River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-02-06
THE BACK PENSION LAW.

Among the more important meas
ures which have recently received the
favorable consideration of Congress,
been approved by the President and
become laws, is the arrears of pension
bill which provides for the payment
of pensions to pensioners of the late
war during the time intervening be-
tween the date of discharge and the
commencement of pensions already
paid. This proposition has been be-
fore Congress for number of years
and has been repeatedly defeated but
was finally passed by such a decisive
majority that President Hayes did not
feel justified in Withholding therefrom
the executive approval. A single law
which takes millions of money from
| the treasury of the government, as
this bill will, very properly provokes
a great deal of comment from the
press and people, and this law is now
the subject of metropolitan newspaper
| discussion, both favorable and unfa-
vorable. Theivote by which this law
was passed, whatever may have been
the motives prompting those who Vot-
| ed for it, removes it from the cata-
| logue of party questions, and both of
| the two great political parties may
alike share the credit given the meas
| ure and must also as equally receive
| the criticism given the same. which
| fact breaks the force of any buncom-
| be which may have been contemplated
by Congressman of either party in
| supporting the same. In an intense
zeal to create political capital fort their
| Northern allies the Southern Demo-
| cratic members overshot the mark in
| voting for the passage Of this bill;
they confidently expected its defeat in
| the Senate, and that if by an unfore-
seen combination of circumstances it
| should be concurred in by that body,
as it came from the House, that the
| President would refuse his sanction
| thereto, and thus, while claiming that
they did their duty by the soldier,
throw the responsibility of the defeat
of measure in which disabled SOL
diers were especially interested. upon
the Republicans. But in this they
reckoned without their host; the Re-
publican Senate did not see fit to set
| down upon a measure which Demo
cratic House had sent in for concur
renee when that measure was calcu-
lated to benefit manned and crippled
soldiers, and promptly concurred; the
| President, remembering the treat
ment he received when vetoing the
silver bill, signed the new pension bill
which had passed by large majority
and it became law. The upshot of
this whole matter is that the South
ern Democrats are Disguised with
themselves and the Northern Demo
Gratis are provoked at the stupidity OF
their would-be assistants. The feel.
ings of disgust entertained by the
Southern members at the unexpected
turn which affairs had taken is some
what intensified by the fact that the
success of this measure, which they
themselves promoted, has jeopardiZed
the interests of three pet measures of
their own-the reduction of tax on
tobacco, the pensions of soldiers in
the Mexican war and the restoration
to the pension rolls of those who saw
service in the Mexican war and who
were stricken therefrom on account
of disloyalty, the last two of which
would pension a lot of ex-rebels while
the pension bill passed sends no mon
ey into the South save the border
states and to negroes who served il
tie Union army. So, altogether. the
passage of this bill was a bad day
work for the interests of the Demo
cratic party whose interests its passage
was designed by many of its support
ers to promote. While this law mus
necessarily affect the finances of th'
, government, it seems to US that NJ
valid reason exists why those who arr
entitled to a pension at all should mo-
receive it from the date of their dis
charge.