The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-02-11

interpolating into IL new conditions. The
Government might, with equal pro-
priety, propose TO stop the pension of every
widow who did not go to church three
times every Sunday, or who wore back hair
which was not her own save by purchase.
We suppose that any truly moral and
trooly loyal philosopher will confess with
his lips, il not with his heart, that immo-
rality in man is as worthy of condemnation
as it is in woman; but we are
quite certain that no member of Congress
will propose to institute an examination into
the private moral character of the one armed
and one legged male pensioners of the Gov.
eminent, and provide for stopping the pay of
any of them who may chance to stray aside
from the path of virtue. The full price which
the Government demanded from these men
ard women for the stipend which they are re-
ceiving has been paid, and there is no excuse
for asking anything more. The wife has given
her husband, the widowed mother has resigned
her son, the strong man has paid away his
limbs and bartered his health, and is content
to hobbe up towards his grave with body
shorn OF its fair proportions, hacked into a
hideous ruin, and tortured with constant pain.
They have all paid heavily enough for all they
are to get III the future; aud in the name of
humanity, to say nothing OF justice and graft.
tude, let no one seek TO lay he eavier burdens
upon them
We do not suppose that it is true that any
in the United States are open to the aspersiou
which the Commissioner of Pensions aui the
Hon. MIR. Perham have cast upon them. ANY
one who knows the poor-who has seen them
in their own homes, and witnessed the courage,
the faith, the piety, and the trustfuluess in
God wberewith they combat the ills of life
need not be told that there is rs much virtue
among them as there is among the classes
whom Heaven has blessed with happier lot
But If all these allegations against soldiers
widows were true, it requires very little re-
Fiction to see that the remedy proposed for
the supposed evil would only intensity it.
Take MIR. Perham's own statement OF the case
for instance. 'Here," said the gentlema an
from Maipe "are two widows living in the
same community, both drawing pensions, and
both forming matrimonial engagements the
one gets married honestly aod forfeits her
pension; the other declines ths marriage rite
but cobabits with the man and retains her
pension" Here we might pause to inquire
whether it is in accordance with truly moral
ideas to speak of woman who eaters into
state of cOncubnage as one who has formed
matrimonial engagement but that is not
the point. "The operation of the present sys-
tenn was to punish the chaste woman by de-
privipg her OF her pension when she got mar
ried honestly" continued Mr.. Perham, "and
to give a premium to women who lived as
concubines. l think the Government should
NOT SlloW Itself TO Oe placed III that anomalous
position" Well the Government can re-
lieve itself from all difficulty of this
nature by simply adopting the suggestion of
Mr.. Raum and repeating that section of the
pension law which causes the marriage of a
pensioned widow to work forfeiture of her
pension. 1t is perfectly true that the present
rule is contrary to public policy, since it dis
courages marriage. If that rule were abro-
gated, no weak and ignorant woman would be
left to be tempted-perhsps by Affection per-
haps by dire necessity-to consent to an illicit
connection which could only te made law
full one by the sacrifice of an income which
she might deem Indispensable for her support.
The Government would spend no more money
on pensions than it now does if all the widows
in the land were married tomorrow. The
Government saves nothing by keeping its
pensoned widows in state of single and un-
productive celibacy. There would be q few
dollars saved if Mr.. Perham's proposition
were carried into effect; but it would be money
accursed in the sight of men and Heaven. We
have heard many hearty and many affected
denunciations of reputation; but, of all the
schemes for ''breakipg the plghted faith OF
the nation" none is so worthy of scorn and
dstestation as this proposition to repudiate the
debt due to soldiers widows for the sake of
their souls. It could only have origins
with ''a generation that are pure in their own
eyes and yet are not washed from their filth
ness" and who "grind with their Jaw teeth to
devour the needy from Off the earth and the