Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1889-09-04
A PAT ON THE BACK

- ~ T. -
The Grand Army Delegates ut Milwaukee
Adminlster 1t to Corporal Tanner-He Ii
Praised for His Course az Pension Conn
missioner - Important Matters Leeis-
lated Upon ut the Encampment-Tho
Naval Battle Il Grand Spectacle.
MILWAUKEE. Aug. 3D-At yesterday morn
ing's session OF the National encampment
the election Of officers for the ensuing
year was completed DR.. Horace p Porter.
Of Kansas, was chosen Surgeon General:
W. H. Childers, OF Kentucky, Chaplain
and Comrade Lovett, Junior Vice. Com
mander
General Alger, president of the Logan
monument fund, reported that the
collections to date aggregated $ll,-
! 1890 committee Of five was aAthor-
lied to place before Congress a.
proposition to set apart a portion OF the
~, 0o0 appropriated for the site, tv be ad-
ded to tho fund for the monument Gen.
oral Warner left the chair and made q
strong appeal for the monument scheme.
Congressman Perkins, OF Kansas, claimed
the recognition Of the chair for resolution
BY which the encampment heartily thanked
the Administration Of President Harrison
for the honor It bud conferred unon Gle
Grand Army II appoi2 stHv Corporal Tannsf
as COMMISSIONER IF Pensions indorainp his
management of the bureau that had been
created fox ths benefit Of the soldiers and
Sailors OF the war, and denouncine tho Bit
tor and malignant criticisms OF portion of
the press ubon his official conduct
Applause greeted the resolution, but
General Barnum, OF New York, was quick
" upon his feet with substitute, deolar-
Ing that Notwithstanding the assaults of an
unfriend:y press, the encampment declared
Its belief In the integrity of the Commits
s1oner, and expressed its approval of his
efforts to do all for the soldiers and sailors
Of the country that the laws allowed It
suggested, however, that a committee
should be appointed to investigate the
workings OF the Pension Office
An animated discussion of three hours
duration ensued. Comrade Campbell, of
Kansas, voiced tho general sentiments as
expressed by score of delegates in the
following language:
For fifteen years VIC have been declaring
and others have been ut,ering, a sentiments
that the country can never pay the debt due
the old soldiers; but Corporal Tanner is the
drst officer that has based that sentiment upon
practical reality. I believe 1t Is the high
duty OF the encampment to sustain him in
working out that sentiment. II the Grand Army
" VIC NcpuUlLC ever ma Il uOlY TO per-
form, looking neither to the right nor to
the left, to the committee that is investigating
the workings OF the Pension Bureau or to the
Commlss oner himself, 1t is now. and we ought
TO pass this resolution. The substitute differs
from 1t In only one particular. 1t expresses Il
belief In the integrity OF Comrade Tanner and
would not influence the action of the COM
m'ttee charged with the Investigation. 1t
may be better than an endorsement
offered IN al
resolution, but we should make
our Endorsement strong enough. The original
resolution expresses our sentiments exactly
II Tanner Is dishonest or has done any criminal
act We will find 1t out when the comm tee
makes its report The presumption OF law is
that every man Is innocent until he is proved
guilty, and, as far as I am concerned, l will
make that presumption go 10 the fullest extent
in this case"
In the debate that followed one delegate
declared that he would not dare to go back
to the soldiers of Minnesota after harming
hair of Tanners head. any more than 10
ride through band of Sioux Indians with
their war-paint on. The encamnment, he
urged, should stand by Tanner un il some
thing wrong had been proven against him.
General Wagner, of Philadelphia. took
the ground that both resolution and substi-
tute was a club in the hands of Tanners
enemies. The encampment ought not to
force the Administration to suspend q
necessary investigation. Another delegate
In the course of lengthy speech said:
Twas inWashinglon last week. and heard it
charged upon the streets and everywhere else
that men employed in the bureau were all get
ting their cases made special and taken up I'M
mediately and re-rated much higher while the
poor devils of the rank and file have to stand
back and wait. l told them that it was
lie, but II no has done that and we pass
the original resolution we indorse such action
on his part. The substitute is broad enough.
This encampment knows nothing of Tanners
work and can not pass Judgment upon It. We
may believe it is all right. but we do not know
1t. If we pass the original resolution and the
committee Of investigation should exoneratc
him the opposition press would. say that the
Administration dare not oppose the G. A. R.,
and they would have good reason to say it,
Corporal Tanner himself took the floor at
this point and in an imprisoned speech
declared that he not only courted, but de-
manded, an investigation OF his administra-
ton Of the Pension Department.
Ultimately the substitute OF General Bar
mum was amended to read as follows:
THAT We thank the President of the United
States for the appoin tmcnt OF our comrude,
james Tanner, as Commissioner OF Pensions,
and that notwt standug the assaults upon
him we declare our complete confidence in his
Integrity and our approval Of his avowed pur-
pose to do all that Is possible to be done under
the laws Of the land for the veterans Of the
war, and with him we ask for the fullest in
Vcstgation OF the management of his office"
In this shape it was unanimously adopted.
For the balance of the day the encamp-
ment devoted itself to routine business
1t was decided to appropriate the sum of
81 GOO annually for the maintenance of the
Grant cottago on Mount McGregor, to be
expended under the auspices OF the de-
partment OF New York. 1t was decided
that in all the official documents of the
order the words sailors and mo-
rines should be added to the word
SOLDIERS" General Algers resolution
deprecating the practice of turning
Memorial Day into day OF festvity was
unanimously adopted BY another resolu-
ton veterans Of the navy were permitted
to add an anchor to the Grand Army badge.
1t was decided that as the Military Teleg-
raphers Corps constituted part of
the Union army, and as that body
had been ignored by Congress- it
was the sense OF the encampment
that Congress should recognize the status
OF such corps by appropriate legislation.
Hearty approval of the action Of the Com
mander-in-Chief and the department.
comrades who had endeavored to secure