Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1893-11-18

Subterfuge and Hypocrisy in the
Pension Bureau.
QUEEN LII AND KING GROVER.
Claus Spreckels's Opinion-Against
the Smaller Towns.
! From our regular correspondent
| WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, disclaimer
icas woald-be Cesar has taken a step
that cannot fail to give his Administra-
ton very undesirable place in history.
1t was the outspoken sympathy and
moral support of the Government of the
United States. extended to those who be-
lieye in republican form of government,
by every President from Washington to
Harrison, that drove monarchy and its
trappings from this continent 1t would
be utterly impossible to portray the in.
dignation felt in Washington when it
was officially announced that Mr.. Cleve.
land had ordered that the American sail
ors and marines, now in the harbor of
Honolulu, should assist in destroying the
republican form of government in Ha-
wall and restoring that of the deposed
Queen. AT first it could scarcely be be-
lieved that the Administration would
dare take such step, but it was soon
found that it was all too true, and that
the United States had President willing
to abuse the trust reposed in him by the
people so far as to aid in restoring de-
posed monarchy to power
This is the way one of his apologists
puts it: The President has no idea that
force of arms will be necessary Had he
anticipated such necessity, instead CT
two American vessels in the harbor of
Honolulu there would be half Dozen"
In other words, the President was de-
termined that the corrupt Hawaiian
monarchy should be restored, if it took
the whole strength of our Navy to do it."
Before these lines are read the infamous
course begun by the hauling down of the
American flag will probably have been
completed by the wiping out of re-
publican government and the seating of
a queen by force and under the personal
orders of President OF the United
States.
The Indignation felt 10y Republicans is
fully shared by many Democrats, and
more than once the remark has been pub
licly made, Cleveland ought to be i'm
peached for this" Not few people be-
lieve that the money of Claus Spreckels,
the Hawaiian sugar king, has been an i'm
portant factor in bringing about this dis
graceful denouement. Speckels spent
week in Washington a short time ago
and he made no secret of his belief that
the Administration would restore the
Queen, but everybody thought at that
time that the idea was too preposterous
TO be even seriously considered
Whether this matter is taken up by
Congress will depend somewhat upon
the news from Hawaii. Should the very
unusual position taken by the Admins
tration result in bloodshed, as naval of
ficers and others familiar with the situa-
ton on the islands predict, there will be
some very plain talk in Congress and it
will not all come from Republicans,
either.
Your editorial upon the pension policy
Of the present Administration is to the
point and is fully sustained by the facts
in the case. While the employees of the
Pension Bureau are very careful in re-
gard to expressing any criticism upon
the present manner of conducting the
business, it is an open secret that but
few pensions are being granted and that
the reflections are in much larger pro-
portion than ever before. AT least four
fifths of the claims submitted to theBoard
of Review are rejected and even when
granted are for but small amounts, en-
tirely disproportionate to the grade of
disability proven. There is no question
but that the Union veteran, who is SO un-
fortunate as to be an applicant for a pen
sion now, will receive but cold comfort
during the present regime unless change
is brought about by the threatened attack
of Voorhees, and others upon the Hoke
Smith policy.
A friend, who is an employee of the
Pension Bureau, calls attention to anoth-
er matter which certainly deserves no.
tice. Very soon after the change of adj
ministration, the policy of reducing the
salaries of Republican clerks and increas-
ing those of Democratic proclivities was
adopted and several hundred changes of
this kind have been made This was
probably to be expected, but the state
ment made in every case that the change
was "for the good of the service" that
chose advanced are more efficient than
those reduced" is not true in any partic-
ular. Clerks with the best record for eff
fciency in their divisions have had their
salaries reduced from two to six hundred
dollars -sed their places filed, in many
cases, by those who are inefficient and
whose only merit is the fact that they
hail from a Southern State 1t is said to
have been particularly noticeable that
man who had been a Union soldier was
sure to be reduced, especially if he had
been wounded or disabled, while every
man who wore the gray has been pro
noted. In view of Growers devotion to
the cause of the Civil Service this all
seems strange, to say the least.
You are right, too, in suggesting that
Hoke Smith is not the only one to blame
The policy is that of Cleveland himself
and no more plant tool than Commits
sioner Lochren could have been found.
If there are grades in infamy, it is but
justice to rank Lochren lower even in
the scale than either Cleveland or Hoke
Smith, and that, certainly puts him down
pretty low.