The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1892-10-13
Against Them.

CLEVELANDS ATTACKS As GOVERNOR
UPON THE VETERANS. WOULD SIGN NO
MEASURE DESIRED BY SOLDIERS. NO
uPPOKrl- NIFTY LOST TO STRIKE Al THE
GRAND ARMY.
Especial Despatch to The Boston Journal.
ALBANY, Sept. Is. While Mr. Cleve-
land was Mayor OF Buffalo, May $, 1882,
he vetoed resolution of the Common
Council appropriating $500 for the proper
observance OF Decoration Day. He
held it as obnoxious ''to the provisions of
the Constitution. The Indignation OF
the veterans of Buffalo and of the whole
State may be imagined at this action. 1t
was one of the first opportunities directly
offered to Grover Cleveland to testify his
love for the veterans. He spurned it.
Soon after his election to the office of Gov
ernor of the State a bill was passed by the
Legislature to authorize the Supervisors
of Chautauqua county to appropriate
money for soldiers monument. Cover
nor Grover Cleveland promptly vetoed the
bill. He gave as a reason that such an
appropriation would involve an infraction
of a section of the Constitution forbidding
the mourning of local Indebtedness, except
for county, city, town or village purposes.
But only few months later he approved
the bill which gave about $1,000 extra
compensation to Timothy j. Sullivan,
contractor on the Capitol, although SIM
liar bill had i'll 1882 been vetoed by Gov.
Cornell on the ground of its unconstitu
tionality. Cornell read the Constitution
as it ruled against contractors and Cleve-
land read it to rule against the veterans,
but not against contractors.
There are abundant instances in which
Grover Cleveland showed his ill-will
| toward the old soldiers. In 1883 the Leg
islature passed Assembly Bill No. 800
providing for the relief of the few remain
ing members OF the First Regiment of
New York Mexican Volunteers. Gov
| Cleveland vetoed this bill saying: Il am
| by no means certain that the legislation
thus proposed involves a correct principle
OF that the appeal on which it rests should
| be answered by favorable action He
| also declared that 'enouYh has been done
| in this direction 50 Gov. Cleveland
put himself on equal footing with Gov.
! Hendricks his companion on the Demo
cratic ticket OF 1851, who was one OF the
| ii United States senators on record as vot-
| inc against section OF the fourteenth
amendment to the Constitution, which
provides that ''the validity OF the public
debt of the -nited States authorized by
law, including debts incurred for payment
Of pensions and bountics for services in
suppressing insulrection OF rebellion,
shall not be questioned
The assertion that Grover Cleveland
signed any original bill favoring the veto
rams is false The only bills favoring the
Grand Army that he signed were those
which the veterans demanded, amending
bills that We're already in existence 10y the
f,vor Of Republican Governors. For in
stance, the bill to provide heaclstones for
the graves OF soldiers was not signed by
| Cleveland as has been claimed; Governor
Cornell. a Republican, signed the original
bill and Cleveland merely signed an
amended bill. The bill compelling the
local authorities to provide proper inter
ment for the bodies OF deceased veterans
was not signed by Cleveland as has been
stated, but by Governor Cornell. This
bill as amended was the one that Cleveland
signed. He had nothing to do with the
original bill. 1t was so with all the sol
diers' bills. lie would sign none that
originated legislation on their behalf. and
only with great reluctance even approved
the amendments to such bills. Yet every
soldiers bin that Cleveland vetoed had
passed both houses OF Legislature by Il
unanimous vote.
In accord with the veto by Mayor Cleve
land of Buffalo of an appropriation for the
observance of Memorial Day was the veto
by Coy. Cleveland of the enactment APP
propriating SO 900 ''for the Comptroller.
to be expended under tile supervision of
the officers of the Gettysburg Battlefield
Memorial Association. in the erection of
suitable permanent monuments to mark
the positions occupied by New York
troops in the decisive battle of Gettys-
and perpetuating the several defensive
works thrown up by them. y" Here were
his reasons: 1.-The appropriation is to be
expended under the supervision of so
cety, the purposes of which seem but
little understood, and which appears to
be a private corporation OF association
The objects to which the money may he
applied under the first clause of the al-
preparation are patriotic and praiseworthy
but if this is CONSTITUTIONAL it is quite APP
parent that the provision in the second
clause permitting the money to be applied
in aid of the general purposes of such as
ISOLATION is in direct conflict with section
10. article :. of the Constitution. which
provides that neither the credit nor the
money of the State shall be given or loan
ed to OF i'll aid of any association, corpo-
ration II private undertaking.
Grover cleveland would not even CON
sent to paltry appropriation of 81, 900 to
provide certificates for the veterans OF the
State. Massachusetts has honored every
one of its soldiers and sailors with such a
certificate. The veterans of New York
State very properly petitioned in a re-
spectful manner for similar recognition.
Gov. Cleveland would not approve such a
bill, as it gave authority to a Republican
Secretary of State. instead Of Demo-
cratic Adiutant General. to perform the
necessary work. The bill simply author
lied the Secretary of State to procure a
suitable plate on which to print certifi-
cate to be presented, in the name of the
State of New York, to all honorably dis
charged soldiers, sailors and marines who
enlisted and served in the Union army
and navy from the State of New York
and to deliver to all honorably discharged
soldiers, sailors and marines, under the
great seal of the State of New York, a
copy of said certificate, having signatures
of the Governor, Adjutant General and
Secretary of State. His veto was sharp
and to the point ''This, if done at all.
should be done by the Adiutant General. -
Not discouraged by repeated rebutfs,
but firm in their belief that some of the
recognition to which they were fairly en-
titled would be given them, the members