The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1904-09-27
PARKER LETTER
CANNON TEXT
Speaker of the House on
His Nebraskan Tour Gives
F0rcible Talk at Hastings
HE DISCUSSES PENSIONS
Compares Esopus Jurist to
Mr.. Facing Both Ways of
the Pilgrims Progress

HASTINGS, Neb. Sept. 26.-Speaker
Joseph G. Cannon continued his tour
of Nebraska to-day. His principal
speech was made here this afternoon
Speaker Cannon took UP and discussed
that part of Judge Parker's letter OF
acceptance relating to the Presidents
order providing for a graduated pen
sion scale.
Speaker Cannon reviewed the history
of the law under which the order was
made and the construction placed on
it by Presidents Cleveland and Mck1n-
ley, and continued:
Now. then when that order of Roosevelts
was issued the dickens was TO pay, altnough
along the same principle and In the same man ian
ner as formerly issued by Cleveland ana NC
kinney, and they have been raising row
about 1t ever since. talking of executive usurl-
alton. In Parker's first acceptance by speech
he complained of the expenditures of the GOV
eminent under Republican rule. and Roosevelt
came back at him and said: How are you
going to cut down these expenditures? Are
you for the repeal of that executive order re
latiag to the solders?"
And Parker now comes back in his letter of
acceptance. just issued. and says: IF l am
elected President 1 will rescind that order
And then he goes on and says: But after l
resctnd IL L will use my influence with Con-
sress to pass bill giving an age service pen
sion to the soldier that performed service in
the Civil War
1 ask: what age. Parker? What age?
Will it be 10. s. GO years. or what? Indefinite
yet still, and probably not sincere. but sup
pose You are elected President. Mr. Parker,
and you use your influence. what will that
bring in the meantime? From %. 00O to 30. 600
people will have their pensions taken away,
while you promise TO use your influence to
have Congress pass a service pension law with
out stating the age you propose to recognize.
Now. l ask you Mr.. Parker. If you are
elected President. who will control the House
OF Representatives? VIII not two thirds of
the Democrats Of that body be made up of
members from the South and they liberal
people with pensions for the Union soldiers?'
Let us read chapter from the history of
pension legislation as ii stands on the statute
books to day. There have been fourteen bills
passed from time to time and these bills form
the Pension Code Who passed them? Demo-
Gratis for the bills All; Democrats against the
bills. GAS; Republicans for the bills LOGS; Re
publicans against the bills. none That's how
the record of the vote upon those measures
stands. Is there any hope therefore for Mr.
Parkers influence to be effective? He is to
take pensions away from thousands of people
and only replace them by promise to use
his influence with a party In Congress that
has a notorious record against that very thing
Let me ask you have you ever read Bunyan's
Pilgrims Progress? Great book! Splendid
allegory. There Christian and there was
Faintheart and there was Trueheart and there
was Mr.. Facing Both Ways. 1 say to you that
If Parker had lived then that character in that
book would not have been Facing Both Ways
but it would have been Parker.