National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-02-27
LETTERS FROM THEPEoPLE

The NAJ1ON.
LETTERS FROM THEPE0PLE
PUEBLO OPINION UroxI HA1xoUa
t TOPICs OF IxEEREsE. J. 8
THE QUESTION OF PENSIONS AND Taxes
THE PROPOSITION TO WITHHOLD ZEN,
sIoNesEvERELYC CIsED--ONE-ARllEn
MEN CONE TO THE FRoNT-CLERKs AMI
THEIR SALARIES.
TO tie Editor ertks National Repubsfcus:
SIN: Under this head /" J. L. F." whose lstte,
day, the nth Instant, urges, "as an earnest
toward economy, would It net b well lur Con
gress. owing TO the present financial condition Of
the country, to pass law Withholding psasiou
from any person who nils Government pesisioaf'
WIN J. L F." please inform the epuntry
whether he waltses to and from his oilca on
crutches or enjoys the pleasure Of stamping It On
one q two wooden legs: Was he In the army, u
surrendsrsd hi; pension sertincats in order e e
sion been stopped BY the Pension Oflssf fhs
Of the case, and that the young mans rsvsans
from this source has been cat Cd, and thss the
He says to suspend the pensions Of pensioners
in once" cannot appear unjust, from the fact thst
the Government acknowledges its obligation to
them By supplyinS them With PosItie.i" .Des.
for one moment refuse this. small amount - Q
compensation for the Inconvenience Of the loss Of
limb, when lost in their defencsi Does he sup
factory to cripple a. position alone would % II
he was sound IN bodyf, Docs he assert that .
pensioner does less work than the man next to
q free from all pain or Inconvenience, and only
draws the money because Congress voted It to
him. Or does he think that crippled psnsiousr 4
Government than HIMSELF who, It II eafs to say,
Is not one: Yes, that II what he thinks. -
In my opinion, he IL no American, and II his
case was ventilated It 10 moro than probable that
1t would be found that he 10 not entitled to Gov
eminent position, much less seat ameng the men
whom he wants 70 cripple worse.
the income tax. This Il blind, and only con
nectsd with his FIRST Segregation 70 give color to
what he calls "helping tho hand that helps him, !"
suggestion that VIII Affect class TO which he
does not bsiong, and then. TO NOW thai he, Tea 70
Mns 80 p e. zone saeses 10
shndoy Of . chanee-in which he can help. to sup
port tho Government It d ten to one that he be-
About the best thing for him to Do, If he Is very
sorry about the repeal Of. the. Income tax, and
really wants TO help the Govcrnnent, is to take
ners balm Of diissd or conscienec.fand syrup. en-
prcssly manufactured for persons who receive
more money than they know they are worth to the
Government. II. W.
SUGGESTIONS FROM A oNE-ARMEDP PEN
SIONER.' .--... --. .-
To the Editor Of the National Republican,:
SIR: In your issue OF the 18th instant is An arti-
Gle from one ~. L. F.. on the subject Of economy,
though really headed "Pcnslon and Taxes" As
regards the former no says: .There arc . great
number Of Government pensioners now holding
lucrative positions" This deny. Few pension.
srs hold any lucrative positions, they generally
being frstclass clerks, messengers and watch
men. He makes the following suggestion to Con-
not be we'll for Congress, owing to the present
financial condition Of the country, to pass q law
withholding pension from any person who fills .
This proposition comes with q bad grace from ono
who no ioubt held. and now holds, q fat sposish,"
md who never rendered any service to his coun-
Try to crush the late rebellion whom his Govern
nent was sorcly pressed for men. Pensions afc
granted soldiers for wounds received or disease
contracted in the line Of duty, The crippled and
he duties required Of them as faithfully and in
diligently as any other class. and the Govern
aeut recognizes this fact and aids them. AZ. L.
E." also says: "Let US clerks, who rs matters
low stand, have no way of hclping our Govern
nent Except by our labor for which we are Justly
do something Of more substantial
iand that helps us" I will suggest : way. q this
,atriotic economist 70 help our Government; that
tor him .od 70 Bny into the United
70 credited to the conscience fund.
