Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1889-09-26
From St. L0uis-TSe G. A. H., Tanner
and The Negro.

Ed. Register-I want to write you q
few words about Tanner; [ want to dc
it to catch a flying opportunity as such
chance will never esentitslefagain
The worlds history will when Gabriel
finally slams the big book shut, con
tain the name of but one Tanner
Tanner the chaw," the phrase that
would in one breath speak of him and
his nearest approach to virtue, for in
this case, the serpent has brought an
antidnte for its own poison.
1 write you an innocent fable. In
the great larder from which the Presi-
dental politician fed was placed new
but nice dish. 1t was sort of hash,
harmless in appearance. It had been
made up of odd,, and ends left from the
war. There was everything there but
| the good meat that had been left ever.
The good meat-that is the soldier
proper who had done his fighting where
there was an enemy, and had ceased
his battles when his country's battles
| tash.
This dish was labeled &c. A. r."
1t was sugar-eoated, and, to u hungry
politician, was inviting. 1t was seton
Cleveland's political table. but he saw
in a moment (or else could tell it by
the smelly that it needed seasoning
with pension sauce to be palata BILE;
Cleveland, however, had an honest
stomach ,and realized this spicewas too
rich for his blood. And though he
knew this hash would fatten his polit-
ical ribs, he foresaw that this pension
sauce was so rich 1t would prevent the
thing staying around his digestive ap-
paratus.
But his successor was very hungry
gaunt. He ate largely of this dish TAX
ing the most tempting morsel. And
he fattened exceedingly for a time
grew sleek and sleeker - until the !
warmth in the great political NAV stir
red the morsel to unusual life, and 10!
the administration suddenly belched it |
forth, after vain attempt to hide the
bait in the manifolds ct Its entombiug |
paunch.
And now neither party wants aught |
more of Tanner or the haste with |
which he was served up. They have
found that the hash was infested with |
trichinae, that while it seemed like an
elegant bit Of pork, to fatten whose
swallowed it, the mess was really de-
sirous of getting into a fat stomach to
feed on the living organism, and gorge
its myriad of filthy protoplasms. And
now the cook says ofhis own dish, 'Ill
vomit it forth land adds in stage
whisper invented by Shakespeare" "I'll
none of it.h
MORAL.
In war we fight with soldiers and
patriots whom we pay and honor all
we can. .-
In peace we govern with statesmen;
we pension those who have given all
to our c0untry-but we don't give them
the earth and the supreme fulness of
the treasury. We provide for the de-
crepid patriot and honor him, but don't
turn him over 25 per cent. mortgage
on the United States.
Gentlemen, the war is over-more'n
q quarter century since. We are now
things on sort of civil basis.
The speakers baton strikes down the
generals bayonet; it shuts the Corpor-
al's mouth.
The tanning of one mans political
hide by the owners own aciduous eX-
halations is a marvel of excellence.
Gone is the pension disseminator. The
American was called to arms to protect
the country of his kith and kin, and
others were called to assist him in pro-
tecting it. He was not invited to a |
picnic at $!9 and rations month, or If
so, when he drew that, the debt was
discharged. Better though that the
country had been wrecked than that
the rising generation should have en-
tailed on it a heavy, interminable,
monstrous debt of cash as well as graf
itude to the rescuers. Honor in plenty |
to the old soldiers, and honor to the
man who loves to greet his old COM
rade, but dishonor to the men who
traiIed the flag in the dust OF Virginia,
and confusion on those who would foist |
their schemes of plunder on the civic
by the lever of asuperanuated military |
institution.
The Grand Army is very MUCH IKE
the negro in one respect-much eute-r,fsE Y:
place when it invades civil govern
ment's precincts. There are many
heroes i'm that body-to them [ make
no reference but all honorable Que.
But the majority are "too fresh"
They boast in their councils, and
where else there are none to interrupt
them, of having eradicated slavery; but
if they did aught towards freeing the
blacks, they did it, not because of their
antipathy to that institution, but be-
cause it was cloak of purity. of pop
ulsrity. to cover desires for deeds of
evil. of most base selfishness; for they
are doing, and have been doing, all in
their power to enslave the masters who
were conquered by force OF arms. and
not by superiority Of vxior. Aye, worse,