The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-09-07
TANNER.

The outcome of the late Grand Army
meeting at Milwaukee fully justified the
precautIon of Commissioner Noble In for
bidding Tanner to attend that meeting, on
the ground that he would do infinite harm
through his inveterate propensity to "shooi
off his mouth" The lion OF the reunion
however, was Tanner, and Of shooting of
his mouth" there was no end. He not on
~ boldly declared himself, In repeated
speeches, In favor of the re.enactment of
the dependent pension bill which Cleve-
land vetoed, but insisted that we must have
a service pension bill, under which all SOL
diers should receive pensions. He flip.
PANTY justified his ruling that dishOnor,
BILE discharge should be no bar to pen.
sion that one witness CONTRARY TO law
should be sufficient to establish pension
claim, and jeered at the fault found with
his monstrous re-ratings.
But other instances Of opening his
mouth to- put his foot into 1t we're still
moro unfortunate. His insult to congress
man Flood, republican from the Elmira
district, New York, who had been CRITICS
Ing him, was no less RECKLESS than char,
acteristic. q" If that mans brains said he,
could be blown through the bill of q
snipe Into the eye Of musauito, 1t would
not make the musqulto wink" Flood is
said to be so indignant that he demanded
of the President, unless Tanner Is remov,
ed from the pension bureau, he will resign
his seat In congress and let the Democrats
elect man In his place; and as the repub-
llcans are not sure of majority of over
two or three In the house, that would pref
ty certainly result In giving the lower
house of congress 10 the Democrats.
But the most brutal and disgusting in
stance of shooting of his mouth was that
where Tanner contended for such amend
ment of the pension laws that soldiers
widows should not lose their pensions on
re-marrying, for the reason, he said, that
cases were daily reported to him where
soldiers widows, rather than lose their
pensions by re-marrying, "mads lambskins
of their virtue" that is, rather than give
up their stipend of 80 a month, would sell
their virtue-become -castaways-women
of the town. And, as an illustration, case
like this is given. The wife OF a soldier
received pension until she was married
a second time. The second husband died
leaving the widow with three children.
An affidavit was then made that the chill
dren were egitimate-that Is, the wild
owls greed was so great that the children
we're disgraced In order that she might
recover her pension, and Tanner sent her
$1,000 check as back pay.
But, although Tanner was the lion of the
Milwaukee gathering, and all his flippant
and malodorous speeches were applauded
to the echo; though all his declarations In
favor of a" dependent" and service pen
SION bill were formally Endorsed, together
with his re-rating outrages, and rulings In
favor of dishonorably discharged soldiers,
he is said to find on his return to Washing
ton that the skies over him there are far
from equally sunny. To put II mildly,
Secretary Noble is mad, and has made up
his mind that, as soon as the report of the
pension office investig eating committee Is |
laid before him, he will either have Tan |
ner's head or lay his own at the Presi
dents door step; and 1t Is said to be now
pretty certain that the President has decid- |
ed TO let Noble rid his department Of the |
pension scandals. Unwilling as the Presi' |
dent has been to make official confession
that he ought never to have appointed |
Tanner, the Milwaukee meeting has
proved the last straw on the camels back |
" The Presidents sympathy with the sol
diers,' says q Washington correspondent,