Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-09-29

reached siXty-two Nany 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 wear did any one
ever claim TO have made the discovery
that the president Ind power to treat
the statute as II II read that when
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 missioner in
dicated his view of the order when in
recent address he thanked the prcsi.
dent for what he had done and advised
his hearers to use their influence that
law might be passed to the same ef-
feet. Full confidence, after all. seems
not 10 have been placed on the defense
OF justification. for 1t is pleaded in
mitigation that 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
perntiva. Our people must never toll
erste the citation Of one act Of usurpn-
ton of power MS nm excuse for anoth-
er. The first may possibly be due to
mistake; the second being based on
the first cannot be. In explanation,
however. IT should be said that the or
der relied on simply provided that the
age of seventy five years should be re-
gnrded as evidence OF inability to per
form manual labor Few men are able
to perform manual labor at that n.e,
but nearly all men are at siXtytwo.
The first order Is based on a fact that
experience teaches; the other Is based
on the assertion Of that which Ia not
true as general rule.
The old inquiry, What are you go
ing to do about it ?" is now stated in n
new form. 1t is said by the admins
tration. In reply to the public criticism
of this order. that ait is easy to test
our opponents sincerity in this mat
ter. The order in question is revocable
at the pleasure Of the executive. If
our opponents come into power they
can revoke this order and announce
'ilh' ll'N W III tItht NV N'-l'' ans VI
sixty-two and seventy as presumably
I'm full bodily vicor and not entitled to
pension VIII they authortatively
state that they intend TO do this? If
so. we accept the issue
This suggests the suspicion at least
that the order was made to create an
issue: that 1t was supposed to present
n strong strategic position In the bat
tie of the ballots. But as the making
of that order was. IN my judgment, AT
attempted though perhaps unwittingen
croachment upon the legislative powe7
and therefore unwnrrantcd by the con
stitution the challenge Is accepted II
elected | will revoke that order But
l 60 further aud say that. that beinl
done. / will contribute my effort toward
the enactment of low to be passed by
both houses OF congress and approx 90
by the executive that will give an acc
5 pension without reference to disability
/, to the surviving heroes of the civil
= war and under the provisions of which
n pension may be accepted wirh digni
= ty because of tho consciousness that II
{ comes as just due from the people
=, through their chosen representative
t. and not AS largess distributed Ivy thu
V chief executive.
l. Foreign Relations.
The foreign relations Of the govern
II ment have in late years assume,
5 special importance. Prior 10 the &C
II QUESTION of the Philippines we wer
J. practically invulnerable agains at