The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-05
MARK HANNA SCORES
POINT ON ROOSEVELT.
Astute Senator Makes n Bid for the
Negro Vote.

Negro Vote.
Washington, Feb. Aft Uncle Mar
Gus Hanna is not bidding for the negro
votes in the next Republican National
Convention, he had better take in his
sign.
All Washington is giving voice to
some such sentiment as this tonight.
The occasion for this comment is the
bill which the Ohio Senator introduced
to-day, providing for pensions for
former slaves.
One section of the bill says: THAT
relations or others, who may be charg-
ed with the support of aged or infirm
persons released from involuntary serv
itude, shall be entitled to and receive
the monthly pension awarded to such
aged or infirm persons, in whole or in
part, upon showing to the satisfaction
of the Secretary of the Interior that
such support is afforded in a humane
and becoming manner such payment
being under the control and direction
of the Secretary aforesaid"
This is a well known old timer in
the halls of legislation, and Senator
Hanna has marked upon the bill the
by request" which is generally en-
ployed by statesmen when they are
dubious about standing sponsor for the
measure they have introduced. In this
particular case, however, the 'fby re-
quest is not calculated to make much
of an impression, since it is generally
understood that the purposes underly
ing it's introduction are political.
rather than legislative, in their char
acter
Senator Billy Mason introduced
the same bill some time ago.. and at
one time or another the Republicans
have stood sponsor for similar meas
ures. None of these gentlemen has
ever entertained the delusion that the
bill could by any possibility become
law, nor does Senator Hanna. That it
will stir up a warm and friendly feel
ing among the old former slaves and
their descendants may, however, be
among the calculations of the man
who at present fathers it.
Representative Spencer Blackburn
of North Carolina once introduced the
same sort of a bill in the House, but
the elimination of the colored vote of
that state caused the bill to act as a
boomerang in his case, and contrib
uted to his defeat. Hanna is in no
such danger, however, and his polit-
ical lieutenants can see only good 10
come to him from his fathering the
ex-slave pension bill at, this particu-
lar time.
The slave pension has it's special
champion in a man named Vaughan,
who recently organized here. what he
calls the Liberty party, with pensions
for slaves as it's principal platform.
Vaughan is now presumed to be some
where in the South. Seeking contri-
buttons of 25 cents from each of the
prospective pensioners is what some
people were discovered doing several
years ago, when a big scandal was
unearthed in this connection. 1t was
discovered that these persons had
played upon the credulity of the ex-
slaves throughout the South to the ex-
tent that something like 100000 had
been collected in assessments of %
cents each, upon the promise that a
bounty and pension awaited each for
mer slave just as soon as the bill
reached a third reading" which was
represented to be a certainty of the
very near future.
An investigation was made and Com
missioner of Pensions Evans issued a
public statement to the effect that such
a law was practically impossible, and
explained the misleading nature of the
statement that the bill had passed to
a second reading" The Postmaster
General also took hand in the fight
on behalf OF the misguided contrib
utors to the fund, and issued gen.
eral order, prohibiting the transmission
of the circulars through the mails. For
some time thereafter nothing was
heard of the slave pension scheme.
Several weeks ago a deputation of
negroes went to the White House to
secure from President Roosevelt his
Endorsement of this slave-pension prop
osition. The President turned them
down so hard that the leader of the
deputation went from the White House
swearing vengeance upon Roosevelt
and declaring that they could control
300, 900 votes in the close states of the
North, which would be thrown against
Roosevelt If he were the Republican
candidate in 1904. Later this def was
repudiated by others active in the
movement. The fact that Senator
Hanna has come out as its chief sup
porter at this time is regarded as high
ly significant