CLOAKROOM STORIES — REMINISCENCES OF 

 CONGRESSMAN JOHN F. LACEY l 



MAJOR LACEY 's RETORT 



Quick retorts in debate, especially in the House, are al- 

 ways enjoyed by both sides. When the House was con- 

 sidering the pension question in 1893 there was much 

 feeling among the Union soldiers, owing to the action of 

 Hon. Hoke Smith, of Georgia, secretary of the interior, 

 in dropping many thousands of pensioners from the rolls. 

 Mr. Lacey was a member of the invalid pension commit- 

 tee, and was discussing the question in general debate on 

 the pension appropriation bill. Colonel Livingston, of 

 Georgia, interrupted him with the statement that there 

 were thousands of fraudulent pensioners and that their 

 names were properly dropped by the secretary. Mr. 

 Lacey replied, "What the soldiers complain of is that 

 while in 1864 the boys in blue were marching through 

 Georgia, in 1893 Georgia is marching through the boys in 

 blue." 



CAMPAIGN" ANECDOTE OF LACEY 



The Iowans place Major Lacey high among campaign- 

 ers. One of his colleagues delighted the cloakroom with 

 this anecdote about him: "Mr. Lacey was elected to 

 Congress for the first time in 1888 over General J. B. 

 Weaver who had three times been elected in the district. 

 One of the most notable campaigns ever made in Iowa 

 was waged between these two men. They had joint dis- 

 cussions in every county and people turned out in mass 



i Copyrighted by Champ Clark, 1900. 



