Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-03-19
fpsEen or Nm. niLklKEn
Ups 10 psas'ss appropriated III naehl
III, 1884.


solved itself into CONN i,tee Of The = be le
for The consideration Of the bill m king sp-
preparations FOR the p.ynent Of inv Aid and
other pensions of the United States for the
nsc.l year enciag June 90, 1895. Mr. MILF
ken Of Maine said
Mr.. Chairman, Il hxd not expected to speak
at this time, aud hope not to cetsia this COM
mitsee very lorg. l do not purpose to dis
cuss in detail the operations Of the pension
bureau. After the very full and very able
rem arks to which have listened from one
of the mcst distinguished veterans Of the
Union army, Gen. Sickles. who exhibits in
his person the evidences Of his gallant SER
vices, Viii b are an honor to him now ard
will be an honor to his memory In the great
hereafter, I do not deem it necessary or
useful to 70 over the ground that he has 50
we'll covered.
Mr.. Chairman, il IL not matter Of any
import .nce to ma that the commissioner Of
pensions is Democrat. care nothing
about that. All that desire is that there
shall be such an administration of the PEN
sion Office a. th.ll give to every Union
veteran, to his widow, to his
orphan children. ard to bis depend
emit parents that consideration to which, by
the laws of grateful country, he and they
are entitled.
Whoever will 90 administer that impor.
tant Office - to achieve that result shsll re-
ceive my approval and gratitude, whatever
be his poll is, his nationality, or religion.
I Applause.
Indeed, have deprecated the unjust at
tacks which have been made in years past
upon the worthy predece ssors Of the present
head of the pension bureau, and which lave
not failed to crop out in this debate up,n
the other side of the House.
have too much respect fer positions of
public trust, too much regard for those who
occupy them, to asssi! them recklessly or
without what feel assured to be we'll
grounded reason for doing 50.
Besides the injustice to the official 30 as
sailed there follows . wrong and an injury
to the people. 1t 10 not we'll for them that
their confidence in those whom they have
intrusted with power and responsibility
should be shaken without good and suffi-
cient cause for it, and they have no more
dangerous enemy than the reckless and IL
responsible slanderer of their trusted public
servants.
He is a demora|izar Of Themselves. His
wretchedly and cowardly work cannot fail
to have that effect, for it is but natural that
they should ask themselves why, if they
who occupy positions of eminence and in
fuence, and who are bound by their official
oaths as we'll as by the claims of common
honesty, to be just and clean, disregard the
rules Of integrity, should they Themselves,
occupying more obscure positions where
their examples are less observed, be alto
gether scrupu!ous!
The as,everation made here upon the
Democratic side Of the House, in days gone
by, when Republican occupied the Office
of commissioner of pensions. that the PEN
sion office was honey combed with fraud and
corruption, has not only been a falsehood
aud slander, but it has conveyed to the
country such wrong impression as has
done great harm and injury; and l de-
nouncs it now, as have done ia the past,
as being as wicked as it is false and as harm
full as i. is wicked. 1t is adisgrace to those
who have sent it forth to the country and to
the political party which sustained them in
doing it. 1t served the purpose of afford
ing an excuse for cutting off and with
holding pensions. and of resisting sufficient
appropriations for their payment, but it
scandaiized the government at the ssme
time that it slandered the administration Of
the pension office. That Republican COM
missioners of pensions have given the
benefit of the doubt in favor of the claim
ants for pensions, where doubt has
evidence, is all that can justly be said upon
A. Lzs- 30 I,rk
it can be called bias, I unqualihedly in
dorse. If they. who in the periloue days
of the republic, placed themselves in
ositions to make them eligible candidates
for the peoples warmest gratitude and the
governments especial care are not entitled
to presumption in their favor, know not
who is. Applause on the Republican side.
In the same spirit which Restraints me
from making unjust charges sgainst others,
protest against the reckless attacks which
are made against the Union veterans of the
war. Az would scorn to misrepresent the
commissioner Of pensions or any other pub
lie officer, so | will not listen, without en-
tering my objection, to the FLANDERS which,
without conscience or considerations of de-
cency, are uttered upon the Democratic
side Of the House against those men whose
gallant services and great sacrifices made
possible upon this continent today the most
benefcent government. the strongest and
grandest nation that the world has ever
known. lApplau.e.1
am tired Of the cant and by pocrisy Of
those who loudly protest their love of the
Union soldiers at the same time that they
defame their chaI acters, and lose no oppor-
tunity to resist the allowance of their Just
claims upon the government.
He who declares that in hundreds and
thousands of ntighborhoods fraudulent pen
sioners are known, and seek to give the
impression that pension frauds are common
10 all parts Of the country. is a malignant
enemy Of the veterans Of the Union armies.
whatever bis pfetensions of fri ndship to
them may be. because he declares agairst
them what every intelligent man in the
country knows is not true. l denouoce that
assertion ~ a base and vicious sl,n Ter,
whatever the source from which it comes.
It il sn injury and an insult to the living
soldiers and to the WIDOWS and children of
their dad comrades. / was not little
surprised that the gentls man from Illint is
TGen. Black, to whose gorgeous and glow
ing description Of the battle of Gettysburg
and the part tsken in it BY. the present COM
missioner of pensions l listened with 70
- Ia Al