A OSE-ARMED FIRsr.CLAss CLERK.
ANOTHER ONE-ARMED SOLDIER RISES
TO EXPLAIN.
70 the Editor Of tie National Republican:
SIR: Please insert the following;
To ~. Z. F."-Sir! Your letter in TIE Ma
'IoSAL RErrBLIcAy Of yesterday upon the sub
ect Of pensions and taxes would imply your mex
'erisnce in . militGy capacity involving the
bedding Of hsnae Hood and loss OF health You |
10 not sbcm " e6mprehend the first principles
pon which pension y based, and to encourage |
urreuder Of our pensions to the Government un- |
Ter tho circumstances you seem TO advocate is the
sunl sophistry used by dcmagogues to advance |
of u pensloner in the civil service |
rould be violation Of the Federal Constitution |
q the first place, and an act Of base ingratitude |
ince executed in good faith upon the field Of car
age. and duty to humanity in the next. The Cit
he country with the distinct underst sndinE that
e should receive during his natural life arcason.
BILE pension for and in consideration Of those sac
he solder does not have any pre- in
ers Of appointment. He hiss to pass the sams I
rucial test, and bring to bear the same amount Of
he civil service, and the idea Of the soldier Civ
ng up his pension because he exercises the rights
. citizen, the same rs those who mover smelled /
OwdsT except from afsr Is an aSsgrdit and
iarch 1855, relating to pensions, itself repealed
une Q, 1855, Congress thereby admitting It's error
ands Of lie boys who saved the nation from the
fleets of treason. Saving at the spigot and
lasting at the bung" Is not economy. J. VIC.
STILL ANOTHER IRATE PENSIONER.
o the Editor Of the National Republican:
SIR: notice an article in THE NATIONAL Re /
UBLIcAN, on the subject Of pensions, signed ~.
. F." advocating tho Withholding Of pensions
ON disabled soldiers who hold Government po-
. F. d not only blessed with the usual compile
'untry was IN jeopardy not to hazard those pro-
GUS limbs In her defence, or else was in full SYM
a:hy with the rebel horde Of her aggressors.
The wounded soldiers In Government employ,
as s :sTeiss! fap2ssi G
i've. They hold no sineeufc positions but faith
:" sss s sssr os
ltional small installments Of the great debt due
to me the most penurious and the
eanest method Of retrenchment ever advocated.
ADIsABLED SOLDIER CLERK.
CLERKS VS.. MECHANICS.
% fhe EuuOT o. Tue NuttOHdt hepuoetcuus |
SIR: Hardly day passes but We see some COM
laint from the clerks bewailing the loss Of posi-.
on and the cutting down Of salaries. It CRATES
arshly upon the ears Of the mechanics employed
y the Government They (the mechanics) do
ot expect to have any notice before they are dis
iarged, or pay to make up lost time in case they
re informed their services are not required.
saw one notice, or letter, . few days ago, writ
N in pathetic strain, because the heads Of De-
artments were not patriotic enough to allow the
ilared employees to loaf upon the Government.
he fires Of patriotism would not burn SO bright
ere . days pay deducted from their salary at
10 end of the month for each and every time the
iices were closed by orders from headquarters.
A first-class clerk receives nearly twice a. much
frst-class mechanic, and il not compelled to
ave rs much ability.
There arc many worthy men employed in the
avy yard who would like to have some Of the po-
tions 1t the other end Of the city, and would
Illingly take the places Of Some Of the clerks
nd not growl about the pay. The clerks would
ave no occasion to growl If they lived as they did
sfore they secured positions in the Departments:
don't think the Government compelled any Of
s employees to buy houses, and buy their money
ut Of loan associations to pay for them. One
ould think from the communications We often n
. In the papers that should Government clerk II
removed or resign, all the business men Of tho
istrict would rush to employ him, or them, and
lie bugbear Of beggary,. raised by "F. 8. d."
ouid dwindle Into insignincance.