Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1892-10-20
SENATOR HARRISON.
WHAT HE SAID AND THOUGHT OF
PRESIDENT CLEVELAND.
Some Pointed Remarks About His Treat
ment Of Old soIdiers-AIso Some Dem
ocratio History Made when That Party
Controlled the Senate.
Especial correspondence.l

. OthdtoT DenJulnln hdTIlhOn, tOucnlng
tho treatment Of the old soldiers by
President Cleveland. The remarks were
delivered In the senate on March 20,
/ 1886, after the Cleveland administration
had been one year IN control Of the of
| fees, but long before President Harrison
had reason to expect that he would him
/ self DO placed as the leader of his party
! in opposition TO the man whose admins
tration he was then crticising-all Of
which lends interest to the remarks rs
viewed in the light Of the Developments
which have interviewed and the con-
ditions which now exist. The extract
Is as follows:
Senator Harrison Said.
'Mr. President-l have noticed another
| incident in connection with this reform
| administration. | have tried to get up
n statement Of the results Of this ad-
ministration upon the soldiers Of Indiana.
| have written TO every county in the
state and have returns from all but four
OF them. The returns of course are
not absolutely accurate. They are not
made up to the same time, some Of them
having been sent in before others, but
the results think are approximately ac-
curate, and find that thirty-three presi-
Dental postCfllces that were held by
| soldiers have been vacated either by
expiration Of term, resignation or re-
moval, and that in these offices only ten
soldiers have been placed by appoint
ment. In other words, thirty-three sol
diers have gone out and only ten have
come in.
'ln the whole state Of Indiana have
found that 1851 soldiers and eleven sol
diers' widows have gone out, and that
ninety soldiers and one soldiers widow
have come in. Mr.. President, when this
administration came in the United States
court house at indianapolis was filled
from top to bottom, with a single excep-
ton, with soldiers. The United States
marshal was a soldier, now he is not;
the United States district attorney was
soldier, now he is not; the collector of
customs was n soldier, now he is not; the
collector Of internal revenue was sol.
der, now he is not. There was just one
OF the large offices there that was filled
by n civilian. am sorry that have
not time to go more fully into this mat
ter"
A Democrat Also Testiaes Against
Cleveland.
have in my hand the report of the en-
ployment committee Of tho Grand Army
Of the Republic for the District Of
Columbia, signed by jerome j. Burke,
who, | understand, is n Democrat. |
want TO read an extract or two from
that and see what these gentlemen out
side the departments, who gave their
time gratuitously In order to secure 10
worthy soldiers employment in the de-
partments here, say about the changes
under the new administration. They
say
while the employment committee Of
former years were principally engaged
in securing employment for applicants,
and with fair success, the present COM
mittee have, we regret to report, owing
| to conditions that will be mentioned
| hereafter, met with little encourage
ment, BY far the largest amount Of
our labors for the past year has been
| spent in seeking the reinstatement of
comrades discharged from their positions
in the executive departments, and in
endeavoring to secure the retention in
their places Of those who had employ
ment.
knowing that many of our comrades
were anxious as to the future, and fear
full that they might lose their places, we
concluded to address the president upon
tho subject (here followed copy of adj
dress and presidents reply But in the
meantime our comrades in the depart
ments were being rapidly displaced, and
feeling that our appeal had not been as
effectual as we had right to expect, we
again conclude to memorabilia the pres
ident and request his official interposi-
ton.
Nor is this the worst feature Of the
case, bad as it may be. Not satisfied
with looking with disfavor upon the
boys in blue II has sometimes seemed
as If the boys in gray were to be recog-
nized as prodigal sons returning from
their wanderngs for whom the fatted
calf was to DO especially devoted. We
have seen comrade whose record in the
army was of the very best, and whose
civil service record was irreproachable,
degraded from high position that he
won by meritorious service and his
place filled by ono who was in armed re-
bellion against the government"
Union Soldiers Displaced by Confed-
crates.
On this subject Of the employment of
ex-Confederates to the displacement Of
ex-Union soldiers, Senator Harrison re-
ported to the senate in 1882, under a
resolution calling for the information,
that the average of Union soldiers EN-
ployed by the Republican house and
Republican departments at that time
was 10 per cent, while in the then Dem
ooratic senate the percentage Of Union
soldiers employed was but 10 per cent,
and the ex-Confederate soldiers 1S1S per
cent
The Democratic campaign text book
admits that MIR. Cleveland while presI-
dent withheld his signature from SRA
pension bills, OF which number 2O7 were
either vetoed outright or killed by =
pocket veto. 1t also admits that only one
other president ever vetoed pension