The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1859-01-20
THE PENSION BILL

upon by him to secure his return to the
HOUSE, seems to be very generally and
heartily CONDEMNED by all parties oul
of Congress, aud the indications are
that it will not receive the concurrence
of the Senate. The Baltimore Amer
lean says shat the vote for the bill in
the House istacitly acknowledged to
have been given from vnrious reasons,
few of which had any reference to
the Justice of the measure, and with,
the general anticipation that it would
amount to nothing more than a mere
compliment, whilst the Senate would
efectualIy save the country from the
needless expenditure the bill would
subject it to. The inconsistcncy,,of such
action with the standard of high MOI.
atty that should influence our nation
al Legislators needs scarcely to be poin-
ted out. The danger arising from it
is already manifest in the fact that the
bill, before regarded as having scarce
ly a claim to respectful consideration,
is now urged on the Senate as "a meas
ure sanctioned by the representative
branch of Congress and not to be neg
lected except to the damage Of the
cause ofjustice and the enlargement
of the popularity Of Senators. Per-
,haps these inducements and threats
may prevail, but we shall "still look
to the Senate with hope for the defeat
Of a bill both unjust and cxtravagant.
ut is unjust because, except in some
special cases where extraordinary
services were performed or cxtraor-
binary privations were undergone, the
soldiers of the last war have been lib
orally paid. The government has
already given to them from forty to
one hundred and sixty acres of land,
according to the length of service, in
addition to the pay they got at the time
the service was rendered. The men
who served in the revolutionary war,
with scanty or no pay, and with no
land b0untics, received no such pen.
sions as are provided in this BILL
Those who served less than six months
received nothing per annum, instead
of fifty dollars. Those who served
from six to twelve months received
forty-eight dollars. instead of seventy
five; and with them it took two years
service instead of one to cntillc to
n~inety-six dollars. This discrimina-
ton in favor Of the soldiers ofthe last ,
war;, whose sacrifices and risks and
and hardships are not wor-
of being mentioned the same day
with the old contincntals, is altogeth- '
ul hiI uilLdDlCs
1.-THE extravaganza of the measure y
Is equally indisputablc. 1t will call :
for an annual expenditure, according
To- the estimate of the Commissioner !
of Pensions, of about eleven millions /
Of dollars, and judged by the public S
experience in relation to other pen
sion bills, is likely to exceed that
amount. The Revolutionary Pension
Bill of 1918, according to its friends, r
vas to involve an expenditure of about y
100000 per annum; but in fact the :,
payments that year ran up $4,000, =
md the year after to over three mil '
ions. The Pension Bill of 1882 was y
o apply, it was calculated, to about ;,
en- thousand persons, with an expen- :,
|iture of 100000. The whole mum -
'er who were admitted to its benefits :
vas 33,4l4. and the next year their y
RATS upon the treasury exceeded five n
Millions Of dollars. And a like cx- .
%eriencc will follow the passage of ~
his bill. The claimants will start up =.
hundreds in every portion of the g
ountry, and an army of pensionaries -
will advance in solid phalanx under =
IS cover to an annual attack upon the :,
reasury. The necessities of these ::
or their defendants may be
Urged, but there is no more justice in
the government u vast elee. Of
nosynary institution for their aid than "
Or any other class of citizens who hi
lay have failed of that success in n,
fe which was needed to place them 81
eyon | want. There is no service r;
hey did to warrant any such bounty, Y
nd il there were, the treasury is in a
D condition to bear it at the present C,
me, and with our largely increasing e.
ational expenses, is not likely to be il
hereafter. Those who were in any d
ray disabled during their service in
he war already enjoy pensions, and il
hese are all that have any just claim W
lpon their country's generosity for e.
,ecuniary reward. If an additional u
eason were needed why the Senate
hould refuse to burthen our already &c
Exhausted treasury with this enormous aT