The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1888-03-03

Ia III tSlilttl VI lilC itttt' Dh"hSS
ostly and bravely discharged his exc
cutiye duty and vetoed an enactment
II which he considered improper, he had
o been threatened by the officers OF that
q organization with personal insult 1t he
. dared to make his presence known Ill
y the city where it held It's annual meet
inc. There was u limit Ia cndurhllce.
T. lie had voted for pension bills, cocrccd
A by his position, because he had been a
, confederate and because he was non
estly anxious for the honor and glory
of the country. He had voted Tor the
t bill because he wanted To give evil
: dcncc to the world that the men with
4 whom he had acted in the unfortunate
, strife respected the fair aud gallant
u soldiers of The union, and were willing
II to give them even more than they de-
a manded. but Che repeated with
strong emphasisl there is n limit, and
| have reached it. | will be driven no
y further by the claims of agents and
. plunderers i'll the garb of soldiers. For
the honest and brave and real soldiers
oil the union | am willing to vote any
amount OF pensions. In this city IS "A
corps Of men engaged i'll inVentlng leg
islatiOn to take more money out of the
federal treasury. The report OF The COM
missioner OF pensions shows when
the arrears of pensions act OF 1879 was
passed, there were some 10000 appli-
cations for pensions pending. The very
next year tho number of applications
Jumped to ll0, 900. The claim agents
Invented that law and put "A limitation
on it, and the number of applications
for pensions jumped in one year from
10000 TO 10 900, and the amount Of
disbursements from $50 600 900 to $50
600 1000" Mr.. Vest went on to say
that of the 1900, 900 men enrolled as
soldiers during the tour years OF war,
there were applications OF l,2OO,OOO for
pensions on account of disability. Such
military execution. he said, d never
been known in the history OF the
whole world. The ~confederates had
thought that they had poor powder
and ordnance stores, and yet making
due allowance for the effect OF climate
in producing disability, it would APP
pear that only one confederate soldier,
half-clOthcd and half-ted, had disabled
three OF his anniversaries. There had
been no such destruction i'll military
annals since the children of Israel
marched through the wilderness, de-
stroying whole nations in Il single day.
The Workmanship Of the Persian
prince in tine "Arabian Nights" whose
arrows crosse mountains and rivers
and despised space III their flight, had
been nothing to that of the confederate
soldier. His bullet must have hit two
or more at the AN time, and struck
where it was not aimed. Fifty per
cent. of all the host of the union armies
were applicants for pensions on ac-
count Of disability. Who (he asked)
believed that they were honest appli-
cants :? Who believed that these pen
sion bills had not degenerated into
A POLITICAL us
which cried aloud i'll the face of all
honest men for redress. lie had great
regard for many of his friends on the
opposite side of the chamber, and in
the words which he had spoken, he had
wished to give an opportunity to some
of them who had barked back in the
contest Over the bill to throw his shin
ing lance among "the confederate brig
adiers" and try to carry off the ltepub-
licun nomination for the presidency.
a recent dispatch from Paris had
caused political candidates to become
as ''leaves i'll VallambrOsa." Before
that dispatch had CONF under the
yeasty waves of the ocean, the republic
can party had been in the condition of
the man who, having gone home some
hours before his usual time in tho
morning, and having been asked why
lie had gone home SO soon, replied that
every other place in town was shut up.
The doors OF the republican, party were
now open and presidential candidates
were coming to the front without limit
as TO quantity or locality. The senate
had been engaged for some days past
in Il political auction for the soldier
vote. First had to come his friend from
Nebraska (Manderson), backed by the
GA. X. and he (Nest) had listened with
real qualification to his dialect and
moduiated voice from the beginning to
the end of his speech. Even that sena-
tors filings at the president of the
United States had not detracted from
the general merit Of his bid for
II u VOTE,
and when he received a floral tribute
as a token of regard from his admiring
constituents behind him, he (Vest) had
but II single suggestion to make, and
that was the lilies should have been
embroidered over the portals of tue
White House. That was the object of
all the debate, OF all the bidding for the
soldier vote of the country in the coming
contest. When the senator from Ne
braska toOk his seat he (VesD had
thought that the bid was in his favor.
But the present occupant of the chair,
the senator from Maine (Fryel, had
"caught the eye of The au~ctiOneer"-
q. A. Sand had gone one better"
That senator was prepared to vote II
pension to every man who had
served II day in the federal army.
He (Vest) was about knock
down the prize to the senator from
Maine, when his friend from Kan
sas tPlumb) came 10 the front and out
bid the senator from Maine by an
amendment TO the bill which would
increase the expenditure under il $50
900 900 to 1913 ,000, 900. He (Vest) had
then been strongly OF the opinion that
the auction should close and the prize
be liven TO the senator from Kansas
but then the senator from Illinois (Cul-
iOm) lad come Ia the front and made a
bid from that great prairie state, which
had staggered his INest's) conviction
rs to the propriety Ut closing the sale.
Since that time he had been IN Il condi-
ton OF anxiety, waiting to hear from
other bidders IN the great national AUG
ton.
The senate had not yet heard from
his dulcet-tongued friend from Iowa
(Allisomj, who had kept his seat and
merely nodded acquiescence to the
most extreme propositions for the ben
eft Of the ex-soldiers. Nor had the
senate yet heard from the distinguished
senator from Ohio (Sherman), who in
such II contest. ought certainly to come
TO the front and bid something for the
vote which Candidates thought was 10
determine the contest. Neither had
the senate yet heard from the presid-
ing officer (lngalls). who had been
nominated by the District OF Columbia,
aud everyone knew that the District Of
Columbia acted from the most disinter-
ested and unseltlsh motives He (Vest)
would rather have the nomination from
the District Of Columbia than from any
state in the Union, because (as every
m knOwsJ II came from the heart, and
never from the pocket. No man, wo-
man or child in the district had any
other object than The promotion Of
II NATIONAL. N
aud prosperity. And so when he read
In II Democratic paper of Washington
last Sunday before attending church)
that the presiding officer OF the senate
was the nominee OF the District Of
Columbia, ne said 'tEurekai we