The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1894-09-21

FRIEND OE THE SOLDIER, FOtSSOOIA'
Morrill, and Kelley, who spoke at
the opera house Monday afternoon and
evening. made an especial Plea for the
vote of the old soldiers on the ground
of the great friendship of the Republi-
can party for them in the matter of
pensions. Let see about this. The
policy of the government from its very
foundation has been to pension its sol
diers, give them bounties and a service
pension at a certain age. All the revo-
1utionary soldiers, the late war soldiers,
the Mexican war and others, as we'll as
their widows and orphans, were thus
pensioned. This has been the rule
whether the administration was Demo
cratic, Wing or Republican. and it will
be the same enlarged when the Popu-
lists, who stand for service pensions,
come into power Therefore, the Re
publican party can claim no especial
merit. But let US see. The Republican
party paid its soldiers in deprecated
currency when it had contracted to pay
them, implicitly at least, in money at
the war tens of thousands of petitions
went up to Washington from all sol
diers to equalize the bounties Some
had received 500 and some S4OO. The
bill passed and came before General
Grant, then president, for his sigma
ture. It will also be remembered that
about the same time he signed the sal
airy grab bill, which increased his own
salary from $4,000 to $4,000 a year.
Later on tens of thousands of petitions
went up for a service pension, and the
Republican had pledged itself to that
issue. But what did they get? A pau
per pension bill. "They asked for bred
and they gave them stone" The Re
publican party repealed the arrears of
pension law in 1880. The electoral COM
mission declared Hays elected and sub
sequent events proved a contract on
his part to withdraw the troops from
the south, letting Wade Hampton have
his way in South Carolina, and Kellogg
in Louisiana. Many old soldiers had
settled in the south after the war
and their lives were not worth plea
yune after the troops were withdrawn
and thousands of them, white soldiers
as we'll as colored, were assassinated.
At the close of the war some volunteers
we're held in the service and together
with the regulars we're sent to the Pa
cific slope where the greenback was not
current and was worth only 80 cents on
the dollar. The supplies we're paid for
in gold for these troops, but the sol
| diers we're paid in greenbacks. They
petitioned the government to pay them
in coin and it refused. They did not
pass any credit strengthening act to
pay soldiers, but they did pass such an
act to pay bondholders. An honest
debt to soldiers they would not pay,
Fraudulent demand of the moneycrats
they did pay. How is that for high?
No party in the history of American
politics has treated its soldiers so
meanly, dishonesty and dastardly as
the Republican party. It has rep2di-
ated just obligations to them, ruthless
ly humiIiated them and left them to
the tender mercies of their political
foes without making the shadow of an
attempt to protect them. These are
facts Read Eben W. Tourgee on the
'Fools Errand" and other of his writ
ings on the subject. He went south
and settled and was ostracized, boycott
ted, bannupted and driven out of the
south. The Republican party has no
use for the soldier when he declines to
cast a Republican vote, but Repubi-
cans have threatened the taking away
of their pensions and in many cases
have done so right here in Kansas.
How is that for love of the soldier?