T. 1885, there
had been seventy five vetoes during period
of ninety six years
Now, Mr. Cleveland Tappiausel in three years
and a half, has used the veto over 800 times
L''Hear, hear" and appause], or had when left
New York, day before yesterday-how many
times since then do no know Derisve laugh
ter and applause.
The presidents pension vetoes were then
criticised at length, the speaker declaring
that in no case was it stated that the vetoed
bill was in favor of man who had not been
a soldier.
More than, half OF the speech was devoted tc
TINS SUBJECT, and Then the speaker, declaring
that he had mentioned it to place it vis-avis
with another subject, proceeded to criticise
and denounce the financial policy of the ad
ministration in placing in the hands of the
banks $50, 000, 600 of the surplus on which, hi
said, the banks obtained $1,000, 900 of inter
est annually without costing them cent
He also said that if a Republican secretary
had done such a thing the Democrats would
have wanted to impeach him He thought
some of the surplus had better have gone t.
the soldiers whose pensions were vetoed thar
to the banks.
The meeting closed with speeches by Gen
Adam E. King, of Maryland, and W. C
D oane, of Pennsylvania.