The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1879-02-12

President Hayes has signed the ARE airs
of pension BILL" This under ordinary Cir
cumstances would be a great waste of the
public moncy--bnt just now the payment of
one hundred millions of dollars to several
Thousand pensioners in all parts of the coun-
try, especially as it is intended to use the new
silver coinage for this purpose, will greatly
tend to make money plenty and bring about
the good times that everybody is looking for
1t should not be forgotten that this act of
justice originated in and was passed by the
Democratic House of Representatives and
that the Confederate Brigadiers who strike
such terror to the stalwart hearts were not
the people who opposed it. This makes the
third time the bill passed the Democratic
House, aud it finally got through the Senate
through the Urgent import unity of Democrat
ic members These facts should furnish food
for reflection to the beneficiaries of the bill,
who are accustomed to hear professions of
friendship from Republican demagogues.
The above appears as editorial in the Hun
terdon Democrat. 1t is the quintessence of
demagogism. According to this authority, it
would be great waste of the public mon
ey'' to do an "act of justice" las it calls this
bill), in "ordinary !" times, but as the times
are not ordinary, but considerably worse than
ordinary, 1t is no. wasteful to spend one hun
dred millions Of dollars to do an " act of JUS
tico." That is logic with vengeance Fur
ther, il is not ga waste of public money "
because the running of the government into
alradditiohal immense debt by the payment
of one hundred millions of dollars in pensions
will make money plenty and times good -
Did the editor ever know times to be really
,.,,l., .,ao,l ly r,nn;no In daht That il iua
the way good times were had during the
war, and as soon as we began to pay
the debt--in fact, even as soon as we began
to stop running in deht-the " hard times
came No good times " can come of spend
iug borrowed money, unless the spending OF
it brings in mofetnan Is gt,oa e,st.
Now the truth of the history of the pass
age Of the bill is this. The Democratic House
passed the bill with the idea that the Repub-
ican Senate would vote it down, and the
former coulI make capital by charging that
the Republicans were not friends of the SOL
ders. But the Republicans tackled on some
amendments and passed it-tlc principal mo-
tive probably being to prevent the Democrats
from winning in their little game. Neither one
was actuated by special love for the soldier in
the passage of it. Two political parties were
trying to checkmate each other. The game
was draw and the country loses from $780,.
100000 to 800, 100000 by this piece of polit-
ical trickery.
We do not say that the bill is unjust In all
its parts, but 1t is evidently crude, without
proper guards against fraud, and extrava-
CANT in its provisions. Every defender of his
country who has been wounded or who by
any other means has been prevented from
wholly or in part obtaining his own livelihood
deserves the care of his country. 1t would
DO base not to provide for him. But when we
consider that this bill was pressed by claim
agents, and came at so late day, we judge
that a majority of those for whom it is pro,
iessedly intended will hardly reap its benefits
At the close of the war the men who devils
ed the laws under which pensions have been
given were actuated by true patriotism and
love for the soldier, and the fact that such
men at the time did not extend the pension
laws to the extent just now provided for,
must lead to the conclusion that either we arc
still growing in the. fervor of patriotism or
tLat Congress was actuated by some other mo-
tive in the passage of the bill.