Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-08-15
BEN BUTLER AND MAJ. M,KINLEY
Their Unexpected Contest Over the
Pension Question.

1 fenSl0n SuesJlons
The joust between Gen Ben Butler and Mai.
Mckinley at the Mechanics Hall camp fire in
Boston Wednesday night was An unexpected
delight for the veterans. Both spoke extern
poraneously, hotly and sloqusntly. The state
ment of Senator Allison that since the House
passed The new pension bill and up to the 9Th
of August 31s, goo claims had beer Hlsd under
il gave point to the debate.
| Gen. Butler said:
My comrades: 1 think you have had quite
| enough of praise, Of gratitude and expressions
of your gratitude to the city Of Boston. am
one 81 the ungrateful ones llaughterl and be-
lleve l am gong to speak to you on that topic
which everybody else hss-that nobody will
ever pay you what they justly owe to US for our
services IN the var. (Applause.l hear that
We are banded together. Well. we are. We
| are the old organization of 1861 that came to-
gether to save the country and we have never
dlsbanded from that organization yet lap
plausel and We have never made q new one.
We have. many of US, seen our disabled and
dependent brothers in arms. their wives and
their children, and We have put our hands
| in our pockets and distribu ted literally very
hberslly-no men more berally-to keep them
out OF the poor houses Of our land, Just as lib
orally as we put our hands in our pockets to
| pay the war taxes out Of our pay as fast as we
| got II. Now then, that was we'll for our hearts
clate 1t very much. 1t was well for all Ameri-
can soldiers. for it showed what an American
soldier would do.
"a DEBIT MUST BE PAID"
"But now We are organized for another pur-
pose, for the purpose of demanding justice of
! this country 1 am tired of hearing Of the
bounty Of this country toward US. I will ex-
cuse the country from ever giving the soldier a
single drop. single dollar Of bounty in the
shape of a pension if they will only pay what
they owe us and what they took out of our
pockets [applausel and put in the pockets Of
| the banker and the capitalist.
Il have nothing to say against the banker or
the capitalist; they made good contract as
they could; that they had right to do, and
| they took care to force that bargain. We, many
OF US, the private soldiers particularly, made a
very bad bargain pecuniarily. We never
thought about the pay except as little pit
lance which we could send home to the wives
| and children whom We had left behind. And.
| in fact, we never went into the contract for
| the pay.
by nature and every fair Interpretation Of
law. of right. of justice and Of honor, we can
compel this country, il we come toge Their, to pay
US. We have the power. We talk about the
building of all manner of things for everybody
In order to acknowledge their services, but pay
your debts; pay your soldiers, pay what you
honestly agreed to. Applause
The law now remains on the statute book
that we were to be paid in gold. The country
could not pay MS then and we didn't grumble
We went on fighting We lent the country our
lives and our limbs and kept on lending
although everybody was paid but the poor SOL
dier. Now we want ours. We were willing to
wait even when we got over the war, and the
people were bound down-the country was not
prosperous at first-poor and in debt, and we
stood back and let the banker and the broker
and the capitalist have his.
ADMITS HE IL UNaArEFUI
Il don't expect the country to pay il in one
day or one year. But every once or twice in
three months let an adequate part Of the share
of each man, arranged on fair basis, on fair
equaliZed basis. be paid to every man. so that
everybody shall have a support while he lives,
however mprovldent he may be, and after he
dies that his widow and his family may be pro-
vided for. That will be the only recompense
that should be made or that we should accept
and if God ever strikes this country for sin it
Will be because this country with tourishlng
trade and commerce, with hourishing
prosperity, with the power to pay to its SOL
diers their fair share year by year, refuses to
do 1t. And God in Heaven ought to send his
lightning bolt on this earth i'll this neighbour
hood if they do not do as they ought to do.
IApplause.l
You see, am one Of the ungratefu ones,
have explained to you why do not feel CRATE
full for anything that has been DONE have
never asked pension because | could get
along without it. but have seen a veteran SOL
der all in rags and sick and in hunger, when /
knew that the country owed that man enough
to support him for the rest of his life. Jap
piause. know the law. never heard any
body dispute the law, and it is our fault If we
do not enforce il. We enforced the power and
glory of the country with our bullets, and
when We shot, We shot together. We did not
shoot wild; we shot where 1t would do the
most good l do not care about politics /
am outside of politics now. 1 am almost far
out of them as Gen. Sherman, and that is a
long way. don't want anything to do with
politics, but l an willing to do anything can
for the remaining years of my life. which are
few, before me to see justice done to the Grand
Army of the Republic" Applause and
cheers.l
MKISLEY's ANSWER.
Maj Mckinley was the next speaker in order
He rose with greater alacrity than he ever dis
played, even iii the House. His lips we're COM
pressed. His eyes flashed. He spoke with
authority, for he had enlisted in his teens to
fight for his country. He turned at once toward
Gen. Butler and said
Il am forced to dissent from the statement
of the distinguished gentleman who has Just
spoken when he said that the Grand Army of
the Republic. many of whom sit before me to-
night, had been engaged in a bad bargain. 1t
is not true. Loud applause.l No more hon
orable obligation was ever made. No more
worthy contract Was ever entered into by
human kind than that contract YOU entered
into in 1861 to save our flag and preserve this
Union to mankind. lChcers. And there is
not a veteran here before me, there is not \
veteran throughout the length and breadth
of this Union. who would give up his
relation to that great contract for
the wealth of Boston or the money
of the world. Tremendous applause II
there is such a one i'll this vast audience let
him speak out tonight and speak out now.
Loud applause and cries OF Not one.' Ii was
a good bargain, for it saved to mankind now
and hereafter the freest government upon the
face of Gods EARTH
Gen. Butler with a gesture of dissent)-
'.And the most unjust"
At this point there was some little confusion
One gentleman seated just in the rear of the
reporters table endeavored to explain to Mai.
Mckinley that he had misunderstood Gen. But
Ter Maj. Mckinley, continuing, said:
Gen. Butler cannot Guido me in desiring to
the old soldiers OF this republic the most gem
erous offers from the nations treasury IAp-
plause.l / have stood in my place, as Gen.
Butler stood in his place, voting for the most
liberal pensions to the soldiers of the Union.
Applause. And i shall continue to do it 30
long as am honored with a seat in the House
OF Representatives. Tremendous applause and
loud cheerlng.l OF that great volunteer army.
the citizen soldery of this country, too much
cannot be said by the present generation in
their praise. They were the majestic power
that stood behind the tactician: and his ntelIi-
| gence and individual earnestness acting by his
commanders genius made possible the vic
soldier bore no insignia of rank but his blue
rn1a hat he hcr