The National tribune., 1879-12-01
The Grand Army of the Republic.


widows and orphans Of dead comrades, and the
wounded and disabled To this end the organiza-
ton stands pledged to use all legitimate effort
For this purpose members contribute of their own
money and of the funds of the several Posts. For
this purpose they lend their influence individuals
and as organization to all worthy charities. For
this purpose they take deep and abiding interest
in the character and scope of the national legislation
as to bounties and pensions and in the Offices by
which this legislation out to be carried out.
The pension system of the United States should
be closely scrNinzed; its modes of operation should
be clearly understood; the legislation necessary to
protect should be thoroughly discussed its praise
should be uttered when it deserves praise, and con-
demnation should not be withheld when it is just
1t is admitted on all hands that the practical work
ing of the present Pension Office is utterly and
speakably bad
The delays are simply murderous; the technical
tiles demanded trivial in their nature, but are
made fatal obstacles to just settlement of claims.
The head of the Office, Mr.. j. A. Bentley, has ev
identity no sympathy with or care for the deserving
class on whose fate he pretends to decide.
His position has been so thoroughly ventilated,
his pretensions severely sed, by this and other
disguised the House Committee on Pensions, and
the camor from wounded and sick soldiers and from
starving widows and orphans has come up in so
many voices from all parts of the country that he
(the Chief of the Pension Bureau) has fairly taken
the stump, unbosomed himself to the selected inter-
viewer secured privilege of being heard before the
Grand Encampment of Pennsylvania, and is now
flooding the country with "er-pdyte" statements
which admit the worst possible state of things in
his Bureau, and suggest remedy worse than the
disease.
But these statements of Mr. Bentley are the state
ments of challenged officer in his own defense, of
the man trial in mitigation of sentence.
We quote his confession from his address before
the Grand Army of the Republic at Philadelphia,
October IL, 1879, and the italics are his:
And when remembered that the receipt of
new claims not less than 400 per day number much
greater than the Office is able to settle from day day.
the condition of the business of settling the pensions
only be described as wholly bad.
Here the head of the Pension Office deliberately
admits that the conditioner his office 'can only be
described as acholly badn
In all our controversy with Mr. Bentley we never
made charge half so sweeping, or impugned so
tnoroughiy the utter iaiiure vi Ills administrators.
The crime of failure in public duty is co Messed III
public duty, too in which large classes of helpless
parties are most concerned.
The slow agony of hope deferred, the deliberate
starvation of deserving people, the willfu defeat Of
the high charity of the Nation, are the works by
which his administration is to be known in history
But, like many wrongdoers, his plea of confession
is but the entrance wedge for excuse and avoid
ahce 1t is not new. 1t began with Adam when he
snned and every unrepentant sinner since Eden
has repeated the same bald and worn out excuse.
The trick is old and transparent He says more
is required than he can perform The Nation is
hard task-master and the conscientious soul of th,
Commissioner is so moved by horror of an occa
sional fraud that he will not take the risk of approx
ing honest claims. Congress gave him forty-on