St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-01-31
PLAYING TO THE GALLERIES.

what delicious piece of drolIerv ia
this farce, playing the Old Soldier"
which the Republican party has had
on the boards. with the scene openina
on the musings and closing with the
passage ofSthe general pension bill
The play has been excellently- staged
and the actors have played well their
several parts; while down In the nit
and filling the galleries sit the griZzIed
warriors, open-mouthed and taking il
all In as if it were the most serious
and matter-of-fact affair in the world.
Ana the actors wink at each other as
they pass on and off The stage. and
nudge each others ribs, maintaining.
meanwhile, with strenuous effort. SOL
emn faces and serious demeanor.
The first act covers the time from
the installation of a Democratic adj
mlnlstrat1on to the elections of 1894.
The movement is rapid and vigorous
The motif is the pension bureau and IFS
heartlessness.9 The stage is crowded
with 1mpersonators Of politicians. can
d1dates and editors, all assuming
virtuous indignation at the ruthless
brutal manner in which the old SOL
dler, and especially the crippled and
WORKOUT pensioner is treated. The
mock herolcs of the farce are we'll sus-
tanned. Eyes flash fire, faces CLEAN
with impassioned glow and kerchiefs
wipe from streaming brows the per-
spiration engendered by the fervor of
the hot eloquence that rushes in tor
rents from mobile lips. The enormity
OF putting an eX-Confederate over
Union soldiers; the revocation of
Raum's order; the pretended exposure
of frauds; the prosecutions of poor pen-
sioners. robbing them of their daily
bread by suspensions; the EMPLOYMENT
OF an army of spies, all these lead up.
with a crescendo movement. to the
final abomination, the actual refusal
to spend millions Of the money appro
priated for pensions.
At this point the uproar is tremen.
dous. The elections are pending The
denunciations redoub1e in energy and
violence. The stage is filed with char.
acters vying with each other in paint
ing the rapacity, the cruelty. the bar.
barity of a Democratic administration
towards the men who risked their lives
that the nation might live. One. more
vociferous than the others. tells the
OLD veterans in the galleries how
"Hckspittle" commissioner had robbed
them last year of over 81 900, 900. and
how cover $5O,O0O,OoO has been stolen
from the saviors Of the nation since tha
conscript, copperhead and rebel gov
eminent came into power" Restore
us to power, and this robbery shall he
restored to you. And a wild cheer
goes UP from the pit and the galleries
and the actors retire amid thunderine
applause to felicitate themselves on
how well they have played the old SOL
der again.
The concluding act is the debate on
the passage Of the general appronria-
ton bill by the cong ass elected by the
old soldiers. The same gray heads
and bent forms fill the house. There ,s
more sobriety, more gravity on the part
Of the actors. They are playine the
parts Of congressman with all the awful
responsibility that weighs so heavily
on those gentlemen. There is a look
Of surprise. of disappointment on the
faces Of the audience as the amount of
the bill, exactly the amount asked for
by the copperhead ton. Is
announced. Then here and there an
actor rises and gravely proposes
amendments to the bill increasing the
amount, extending its provisions. wild
ening It's scope. And some other MEM
Der quietly raises the point of order that
the amendment violates the rule that
prohibits changes increasing the
amount OF the appropriation. The chair
regretfully sustaias the point of order
and the amendment falls into the
clerks waste basket, and the old SOL
diers in the audience groan and look
increasingly chop-fallen. And so the
bill as reported goes through, but, be-
fore the curtain drops, some Of the
actors rise and assure the audience