Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-03-19

and send broadcast these ISLANDERS upon the
veterans Of the Union armies.
Mr.. Chairman, could not but admire
the assurance and effrontery of the disiin-
ouisbed gentle man from Illinois Mr..
Black. Who on last Saturday stood here
before At least fairly intelligent audience
to advertise the Democratic party to the
country a. the friend par excellence OF the
old soldier and Of pensions. Sir, no one IN
the world is more Rratihed than am that
any portion of the Democratic party stands
by the old soldiers, and no one can be more
ready to give them credit for it. But
think that the gentleman's confidence in the
child-like simplicity of the American peo-'
ME must have been something more than
sub,ime when he could venture to make
such an assertion as that in the National
House of Representatives. How many OF
the people of this country does he hope TO
make believe il? How deep an impression
does he exrect that statement to mske upon
the old soldiers of the Union army! How
deep an impression does he expect his as.
sertion will make upon the neighbors OF
those oil soldiers, when they see their pen
sions withheld or cut # and the veterans
thereby plunged into destituion and suffer-
ing?
Does the gentls man suppose that the peo-
pie i'll swallow his proposition that because
Democratic Houses, SIS well as Republican
Houses of Congress, have passed appropri-
alton bills providing for the payment OF
pens .ons due under Republican laws, there
fore the Democratic party has been the
great champion of pensious? Do You take
50 much credit to yourselves because you
did not stop the wheels of the government
in order to defeat the payment of pensions
alre ady declared by the statutes of your
country to be due to Union soldiers?
Whist debt of the governme mt is more
sacred than the soldiers pension, ard what
one shonld be paid il that should be rel uli-
ated? You may as well claim credit for
providing for the payment of the expenses
of the army, the navy, or any other branch
of the government. including your own
salaries, as for making appropriations for
the payment of pensions.
Why, Mr.. Chairman, it might be well
enough for US on Il i, point to read some
net very remote Am rican history. / am
afraid that the gentleman who made that
tatament has been negligent in the perussl
of the recent history of his country, else
he would not have made such declaration.
When about eight years ago it was pro-
posed in this House so to amend pension
act then pending as to rereal the Limitation
TO the arrearage law and give aIrearages to
all soldiers alike, who was it that tilibustertd
until suspen sion day came and then under a
suspension of the rules put the bill through.
masking that amendment an impossibility !
Did any body but Democrats do it! All.
but my Democrati, friends may say that
that carried big appropriation. That is
true; but it must he remembered that that
amendment was proposed at time when
Democratic incompetency and the threat of
Democratic free trade had not depleted the
treasury of this country; and Uncle Sam
had the dollars in his strong box to pay the
bills. Applause.
Irecolleet. Mr.. Speaker, that there was
once before this House dependent pension
bill-a bill to pension the widows of the
dead soldiers, and the sick and impover-
ished solliers then living, 5000 of whom, as
it was then stated, were in the poorhouses
of the country. recollect that our friends
on the other side of the House would not
consent to the passage of that bill until we
had agreed that we would help them pass the
Mexican pension bill, the beneficiaries of
which were, large majority OF
them. ex- Confederates. For the sake of
passing the dependent pension bill we did
agree to that. / agreed to it myself. |
votci for the Mexican pension bill upon
that consideration. I voted for both meas
ures. Both passed this House. They
passed Republican senate without trouble.
Those two bills went together to a Demo
cratic President; and that Democratic Presi-
dent-tGdsy at the head of the party which
the gentleman declares to the great friend
of the pensioners-s;gned the Mexican
pension bill, making it the law of the land,
and vetoe1 the dependent pension bill
which if signed would have furnished to
the old soldiers of the republic something to
live upon. And that veto sent more than
20 600 destitute old veterans and soldiers
widows to the poorhouses to become the
subjects of charity. We waited till the
fifty-1rst Congress convened, when the
President, Senate, and House were Repub.
licsn. Then we passed the dependent
pension bill. Then Republican President
signed it and it became the law of the land,
and believe no law wss ever enacted that
carried more comfort and glsdness directly
to the hearts OF 20 many of our people who
we're suffering and deserving the natl IN 3
gratitude. than that Republican statute
Applause on the Republican side
Here the hammer fell.
Mr.. Miilken. / would like q few mo-
ments longer.
The Chairman (Mr. Outhwsite). The
gentleman from Maine asks unanimous con-
sent to continue five minutes longer. Is
there objection. The chair hears none.
Mr.. Mil,iken. Mr.. Chairman, ask q
further question. Who wss it, was it Re-
publican or Democratic President, that
vetoed private pension bills by the hun
dred after they had been reported to this
House by the committee on invalid pensions
a. being proper measures of relief for
soldiers or their dependent relatives, after
they had passed the House and the Senate
| ask again, who was it that during all Of
last Congress came here on pension nights
and called quorum. whenever NO quorum
was present, and thus prevented the oppor-
tunity to pass pension bills for the relief Of
sick and manned soldiers, their widows
and Orphans! Was it anybody but
members Of the Democratic party:
We ON our side could NOT make 1 quorum
We had not members enough to do