San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1893-06-23
The Daily Eight.
FRIDAY, JUNE %, 1898.
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular Correspondent. !
WASHINGTON, June 10, 1898.

absolutely secured in the position
they hold, no matter how often o
how radical the change in the ad
ministration and heads of depart
ments, surely the Union veteran
should be that class, PARTICULAR,
the crippled ones. This is not ;
matter into which politics SHOULD
enter at all. Long ago con
gress enacted a law stat
ing in the most explicit
language that these men should bt
given preference in all branches O
the civil service, but l am sorry tt
say that this administration has
violated that law right along
whenever some position, outside Of
the classified service, which was
held by veteran, was wanted fol
a Democrat, and, not satisfied with
that, Assistant Secretary Simms
took advantage of the lack of APP
preparations by the last Congress,
which made the dismissal of sixty.
eight clerks from the General
Land Office necessary, to dismiss a
number of crippled veterans
among them. 1t was a needless
act of cruelty, and it doubtless
seemed all the harder to the Union
veteran who had left a leg or an
arm on some battle field to know
that he has been discharged from
the service of the United States,
for which he fought, by an eX-con-
federate, who at the same time was
fighting against it.
Two of these crippled veterans,
with only two legs between them,
who We're dismissed called upon
Assistant Secretary Simms, who
himself lost leg on the confeder-
ate side, and who was once COVER
nor of Mississippi, to ask for rein
statement, and if the conversation
which was reported to me as hav-
ing taken place between them
really did occur, and | believe it
did, the veterans certainly had in
suit added to the injury that had
previously been done them. When
they pleaded for reinstatement be-
cause of their crippled condition
preventing them earning livings
for their families outside of
the government service, Mr..
Simms told them that there
were many crippled ex-Confeder-
ates, who had to earn their living
without employment from the
government, and without being
helped out by pensions from the
United States. Your correspondent
does not believe in reviving or
keeping alive the prejudices of the
war, but he does think that the
treatment meted out to these
Union veterans is an everlasting
disgrace to this administration
The son of a Confederate officer
said of the discharges of Union
veterans: "These men gave four of
the best years of their lives to the
preservation of this government,
and if | had my way it should be
high treason to dismiss one of
them"
1t is rumOred that Mr.. Cleveland
has concluded to call the extra ses-
sion of Congress earlier than Sep
TENDER, but members of the cabi-
net deny that any change has been
made in the programme or is like
ly to be made. The pressure from
New York city is particularly
strong for an immediate extra SEES
sion, but no one here'expects it to
meet before September.
The verdict of the coroner's Jury
which is trying to locate the blame
for the FOrd's theatre disaster, is
expected early this week.
Although the officials at the state
department still maintain a silly
air of mystery about the resigna-
ton OF ster-Paramount Blount.
the man who achieved more noto-
rlety in one minute, by lowering
the American flag in Hawaii, than
he has been able to get in all his
previous life, there is little doubt
that he has resigned and that his
successor has been selected. He
never would have been made min
lister at all except to attempt to le-
galize the illegal acts he performed
while acting as personal represen-
tlVe," a position unknown to the
constitution or laws of the United
States. There are reasons for be-
nevlng that his resignation was
not voluntary, but was requested
by the administration for several
reasons, chief of which is it's anx-
lety to crawl out of the awkward
position in which Blount's acts,
while acting under its carefully
prepared instructions, have placed
it.