St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-03-25

ests-because OF long eXperence-bet-
ter than new and untried man could
| do. Certainly, / have tried to serve my
state and country periodically and hon
estly, And then. have very wide ac-
quaintance among the people, mean
the people themselves as distinguished
from the politicians. 1t has come very
easy and natural for me to keep up this
| acquaintance and friendship with the
younger generation. My district is
compact, and have chain OF friends
extending through three generations.
have witnessed many marriages, the
grandsons proceeding from which are
now men in acilye business life. and
these young fellows are just as near, if
not Il little nearer to me, than their
fathers and grandfathers before them.
No man can remain long in politics
| anywhere who gazes over the heads Of
the young men, or looks longinglY
backward to those who are gone while
neglecting those who are now hero and
| doing the worlds work. 1t has come
| natural for me 70 mix with young men,
apl if one of them needs word OF en-
| enlargement to give 1t to him cheer
fully"
II see you differ with the administra-
ton on its pension policy somewhat.
! May l ask the reason?"
"Certainly. / have no concealed mo-
tiyes. | think the pension authorities
are mistaken as to there being any con-
/ siderable number of fraudulent names
upon the rolls. If they make that ac-
cusation against my district l know they
are wrong. Why, have seen the name
of almost every veteran drawing a pen
sion in the Fourth Indiana district
| placed upon the roll. | saw them when
they went to the war, and when
they came back. More than
half OF those men [ know
personally. and instead of being SWIM
dlers and rascaiS, there are hundreds of
them who are old and poor and suffer-
ing. who are yet too proud to ask help
from the country which their efforts
contributed to save. l would vote for a
bill now to pension all of the brave men
of that trying period. The time has
come for such action. | would be
glad if it could be done while /
am still in harness. l think the
Democratic administration fails to prop
| erly estimate the feeling OF the people
OH this pension question. Judge Loeb.
rem IS an excellent man and an honest
one. He was himself splendid soldier.
but fear his discovery of few spor-
adlc frauds throughout the country has
made him Over-suspicious. l do not
question his honesty or his humanity,
but L am compelled to differ with him
AS TO conclusions. have right to know
something OF the pensioned veterans of
my district, as L have been instrumental
III placing thousands of them on
the roll. Isay to YOU candidly that no
more superb roll of honor could be made
than the pension roll in my district. My
| record for the prudent and economical
| expenditure of public money is, | hope.
| established. For more than thirty years
! L have made the fight for strict economy
| on this door. But feel that in expend-
| ing lavishly for pensions honestly
earned in our late war we are browning
| patriotism with justice. 1t is only by
| acting generously with the men who
| fought and conquered in our civil war
that we can hope to call upon our young
men in the next war.
Il think there is too little love of
| country anu too great love Of self and
wealth in this generation anyhow. The
men who went into the army in 1861 did
50 without mercenary motives. Yet
there vas an implied contract on the
part OF the government that, if they
went, they should be protected from
| Want-they and their families-to the
! end OF their lives-that is, if they were
disabled from wounds or disease. |
entirely justify Judge Lochren. and
honor him for searching cut frauds; but
most sincerely protest against presum-
Ing fraud. First let the proof be pro-
duced, and if the man or woman is
wrongtully OH the rolls let them he re-
moved and punished. l am glad to see
| that the commissioner is finally coming
around to this view"
do sou think the pension policy of
the administration Injurious to the Dem
| ocratic party"
Undoubtedly it has been. l hope
| sincerely that it will cease to be SO
from this time. More than half the vet
Grams and their sons In my district are
| Democrats. There is little circle of
from six or seven to one hundred voters
| gathered around every old soldier.
these believe in him. They have list
ened as he has told the story of the
war, and learned from his lips
of the hardships and sufferings
he endured. 1t makes no difference
| nv" pcoi ia TX lillS NCtSIdU uIuy
be, his sons and SonS-in-laW believe in
him-and all the collateral relatives to
the limit OF fifth cousin. To that circle
the old man is hero, and the taking
away of his pension is dishonoring
every mar and woman of his blood.
The refusal to grant pension is bad
enough, but to take it away after Re
publican administration has granted it
certainly that is not the way to make
nun and his friends continue steadfast
III their Democratic belief
"This may not be the highest motive
to assign for reversal of the admins
tration's policy on the pension question,
but at any rate it is practical one. The
soldiers service In war was very prac-
teal thing to him. The memory of it to
him now and the knowledge of it to his
children may be the mefest sentiment,
but sentiment rules the world after all.
am Democrat, and have always
believed that my party represent
ed principles which alone could
perpetuate the republic. But to put
Democratic principles into the force of
law we must retain power. regard
the pension question as one of the chief
agencies through which my party may
retain power. Do not understand that
l would violate law in the granting of
PENSIONS l would not do that, but
would construe the law with liberality,
and. now that most OF the old
soldiers have turned the half-century of
life. would not be too curious as to
their pensicnable disabilities. If they
are poor and sick give them pension
and when you have given it to them
permit them to feel that they have a
reasonable assurance that it is not sub
Ject to conhScatIOn upon the within or
the legal pettifogglng of any man.
IL am sorry to see that the younger
class of Democratic members from the
South are making themselves unneces-
sarily conspicuous in the pension Ques-
ton. Those who fought in the Confed-
crate army are, as rule, broadly gen.
erOus in dealing with the wants and ne.
cessities of the men who fought against
and conquered them thirty years
ago. But the boys seem to have