Evening journal., 1892-11-28
ne aoLnlER NnrE.

Corporal Tanner is using his fatal
mouth again to the detriment Of the Re
publican party.
1t is well-known that from the
pathetic poverty Of soldier crippled in
body and weak of mind Tanner has
bloomed out into fat and prosperous
pension agent rolling in wealth that
came very suddenly, and if honestly at
all, surely at the expense Of the old
soldiers The occasion of his reappear-
anee in public print is the recent sug.
gestlon that the pension list should be
scrutinized for fraud.
The Washington correspondents rep
resent the ELUSIVE and voluminous Tan
ner as staggering while contemplating,
with satisfaction, an increasing list Of
claimants and fees, practically repeats
Tweed's what are you going to do
about It'll"
q understand" he said, that the
'ins propose a thorough revision Of the
pension lists, and win flop off all ex-
crescences. They have bitten of more
than they can chew. l was in Brooklyn
the other night. in attendance upon
Grant post, and while there. met d
number Of prominent Democrats who are
friends OF mine charged
them then with the fact that.
despite their boasts, they would not
dare touch the pension lists, and they
did not deny that either. They are
afraid, for the reason that they have
thorough understanding of the strength
Of what is generally called the old
soldier yote-an understanding that is
not common to the average citizen.
That, of course, was well from a
Tweed Tanneres9ue point Of view. such
as the officials and leaders Of the Repub-
iican party took before the avalanche.
But that does not 60 now Conditions
have changedi men in official positions
will be changed very radically, ana the
period, and the state Of things in which
everything goes, and goes fast and
recklessly, has come to an end. Nothing
will 60, under Cleveland that does not
60 right-especially pensions
A more careful consideration Of the re.
turns which have given Cleveland such
an overwhelming majority and left
Harrison struggling TO keep the ice
wagon ahead Of Weaver, has induced
the corporal to change his tune, He
says now
BY the last census there were 100. O00
old soldiers still alive Taking into con.
sideration the fact that the son
frequently follows in the footsteps of the
father, and tho further fact. that many
others become attached to the veterans
by marriage into their families. I esti-
mate the old soldier vote at /, 10a, 600. al
lowing for deaths and other causes that
keep men away from the polls There is
NO doubt In my mind that the old soldier
vote gave TO the Democracy the states Of
Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, and
California. Why the men who fought
for years to save the country cast their
ballots for Cleveland / cannot say. The
truth re mains that they did, aud that they
wero one Of the most powerful factors in
tine result. The Pension Bureau was
miserably mismanaged II had no money
and was an absolute nonentity in the
campaign
Tanner may be talking, so as not TO
reduce his profits He may wish to pre-
serve the frienduness Of the old,soldier
element, and not render himself obnox-
ious to the Cleveland administration.
He is more thrifty now than political
He did not thrive in politics; he has
spread like a green bay tree and shot up
like an Asiatic gourd in the pension claim
business.
However that may be, he has come to
the conclusion that the old soldier must
have been thinking pretty hard to have
assisted in the election Of Cleveland the
man whom the old soldier, the coffee
cooler, the bum. the deserting bounty
Jumpers and unpriueipled frauds gem
orally, were supposed and alleged to re-
gard with the utmost hatred and dis
trust
The fact that this old soldier vote
must have assisted in the election Of the
man, who vetoed $50 dishonest pension
bills, shows that the old soldier vote can.
not be bought
Harry D.. Thomas a co.
Repair watches and iayelry HQ Market 81