The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1896-10-28
Mr.. Deayitt on Pension Matters.

Mr.. Editor :--Vermont's lone advocate of
Mr.. Bryan's election to the presidency and
the free coinage Of silver dollars with fifty
cents of silver objects to our advising vet
Grams to vote for Major Mckinley, in the
following characteristic manner:
ct. j. Deavitt OF Montpelier writes to the
Daily Journal advising veterans to vote for
Mckinley because he is the friend of the
soldiers, while Bryan is their enemy, and to
prove this he quotes an editorial from the
Omaha Neb., World Herald calling the pen
sion Apr )priation a dishonest debt. Nc
Kinleys friendship for anybody counts for
nothing so long as Mark Hanna is running
the republican party and owns the notes OF
its bankrupt candidate. But if it did, Mr..
Deavitts complaint against Bryan amounts
to nothing, for the reason that at the time
the article he quotes was published Mr.
Bryan was not writing editorials for the
World Herald and did not for two years
after that. Mr.. Deavitt can only explain
his error by pleading ignorance or intent to
deceive. Either plea proves him an unfit
person to advise others how to vote"
The trouble with Mr.. Hanna, it seems, Is
he does not give his friends stone when
they ask for bread, and that he is using his
money, brains and time legitimately for the
election of Maj. Mckinley. Mr.. Hanna
himself is great man. He is too human to
be an angel, but is the personification of
jolly good-nature, and his success in har-
monizing warning political factions has
originated the statement that he always car
ries bevy of doves with him. He will not
sue the Argus and Patriot for its mild in
dictment. We remember that the Argus
and Patriot once assumed TO deny charge
the Springfield Republican made against a
Montpelier gentleman without consulting
| the accused, who when seen, acknowledged
the charge to be true.
The gu Jtation referred to has been in
western newspapers, where Mr.. Bryan has
been campaigning, AID he himself has not
denied the statements. He has made more
than three hundred speeches since his nom
nation at Chicago favoring his own cleo
ton to the presidency and where has he
made any appreciative mention Of the ser
vice of the Union soldiers or condemned the
| policy of Withholding pensions from vet
Grams without first repeating the law giving
| them?
Hoke Smith, the author of the present
ant-pension policy, resigned his office Of
secretary of the interior to take the stump
| for Mr.. Bryan and free silver coinage, ex-
pecting, no doubt, if Bryan is elected presi-
dent, to 90 back to his old Office and con-
| tinue his Anderson Vile treatment of the
veterans. The democrats, who favor PEN
sons for votes only, have been deceived and
conclude the soldiers vote is small and in.
! significant, from the fact that the pension
office officials after their charges that pen
sioners were thieves and frauds had fallen
fiat, discovered an alarming death rate
among the veterans that had much to do in
the falling off of pensions at the rate of
100000 month, which was as true as
the false cry of fraud. In fact, the frauds
and deaths in the pension rolls were only
the ordinary ones. No political party can
matreat the Union soldiers as the demo-
cratic party has done with impunity. That
historic party, that has withstood the
shock OF wars and storms of peace, is now
in confusion and apparent defeat, not
knowing who struck it the fatal blow.
r. j. DEAvITT.