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

c,ared Il; that u Repshlicp press Of q =
Z dntry has never heral i4d f.
The gentIeman from Illinois Mr.. Black ]
reached the c0nclusion In the cosrse OF
his argument on Saturday last that one Who
had been brave sol i4r could not be other
than the s,ldiers' friend. That ought to be
. correct conclusion. It wonh seem that
II could not be other, isc. But While am
glad to say that in almost ali instances It 10
correct, there are come unfortunate caets
where it IL not, and Misrepresentation OF
the Union soldiers AMI ffor:s to prevent
his receiving taat consideration vhis h pa
tiiotic epirit demands for him, aad which
great, self-retpec,ing nation cannot afford
to wi,hholj, ere the same,4 the same in
character and the same to him, whether
they come from ose scu.ce or another only
they seem worse ard mre offensive when
they come from those vi 10. ~ the ties Of
comradesh:p snd matusF partic psticns in
hardships, dangers, and victory, should be
held by the strongest ties of f.iendship and
affection that can ever bind together the
hearts of men
One of the travett. most intrepid, and
brilliant soldiers Of our Revolutionary war,
whose energy was Il elsss, whose proves
was unmatched, AMI for whom no ente:
prise was too great or tazarious to under
take, the PR jec.or of the plans that Injured
the capture of Ticonderoga, and the hero
of Saratoga, for " h;ch he never receive q
credit, as heroic as Caesar and as daring ~
Alexander the Great. the idol Of his men,
and holding the ctnfiJrnce of Washington,
became the fierce AMI invetsrate enemy OF
his old c. m.ades who had fought beside
him in msny Eotly contested battle and
shared with him the honors of victory upon
more than one fell Of war. Had h. been
shot at the close Of the battle of Saratogs
be would have gone dorn in the pages OF
history as one of the brightest tara in that
constellation of grsnl csa1cters who made
the American revolution glorious for all
time. For his own reputation and the honor
of the American name am sorry that he
did not end lis career 10 the fullnefs OF his
patriotic az hievems nts.
But having deserted the cause which he
had so warmly espoueed and earnestly
fought for, and turned lis arms against his
old comrades and compatricts, all the splen-
dor OF bis early exploits could not save him
from the execration of his c0untrvmen nor
his name from the brand Of infany by
mankind. HI
If 80 great q soldier, so brilliant gen.
eral, so ardent patriot as Benedict Arnold
urquestionably at enc tine was, could be-
come the enemy of his old comrades in arms
and of III. country, and attempt before the
war closed to compass their defeat, it may
not be considert an absolute anomaly that
~. Ia Of hFava
men who took their Ives in their hands and
went forth to Go heroic battle for their
country, here and there one may be found,
now since the war has ended and the victory
hiss been won, who can be unjust to those
who stood with him in the great fight. But
let us be thsnkful that those instances are
very rare. In citing them refer neither
to the commissioner of pensions nor to the
gentleman who so eloquently championed
his course here last Saturday.
But have seen them here. They were
evidently put forward because, having been
in the Urion army, they could speak with
more effect and accomplish what others
who stood behind them felt it neither wise
nor decorous to attempt to do themselves.
The gentleman FROM Tennessee Nj.
Enloe] on yesterday and the gentleman
from Illinois [Gen. Bfack on Saturday.
and they who from time to tine since l
have b en- in Congress, have preceded them
in the same line, prefaced their attacks
upon the pension laws and upon the old
soldiers, BY saying they desired that the
pension roll should be a roll of honor; that
it should be untaiutsd with fraud; that they
wished to have it clean. Mr. Chairman,
l. .~st, onuhadu
to contend with them upon that proposition!
Have they ever heard anyone cay that he
did not want clean pension roll? Have
they ever known any Grand Army post in
this country to resolve that they wanted
anything but clean persion roll, or de
sired that it shout be anything but roll of
honor? Have they ever seen any Republi-
can platform. adopted in any national or
state convention in this country, which has
declared for anythipg but pension roll
that should be roll of honor?
Mr.. Chairman, when was studs mt at
school it used to be laid down in our ele-
mentary books that ore Of the most skillfnl
and Elective sophistries was to state first a
self evident trnth, or something universally
conceded, to get the mind to accept that and
then draw the mind to accept ano!he theory
which in fact was by no means a logic Il
consequence of the first. So our friends
upon the other sile of the House who at
tack the pension roll say, "Wc want the
peneion roll to he roll OF honor. roll that
is not tainted with fraud hence the existing
pension roll is tainted with fraud" Laugh
ter. But, Mr.. Chairman, that does not
follow by any means. TIE utter absurdity
of such ar. argument no one, upon reflection
will fail for a moment to perceive. No hon.
eet man in the land whether he be old
soldier or always civilian, desires that the
pension roll should he any thing other than
roll of honor. and they Who are so loudly
declaiming for it in this House are by no
means those persons who desire 1t most.
Sir. every time 10 this House, during the
last eleven years. when the bill making sp-
propriations to ply pensions has been be-
fore us, we have heard thi, same old song
surg. we have heard this same story told,
we have witne ssed these same attacks
upon the pensioners. The attempt
has been to stab the Union veter-
ans through the pension cftice. To find
an excuse for depriving them of their PEN
sions by alleging fraud and corruption has
been the endeavor. There has been no
vipnlouro of ahuss M vohomopca IF damn