Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1867-04-12
FHE DERELICTIoN OF MANY OF
THE LATE OFFICERS or
OUR ARMY

There is nothing 50 embarrassing and an
moving il this life Of business as to be un.
der the necessity Of attempting TO transact
business with men who are deaf TO al your
appeals and treat your requests with silent
contempt, or who, If they are moved to re-
spond to your demands, have been so dere-
ljctof duty as never to have made any rec
erd Of the facts desired, and consequently
are wholly unable to supply the much desi,
rcd information, This il an every day oc
cuUence ia the prosecution Of claims Of wid- |
nvs aad mothers for pensions
kind and excellent husband, the best of
fathers, patriotic to the last breath though
ro0s could not leave his beloved family, for
whnm he was the best of providers. until
he was drafted into the service; perhaps he
doubted whether his health was such as to
permit him to endure the hardships Of the
6oid, but he promptly reported a hasty ex-
aminatiou by Board Of Enrolment and he
was ordered tc don the national uniform and
was hurried forward TO the scene of activity
before Petersburg or elsewhere. The
change the active life, The anxiety, the
pver-exertion. deyelope dormant disease,
ho Is ordered % the rear, put into an ambu
lance and expires on the way to the hospi-
.aI The beraaved widow and orphans real
idsthe terrible reality that their hope, their
all. has been torn FROM them, and for the
first time in life they behold wan, ghastly
want approaching their humble threshold.
4 lew dollars back pay are secured promptly
through that efficient officer. Hon. E. B.
French, I'd Auditor of the Treasury At
the same time an application is made to that
superlative Of CircunIoeution offices,
Che Pension Office, for Pension Months
rod away before any action Is communica-
ted to the applicant. In the meantime the
few dollars OF back pay are consumed and
debf is incurred to provide the necessaries
3f life The once happy family is broken
ap. the widow must labor to provide susie
nance for her babe; her debtors become I'M
FORTUNATE and doubt whether she viii ever
Get a Pension, and distress the already mis-
cradle widow and her wretehed little ones
on every hand Death Is coveted as a re-
ieffrom the pangs and woes Of this uugeu-
4rous life. st last she Is, perhaps, assured
chat all the testimony necessary 20 the sue
eessful prosecution of her case is made
Hope takes the place Of despair. TE the
mIusu Oh ner aBJIclpaJIGns comes demand
tur she evidence of some commissioned Off
Ger having personal klorledqe Of the time
when. the place where and the circum
stances under which the djsease was con
uacted. A year or eighteen months
have rolled away. Tho officers have
been discharged and gone to the four quar-
ters of the globe. The Adjutant General is
applied to, he may know their post Office ad-
dress, or he may not; but grant it that he
does they are written TO and weeks and
months again rell away before any reply is
received, if aay is received orperhaps, af
ter several communications they deign to
reply that they know nothing, verify. This
is uniformity the case IN four applications
out Of five, and IN nineteen cases out Of
5Eenty in the applications Of drafted men.
The above is onlyone ofmany eases.
The Government for the purpose Of pro-
teoting itself against few frauds has allow
cd the adoption of rules so stringent in the
Pension Office that there is not a county in
the loyal States, but has at least a dozen
such cases pending, and we can point to
twenty in the county Of Bedford alone Is
it not horrible TO contemplate the misery
and wretehedness which is thus entailed by
lhe derelction Of those whose duty It was
10 possess such information and to I'M
part it promptly We hope every officer
who may read this article, if he has any
such requests made to him, viii see to it at
once that II Is promptly answered. and with
the best information IN his possession, as
upon his immediate response may depend
the happiness Or wretchedness of some no
bic woman and her hapless infants.
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