The National tribune., 1892-09-29
AN OPEN LETTER

COMRADES:
The election is rapidly approaching al
which we must signify by our votes ouI
preferences for the man who shall stand
at the head Of the Nation for the next foul
years.
There are really but two candidates whose
candidacy is serious: These are Benjamin
Harrison and Grover Cleveland. The can.
didacy of Gen. James B. Weaver has nc
elements in it requiring real consideration
A vote for him will simply be a vote thrown
away, since recent events show conclu-
sively that the Peoples Party will not be
allowed to carry single State in the South.
1t is doubtful if they will be allowed to
even vote.
This leaves us only two candidates to
seriously consider-Benjamin Harrison and
Grover Cleveland. Each of these men have
held the Presidential chair for one term, and
their conduct in that Office has given us no
doubt as to what to expect from each Of them
for another term. We have thus unusually
full information to guide us in our choice.
Let us contrast the records of the two men
Grover Cleveland, though a young man
without family or business during the war,
refused to enter the army even when drafted.
He was outspokenly hostile to the principles
upon which the war was carried on, the war
itself, and all the men engaged in it. The
only support he is known to have given the
great struggle to save the Union was his hlr-
ing substitute for $50 when he was drafted.
This substitute he afterward suffered to die
In q charitable institution, without having
ever contributed dollar to relieve his
necessities The hostility he felt to the
soldiers during the war burns as bitterly as
ever in his bosom. Since his entry into
politics he has constantly sought opportuni-
ties to manifest it. As Mayor of Buffalo he
vetoed an ordinance appropriating money to
aid in properly observing Memorial Day.
As Governor of New York he constantly
vetoed bills and obstructed legislation for
the benefit of ex-soldiers, and refused to
regard service in the Union army as any
recommendation for employment or Office.
Then he entered the Presidential office.
From the day that he did so his course was
distinctly Rntagonistic to Union soldiers.
They and their widows were turned out of
Office and employment by tens of thousands
by himself and his subordinates, in order that
their places might be given to ex-rebels and
mere political heelers Day after day, during
his four years of Administration, the gullo-
tine was kept running industriously, and at
every stroke Of the knife the official head
of some veteran or veterans widow fell into
the basket,
Owing to the injustice and inequalities of
the pension laws numbers of special pension
bills were passed by Congress. These bills
were carefully considered in committees of
both Houses by men of at least equal in
telligence. honesty and public spirit to Mr..
Cleveland. They were at least as likely to
reach sound conclusions based on justice,
the duty of the Government and the merits
of the claimants. Mr.. Cleveland, with an i'm
pudent Pharisaism that passes belief. vetoed
hundreds of these, accompanying the vetoes
with messages abounding in bitter insults
to the Senators and Representatives who
had considered and passed the bills, and to
the veterans and veterans widows and de-
pendent parents who were the proposed
benefciaries of the legislation. Nothing in
all our State papers approaches the
gratuiious calumnies and wanton ISLANDERS
with which he filled his pension vetoes
Then came the elimination of his acts in
the vetoing Of the Dependent Pension Bill.
1udb LltdSAic Vi JUStiSo ddu ocSu bcaoic tno
country during four Congresses-about eight
years. No piece Of legislation was ever more
thoroughly considered. The urgent need of
some such legislation for the benefit of the
veterans and their dependent ones had been
universally conceded by all who claimed to
have been loyal during the war. The pen
sion laws then upon tie statute books were
admitted by all TO be grossly imperfect. The
best proofs of this were the great number of
special pension bills which Congress found
il necessary TO pass to meet cases not covered
by existing laws. For eight years the De-
pendent Pension Bill, with notifications
was earnestly debated all over the country.
The Grand Army Of the Republic discussed
ii In all of lis meetings-in Posts, Reunions
Campfres, Department and National En-
campments Sentiment among the veterans
was overwhelming in its favor. The G. R
National Pension Committee was year after
year instructed TO press its passage upon Con-
gress. At every session the committee came
to Washington and strove for weeks to
secure favorable action. The Pension
Committees Of both Houses considered
a.