Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1859-01-01

nation help help!" as that nation cried to them in
1912, when struggling beneath the paws Of the
British lion.
There is another fact which makes the speech of
the gentleman from Alabama the g unkindsst cut of
ALL If am not mistaken, he lives upon and rep
resents the glorious battlefield CT Tallsdega; the
very soil that produces the bread thai he eats coz
/ tains the bones, and has been made richer by the
heRh and blood, Of ny eountrymes, offered up in.
1872 IS a sacrifice to The common SAFETY and glory,
and can well believe that ssme poor old helpless
women, whose husbands have perished from exposure
in those campaigns, now listen most anxiousiy in
their homes of poverty for your response TO their
| petitions. Ihsve learned from the men. the moth
eTs, and wives of that day the sacrifices snd suffer-
ings that attended these great and the
stars of heaven shall not move more steadily in their
courses than shall my feeble efforts be given in
pressing tb cir claims before the nation.
tbs the greatest absurdity TO adduoe the English
pension system as al argument against the one pro-
posed by this bill. Thsy adverse in every re-
| spect In England The power to pension is in The
Crown, and the pensioners MOBILES, hatterers,
and faVorites of The mOnaroh-it is royal and not
national system This bill proposes give it to the
humble and unfortunate, because of the injuries
they have sustained for the public good
1t is too late for gentlemen to talk about the un-
constitutionality of the pension system The egls>
lstion in regari to the revolutionary soldiers has
established the precedent and forever fixed The con-
| stitutional law upon the subject IL Is our daily
practice 10 give pensions for injuries sustained IN
the service and the argument for this bill assumes
that all who enter your service more or less in
iured In health, fortune, and power 70 labor
In the language of the repOrt-which adopt on
this occasion
Many Of these gallant men return with impaired
heath--some with ruined constitutions; but no mat
ter how they return. with few fortunate exceptions,
they find that while others who have remsined at
home have advanced, they have refrigerated IN the
race for the good things of this world which render
man independent and old age comfortable; their
business and families have been neglected, their
property deprecated their pstrouageis in the hands
of others with them it Is almost commencing life
second time at The bottom of the ladder, although
their absence from home may have been Of short
duration, As general rule, they give the strong
days of their manhood 10 the services Of the country,
and see much OF actual war in few campaigns
as the soldiers of these vast standing armies do in
their lifetime; so that our Government secures the
same benefit in the hour of danger, for very small
expense that is obtained by other countries at the
enormous cost Of their perpetual establishments.
The burden and sacrifices Of foreign war are. for
this cause unequay divided between the citizens of
the Republic being principally borne by the brave
Who from patriotic motives thus enter the mill
tary service. This view Of the subec may be illus
trated by supposing the case Of Two men Of equal
ability following he same Occupstion the one obeys
the impulses Of patriotism enters your service sheds
his blood In your cause, advances your standard to
victory and glory, bringing peace and renOwn to
the nation; but in most cases. if he returns al all to
the bosom Of his family it is with less ability TO toll
with property and business injured, perhaps lost
forever, and for other reason than because he
fought your battles this gallant man goes down to
the grave in poverty, and leaves his wife and little
ones TO misery and want. The other from accident,
necessity, greater regard for individual comfort
remains at home, pursues his business, accumulates
property guards his family and leaves the at his
death comfortable and wealthy. No bounty of the
Government is likely ever to place these men upon
an equality; but generous people should not let
| the old soldier die among them, when poverty has
been the result Of sacrifices for their safety"
Gentlemen have avoided this view of the question;
they have neither answered it tried 10 1t.
1t suits their purposes far better deal in flowers Of
rhetoric general sxiOms and abusive epitbets.
Gentlemen attack the bill in It's details, crIticsing
its provisions with great severity yet tney suggest
nothing in lieu Of them Now, submit to a candid
world whether Ley would not show themselves
wiser legslatC'a and better patriots by employing
the ability which they manifest to make perfect the
imperfect bill which has beenreported For myself
had neither a hope expectation Of presenting
system perfect in its details. My purpose, when,
drafting the bill and report, was TO present the
question to the nation In the Enrs POSSIBLE
aud in the most striking light l had 10 hopes OF
the passage OF any bill until the people should speak
upon the subject and order their
TO execute their will: expect smendments, and
should other gentlemen fail to offer those | think
necessary, | will propose them myself
L
the statement IN regard to the costs The gentle~
man from Alabama spoke OF table before him.
carefully prepared at the Pension Office, making
an estimate of the amount involved in this bill Al
the world was left 10 infer that the geGtleoan's
statement of facts sad conclusions rested upon the
authority Of the pension bureau. l astOnished
when the statement made; for besides feeling
confident that It was e1travagant and unfOunded,
knew that the Military Committee (of which the
gentleman from Massachusetts, Mr.. Burlington and
4 Il II n,,,a
through the President and had received no such
answer.
Mr.. BURLINGTON sssenied.
Mr.. SAVAGE / have examined the sO-caed
tables of the gentleman from Alabama, and find
them unsigned and unauthorized by any officer Of
the Government, and hence this famous calculation
is wholly without foundation, the splendid imo
aginaiion of the orator, the p iVate information
OF some individual But the authority OF no De-
psrment could sustain the ruth of this statement
1t is zoo easy to show that il is very great
This calculation assumes that more han eleven mill
lion dollars per will be required meet he
pensions under this bill BY reference to the mes
sage of the President above alluded to- in reply
the Military Committee will appear that the whole
number of officers and men mustered from the mill
tia in The war of 1872 four hundred aud seven
ty-one thousand six hundred and tWentyNiwO: and
the report of Mr. Calhoun, Secretary Of War in 1920
shows that the full pay received by officers and
for he whole term OF service, amounted TO SI2
6!8 96l and by the report made TO Congress, ia
1886, by the Third Auditor, it appears mat only
one hundred an sixty eight thousand nine hundred
and eighty-tSo OF tbs number were ia service for
the term Of three months. Nov, forty-f7e years
since the war, when nine tenths of these gallant
men are in the grave, the mons.r0us absurdity is
pressed upon Us by gentlemen, IN the survivor Of
this one hundred and sixty eight thousand wall draw
nearly much by way Of pension, per snnuln, as
the whole four hundred and seventy lone thousand
drew fer full pay during the whole line Of the ar
Again, it appears from the repori Mr. Calhoun,
above referred to- that the grand total Of officers
and men engaged 10 the Revolutionary war amount
ed four hundred and ten thousand six hundred and
four The invalids provided for at early pc
riod aad in 1915 all VINO served nine months, 10
the end OF the war of the Revolution in tbs COninen
tai liuc we're provided for. In 1882, pensions
given all persons militia volunteers and regulars
who served for the of six months in the of
the Revolution. Nov, sir, The letter Of the present
Secretary of Treasury, addressed to this House
on the 10th Of February last, shows the sans drawn
from the Government under these various acts, and
it shows that under he act of 1918, and the Invalid
acts of a prior ia e, the annual appropriations
account of pensions we're usually less than mil
lion, and, with the exception If two years, never
! amounted to two millions Il also shows that after
the passage of The act of 1882, against which he
gentleman from South Carolina disting uished bin-
self by wild and extrsvagant assertions, such
have heard from gentlemen in regard to this bill,