ion allowed to her as such widow until
July 14, 1866, when she married Samuel H. Woodbury. She was thereupon
dropped from the pension roll pursuant to law, and in 1868 the minor son
of the soldier was allowed a pension of $8 a month, commencing at the
date of the remarriage of his mother. This pension was increased to $10
a month in 1873, from July 25, 1866, and was continued until 1880, when
the minor child reached the age of 16 years.

On July 26, 1886, twenty years after the beneficiary ceased to be the
widow of the soldier Aaron G. Firman and became the wife of the civilian
Samuel H. Woodbury, he died and she became his widow.

It is now proposed by this bill to pension her again as the widow of the
deceased soldier, notwithstanding her voluntary abandonment of that
relation to become the wife of another more than thirty years ago.

No feature of our pension laws is so satisfactory and just as a fair
allowance to the widows of our soldiers who have died from causes
attributable to their army service. When, however, such a beneficiary
by remarriage surrenders her soldier widowhood and turns away from its
tender and patriotic associations to assume again the relation and
allegiance of wife to another husband, when she discards the soldier's
name and in every way terminates her pensionable relationship to the
Government, I am unable to discover any principle which justifies her
restoration to that relationship upon the death of her second husband.

No one can be insensible to the sad plight of a widow in needy
condition, but our pension laws should deal with soldiers' widows. I
understand that only the existence of this relationship to a deceased
soldier creates through him the Government's duty and justifies the
application of public money to the relief of such widows.

GROVER CLEVELAND.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 2, 1897_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I herewith return without approval House bill No. 7864, entitled "An act
to amend the immigration laws of the United States."

By the first section of this bill it is proposed to amend section 1 of
the act of March 3, 1891, relating to immigration by adding to the
classes of aliens thereby excluded from admission to the United States
the following:

All persons physically capable and over 16 years of age who can not read
and write the English language or some other language; but a person not
so able to read and write who is over 50 years of