The Monmouth inquirer., 1924-05-22
PENSION VETO
is SUSTAINED
HarreId's Change Makes Poll
One Less Than Necessary to
Override President.
FIGHT WITH NEW BILL
Wadsworth Voted to Pass Bill but
Changed on Issue of UNFOLDING
Coolidge-Minority Party Saves
President From Defeat.

Washington.-By the margin of a
single vote, President Coolidge's veto
of the 3ursum pension bill was sus-
tanned by the Senate. The roll call
was % to E3, the last-minute switch
of Senator Harreld, Of Oklahoma,
from the yea to the nay column saw
ing the day for the President.
Senator Harreld first voted to over
ride the veto, and Senators favoring
the pension were all smiles, as. with
that vote the final count would have
stood q to 81, an exact two-thirds of
all the Senators voting.
Most Of those regarded as Republi-
can regulars failed to stand by the
President. Only five of the Republi-
can Senators who voted originally for
the Bursum bill changed their votes
to sustain the veto.
The five Republicans who voted for
to sustain the veto were Senators
Cameron, of Arizona: Edge, of New
Jersey; Harreld, of Oklahoma; Sterl-
ing, of South Dakota. and Wadsworth,
of New York.
Senator Lodge, the Republican floor
leader, was paired against sustaining
the veto. The radical group of Re-
publicans voted TO man against the
President, Senator La Toilette, their
leader, is i'll and was not present or
paired.
Thirty-two of those who voted to
override were Republicans OF the
nineteen Democrats opposing the veto,
most Of them were from Northern
and Western States, although Senator
Robinson, of Arkansas, the Demo
cratic floor leader; Broussard, of
louisiana; Hefin, If Alabama, and
Shields and Mcclellan. of Tennessee,
joined with them.
It is generally considered that the
effect of the vote in the Senate is to
kill the measure fol- thi4 session.
According to the Presidents estimate
of cost of the measure it would have
taken $5S,O0O,000 out Of thesTreasury.
Senator Nicely, of West Virginia,
who asserted that President Coolidge
has become lobbyist, and that he is
using the white House breakfast
table" as base from which to direct
his propaganda" supported Senator
Bursum, while the defense of the
President was made by Senators Dial,
of South Carolina, Fletcher Of Florida,
and Wadsworth of New York.
Senator Dial commended the Presi-
dent for his courage, who, he said,
deserved the support of Senators with
out regard to party affiliations. Sena-
tor Fletcher said he had originally
voted for The bill, but that the message
which accompanied the veto was I'M
answerable, and he had no choice but
ia switch.
1.-THE country simply cannot stand
this added expense" Senator Wads-
worth said. II should like to do
something for the Spanish War Vet
Grams, for they are deserving and have
not been asking very much of US.
hope bill to do justice to those
men will be passed"
Senator Bursum, Republican. New
Mexico, author of the measure, re-
introduced it almost at once, but with
important notifications. Among these
were a reduction of $12 a month from
the base pension which was provided
in the original bill, bringing the rate
to $50 for veterans of all wars, ex-
cept the World War, and an average
reduction of S. month in the rate
proposed for widows of veterans.
Senator Bursum was said to have
met objections Of several senators
when he provided in the amended bill
for veterans of the Spanish-American
and Indian wars to be placed on tho
same footing with other military pen
sioners.
The bill was referred to the pen
sions committee, but it was the
opinion among Senate leaders that in
sufficient time remained in the present
session for it to come to a vote by
the regular parliamentary route.