Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1896-1899, 1896-10-09
USING THE VETERANS.
lcnntinned from first mace. J


held under obligations to body OF
men for giving us pittance OF what
S Justly ours while they take lions
share?
/ was deeply impressed with the
solicltude OF the Republican party
for the rank and file Of comrades
while was at the eucampment In
st. Paul last week. l found there
thousands Of battle-scarred old boys
who had, through the grace Of cor
purations, rode on tickets at reduced
rates. 1 found hundrens of other
who did not have to pay so much as
reduced rates. They were given free
transportation. They were fitted up
with elaborate head quarters They
were supplied with unlimited money
with which to make themselves COM
Portable and to enable them to man
ifest their quadrennial love for the
veteran. They were furnished, pre-
sumable by the national Republica
committee, with floods of circulars
and pamphlets to distribute among
comrades talking of the honor of the
country and the terrible things which
threaten the couptrY, and appealing
to us to save them and thus save the
country. These men were not privates.
They were late major-generals, gener-
ais, colonels and other ''lates" who
have been retired on big salaries, and
those who revel in positions and who
alone have the ear of the National
Republican committee. Among the
headquarters 1 visited was where Gen.
Sickles held out. How magnificent!
And there 1 found stacks Of Republi-
can literature, telling us of our duty
to the country, with a vein of infer
ence that the Republican party was
the country. These circulars tell us
of the beauties of a gold standard
that enables dollar to command SO
much of the products of labor,
etc. While contemplating the
lavish expenditure of money
for this Eastern literature,
printed in the East, given to these
"lates" to hold US in line, l could not
help wondering how many Western
Veterans and other Union soldier
papers in the West that have stood
so unsel6shly and without price for
the old soldier were paid for to dis
tribute among comrads. [ do not
know, but take it for granted that
the national committee will count
these soldier papers as it does the
rank and file as solid, any way.
But the woods are full of old COM
rades, especially in Kansas, who work
in shops, on the farm and in various
other avocations who are not inter-
ested in scarce dollar that will en-
able '1ates" and other people who do
not have to toll to buy more of the
products of our hands. The national
committee will find that many of us
can not be taught the sum and sub
stance of patriotism through Eastern
hand-bills sent out in the interest of
English dollars. We think we know
what patriotism is, with a definite in
In November it will be
found that thousands Of us cannot be
longer held in line by name backed |
only by platitudes, assumption and |
stereotyped promises. The old sol
dier is patriot; but not on the Eng.
lish money plan. He is now in
and for once proposes to
exercise his tired feeling.
While the old boys are loath to go
back on Comrade Mckinley, they are
to feel that the party has
gone back on them, especially on the
great mass of priYates who are eX-
pected to be handled like chattels by
those who stand in at the money CEN
ters. Any one who has doubts of the
unrest among the rank and file of
veterans in Kansas is cited to the
recent Bryan meeting in this city,
when Judge D0ster held forth. At
that meeting among those on the
platform were 70 old soldiers, to say |
nothing OF the many in the audience, |