The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-09-09


! tons and honest purposes which their
: letters afford. AS a matter OF form. their
| communications are sent to the secret
service division OF the treasury, but it
| is probable that they add little informa-
| ton TO that already possessed by the
officials.
| Another event which is now strongly
reflected in the correspondence Of the
! White House is the Grind Army encmp-
ment at Buffalo. President Mckinley 5
presence there as war veteran himself
| has naturally given the impression that
: ne would have a very warm heart tow
ard applicants for pensions. Doubtless
/ he has But the trouble with the hum
/ bier letter writers of the land is that
( they suppose that pensions are given
I out in Washington as a matter OF good
I nature rather than Of law, and in case
they learn that their applications are
/ for any reason rejected, they write al
once to the president, asking in spirit
of equity he may overlook these techri-
cal objections and respond 10 their ur-
gent needs. 4 goodly percentage Of the
people Of this country suppose that Mr..
Mckinley personally grants the PEN
sions It is not an uncommon form OF
request in White House letters for the
writer TO say: Now, Mr.. Mckinley, the
next time you are in the pension Office.
1 wish you would just take down my
papers and read them through carefully
and IL you don't say that l ought 10
have a pension, 1 won't ask for one. /
have confidence in your judgment as well
as your fairness in such matters, and
have always believed that the reason I
have not already received a pension is
tina. my letters have never been properly
brought to your attention. AL l ask OF
You is that you will go through them
carefully. and l VIII stand by your de-
c.sion."
A large class of the White House pen
sion letters come from the widows OF
soldiers who have lost their pensions by
remarrying. II the White House CORE
spondence affords any test of the country
as a whole, II would seem that so per
cent of these women are sick OF their
bargain. and wish they could exchange
their second husbands for the pension
which they have relinQuiShei to take
him. The discussions which these let
tiers contain Of the comparative helpful
ness of pension and husband are very
edifying. One woman recently wrote:
'If times were good, / would rather
have what money my husband can bring
in than the pension. but you must know
that, hard as the times have been for the
past four years, i an uncommon man
round these parts who can make as
much clean money every month as the |
pension 1 gave up. Now it don't seem |
fair TO me that 1 should lose this money !
just because 1 married again, and I |
would like to ask you, Mr.. President. IL !
il seems TO you the square thing. II |
not, 1 wish you would start my pension |
up again, for 1 can tell you truthfully |
that we could make very good use OF /
it. Every grocer around here is hoping |
we will get it,
1t seems that no large number Of name |
sake letters are coming in at the White
House. This is probably due TO the non
appearance for some time of any fake"
dispatch telling of the handsome present |
which the president has given one of his
namesakes. Such dispatches are OF Pc
riodical occurrence, and are usually cop
led throughout the country. Let some
newspa per in st. Joseph print a little dis
patch from Oak Bluffs. saying that Mr..
and Mrs. John Smithereens were that
day made very happy by the receipt OF
a check for $50 from President McKin-
ley, as a keepsake for their little son, !
who has juse been named Mckinley Ho-
bart Smithereens, and the White House
mail will be increased fifty letters day
n, ha rera -al 4
the writer learned that the president
s giving $50 TO his namesakes. and in ad
lition to the children immedia tely IA
7ored with the presidents name, in con-
sequence, attention will be called TO the
act that William Mckinley Jipkins is
low seven years old, and has never yet
'eceived a cent. So noticeable is the
fleet of these fictitious accounts OF the
PRESIDENTS Nberality TO namesakes. that
whenever the clerical force at the White
House read such story in the news
'apers they threaten 10 'go out on
trike"
On one occasion the man about whom
UGH story started sent letter Of ex-
'lanation 20 the White House. He said
hat he had told everybody that he had :
{ the Destowal OF his name upon an in
ant son. The neighbore all began to
SIX, what do you thing the president will
end the baby? After persistent inqui-
les OF this sort, letter came from the :
White House one day thanking the man
lost heartily for the compliment he had
aid the president, and wishing all sorts
good things for the child. but there r
as no check, The man reported that ]
fter his neighbors had sad so much. &
2 did not think IL would do any hurt
} stretch a point, and so. when they q
sked. What did the president send? he
imply said. "A ten-dollar bill, and here
Is" producing one which he had for 2
me weeks possessed. In these circum-
-ances il was but natural that the mis-
formation should reach the the ears Of a
newspaper representative. who lost no I.
ne in setting It before the larger pub y
? Why don't these people learn c
III veteran White House clerk the
her day. as ne saw a pile Of letters
fore him. not - believe al that they
2 in the newspapers? Two-thir,is Of o.
ese letters would never be written Z a
me5ody had not started a story bout =
!e president T. people would only adopt {
e practice ot telling the truth. &. p
ould simplify matters very much - .
= a. the work % this Office 5 con-
-nsd" -
YANKEE SHIPS ARE swIFTEsr
Louis Holds the Es-twsrd Record aud =
the -. Psui the Westward.