Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1859-03-02
The Pension Hill.

-----rnade report adverse to the passage of the
the Pension bill which some weeks since.
80 u passed the House of Representatives by a
large majority. The Committee applied to
.s~Os the Commissioner of Pensions to know: E
EFxs 1. What sum would be required, under the
&0@s bill, to be appropriated at the present session
of Congress?
2 What average would be annually
requisite and for what period thereafter.
3. What would be the aggregate snm
"a - necessary to exinguish all claims that might
Il be preferred under the bill IA y /
4. What increase of clerks in the Pension
Bureat and of Pension agents, if any, would
be required, and the compensation therefor.
The Commissioner, after careful and
somewhat elaborate examination. arrived at
~ the following. results:1 q VI 1gl
l. The amount it would be necessary to
appropriate at the present session would be
about s29760,7IO. @
2. That the average annually requisite
thereafter would be about So 100000 for ten
I years f = : II i y u
g. That the aggregate which would be
necessary to extinguish all claims under
the bill would not be less than SIC3 000,-
600. -
.-F A. That the increase in the clerical force in
<sSA9 the Pension Office would be about double the
increase, including contingencies and the
compensation of agents for paying pensions,
would be not less than 1855 600
81 The Committee think these estimates Of
the Commissioner well sustained by the
facts presented by him, and that experience
would probably prove them to he below the
actual expenditures. They say the indebted
ness of the Government amounts to
s65, 900 600; its revenues fall below its
ordinary expenditures and there is sub
stantal ground for the hope of realizing
under the present tariff and from the public
q lands during the next ten years a surplus
- beyond the average ordinary expenditure of
the last five years, sufficient to discharge such
debt over 500 900 900. The means to dis
-. charge it therefore. If the bill become a law
be derived from increased TAXATION or
from loans obtained on The credit of the Gov
eminent. The Committee were not prepared
to recommend resort either Of those
modes of providing money to be bestowed in
gratituous pensions.
They could not conc"de that ali who vol
> unteer in their country's service in war are
entitled to pensions; or, in othrr words, that
citizen soldiers have right to claim the
sa bounty of their government because they
have defended it. and hereby discharged q
duty demanded of them by selflove well
ar as patriotism, and by private as well as pub
- lie honor Such a sentiment tends to demon
alize the soldier, to weaken the government,
and to Cypress the tax payers with heavy
exactons. In the opinion of the Committee. |
a the bill rested entirely on that sentiment.
The consequence of pensionng all who serve
their country in time of war would be to |
render taxation so oppressive that the people |
might well begin to consider whether the |
government not more burdensome than |
beneficial and the insults ant, injuries of for
eign nations tolcrable than the cost of |
resistance and redress.
Gil In the early days of the republic it was
thought the government discharg, d its entire |
duty to its soldiers when it provided for those |
who were disabled in its servc, and could
not provide for themselves. Only the invalid |
and INDECENT were pensioners. The persist |
ant and too successful efforts, during the last |
si quarter of this century to enlarge the system
as to embrace all who have rendered any |
military service, and their widows and chill |
dren, admonish to retrace our steps rather |
- than advance, and in future to condne the
bountes of the government to those who in |
its service, have lost their ability to take care
- of themselves, and are dependent upon pub
lie or private charity for their subsistence.
For the foregoing the Committee
think the bill inexpedient and unwise, and |
recommend its rejection by the Senate. AS
this report will doubtless be concurred in by
= the Senate, and as great numbers OF persons
are interested in the action of the Senate
the bill having passed the House of Repre-
sentatves by a large majority, have
thought that an analysis of the grounds Of its
almost certain REJECTION by the Senate, as laid
down in the report of the Committee would
be of interest to many of readers.