The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1904-09-26

act or congress, but ule pIONlslOu
making the imposition is not pointed
out. The act to which the order re-
fcrs. which is the one relating to pen
sions to civil war veterans, does not
authorize pensions on the ground Of
age II does grant pensions to those
suffering from any mental or physical
disability or disabilities Of a perma-
nent character, not the result Of their
own vicious habits. which so incapaci-
tates them from the performance OF
manual labor as to render them una
BILE to earn support" This specified
requirement Of incapaclty Is in effect
set aside by order No. rs as to all per
sons over sixty-two.
The war closed nearly forty years
ago. In the meantime many OF our
soldiers and sailors long survived the
age OF sixty-two and passed awoy
without receiving any pension. Skill
ful pension attorneys, hunting through
the statute. failed to find there a pro
vision giving a pension to all who had
reached sixty-two Many prominent
veterans urged the justice Of congress.
sional action giving service pension
to all veterans. Bills TO that effect
were introduced in congress And not
until March OF this year did any one
ever claim to have made the discovery
that the president had power to treat
the statute as II it read that when a
claimant had passed the age OF sixty
two years he is necessarily disabled
one-half in ability to perform manual
labor and therefore entitled to pen
sion
The present pension commissioner in
dicated his view Of the order when In
q recent address he thanked the presl-
dent for what he had done and advised
his hearers to use their influence that
law might be passed 10 the same eff
feet. Full confidence, after all, seems
not TO have been placed on the defense
of justification, for II is pleaded in
mitigation that a former Democratic
president did something looking In that
direction. Even " that were so. which
is not admitted, our present duty
would be none the less plain and I'M
perative. Our people must never toll
crate the citation of one act of usurpa-
ton OF power as an excuse for anoth-
er. The first may possibly be due to
mistake; the second. being based on
the first, cannot be. In explanation,
however, II should be said that the or
der relied on simply provided that the
age of seventy-five years should be re
90 ri q a,.tHnnna gf fnul.fIftr. 60
form manual labor. Few men are able
to perform manual labor at that age,
but nearly all men are at sixty-two.
The first order is based on a fact that
experience teaches; the other is basel
on the assertion of that which Is not
true rs n general rule.
The old inquiry "What are you GO
ing to do about IT." is now stated in a
new form. II is said by the admins
tration, In reply TO the public criticism
of this order. that "it is easy TO test
our opponents sincerity In this mat
ter. The order in question is revocable
AT the pleasure Of the executive. II
our opponents come into power they
can revoke this order and announce
that they will treat the veterans Of
sixty-two and seventy as presumably
in full bodily vigor and not entitled to
pension Will they authoritatively
state that they intend to do this? II
so, we accept the issue"
This suggests the suspicion at least
that the order was made to create an
issue; that it was supposed TO present
a strong strategic position In the bat
tie of the ballots. But as the making
of that order was, in my Judgment, au
attempted though perhaps unwilling en-
croachment upon the legislative power
and therefore unwarranted by the con
stitution, the challenge Is accepted If
elected | will revoke that order. But
go further and say that, that being
done, will contribute my effort toward
the enactment OF law to be passed by
both houses Of congress and approved
by the executive that will give an age
pension without reference to disability
TO the surviving heroes OF the civil
war and under the provisions of which
a pension may be accepted with digni-
ty because of the consciousness that Il
comes as Just due from the people
through their chosen representatives
and not as largess distributed by the
chief executive.
Foreign Relations.
The foreign relations OF the govern
ment have in late years assumed
special Importance. Prior TO the ac-
QUESTION of the Philippines we were
practically invulnerable against at
tacks by foreign states. Those tropical
possessions, however, 1000 miles from
our shores, have changed all this and
have in effect put us under bonds 10
keep the peace. The new conditions
call for management Of foreign af-
fairs the more circumspect in that the
recent American invasion OF foreign
markets in all parts of the world has
excited the serious apprehension of
all the great Industrial peoples II is
essential, therefore, more than ever
TO adhere strictly 10 the traditional
policy of the country as formulated by
its first president and never, in my
judgment, wisely departed from-to in
vite friendly relations with all nations
while avoiding entanglng alliances
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