Red Lodge picket. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1889-1907, 1892-10-08
WASHINGTON LETTER
HOW THE OLD SOLDIERS FELT
AND TALKED WHILE THERE.

HOW THE OLD SOLDIERS Eel
AND TALKED WHILE THERE.
Regret at the Bitterness Still Visible in tn
South-Northwestern Visitors Favor Re
publicanism-They See That the Thir,
Party Is II Mere Aid to Democracy,
Especial Correspondence
WASHINGTON, Sept. 26.-One Of th,
interesting features Of the gathering o
old soldiers which Washington has en-
1oyed in the past few days has been ths
opportunity to test the political feeling
OF the various sections of the country
Every part Of the United States has
been represented. Of course the south
ern states have had few representative
here i'll the way Of old soldiers, but they
have been heard from IN other wavs
There have been publications here 81
articles from southern papers which
have had a marked effect in showing the
political feeling in that section.
And it may be added, that the cd
soldiers found to their great regret that
the feeling Of bitterness in the south
which they hoped had died out is still
very apparent, especially when it comes
to the question Of pensions and recogni-
ton Of the soldier element. This is the
first time that many Of the old soldiers
| have been this far south since the war.
And they are panied to find the evident
/ truth OF the report of great bitterness
toward them III the minds Of many
southern people. When it comes to con
stant reference to them in prominent
southern newspapers as t'barroom loaf
e1s' common beggers for PENSIONS, .
"bottle Scared veterans" s'bounty
jumpers" and other epithets which they
supposed were things Of the distant past,
the effect is distressing to them
Cleveland's Record Discussed.
Perhaps the most marked feature CT
the occasion was the effort made by
Democrats to smooth out Presi lent
Cleveland's record on the pension ques-
ton with these old soldiers Incislent-
ally there was an effort, too, to try to
strengthen tie standing Of the Demo
cratic party at large with tie old sol
diers on the pension question. The oft
repeated assertion that Mr.. Cleveland
signed more pension bills than any ether
president h7.t} signed, and that the DEM
ocratlc party was responsible for large
share Of the important pension le;isla-
ton, was repeated with variations, but
without much success. 1t became known
early in the gathering that men were
hero employed by the Democratic
party to distribute documents and
labor i'll behalf Of the party. 1t
need scarcely be said that these gen
tlemen met with u very cold reception.
Sentiment Among the Western visitora
Another important feature OF the
gathering was the opportunity it offered
to 10, learn the sentiment Of the "plain
sections show that there is d deep feel
ing over the important issues OF tins
campaign. The efforts OF the third
party, the proposition to return to state
bank currency, the effort to bring about
the use of a Deprecated coin through
free coinage without an international
ratio, and the attempt to destroy the
tariff system under which the country
has attained such unparalleled pros
,eri;y are all being discussed with great
earnestness everywhere.
How They View the Peoples Party.
One strongly marked characteristic OF
the situation appears III the develop
1i.nnt of feeling with reference to the
third party in the northwest. There ls
= rapidly developing feeling among the
few Republicans in the western states
who have been inclined to cooperate
Wit, the third party that this organl-
,at:,.n is q trap set by the Democrats to
take their votes away from the party
with which they have formerly CO.
ouera;ed. They are coming to the con
c1,,sjon that the third party is nothing
mare than bra1cl1 of the Democracy
:;nd that to cooperate with 1t wou!e
,aca,1 to put the Democrats IN power Ii
cys1v branch of the government.
Men who have been inclined to co
1perate with the third party are nov
frankly saying that they realize that I
vote with that party is really vote t
mt The Democrats in control OF house
senate and presidency. This they ar
not willing to do. They find the DC
mocr;,cy less favorable to a reasonabl
J increase in the amount of silver, unde
snch restrictions as would make its Il
creased use safe, than are the Repubnt
ans. They find unparalleled prosperit
in agricultural pursuits through tn
, naw markets which reciprocity IS ope1
J ing. And when they see that the Dem'
cratic party is pledged to destroy rec
nrocitv. which its platform denounc'
asa hu.nbus, they are not willing
contribute TO Democratic success I
voting with the third party.
, No wildcat Money for Them.
Another feature which seems to
having very strong influence III Il
minds of men from all sections is Il
Democratic proposition to return to t
use of state bank currency Inns
,trongly marked with the farmers al
with people employed either as wor
{. men or engaged in individual occul
tions These old soldiers, all OF thel
are old enough to remember the gre
losses and general unsatisfactory con
tions which attended the use Of stt
bank currency. And they see II
both the Democratic party and the r
pies party are pledged to a return
the loose and unsatisfactory tinanc
methods which caused them great los
before the establishment Of the prest
! satisfactory system Of national curreh
tn