The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1880-10-13


, trict should come here TO Altoon.
: and take testimony in pension cases
2 would not most of YOU be able t,
: prove your case from among yoW
f neighbors ? They know the facts, /
{ they can only be reached in such 8
, way that their statements viii he re
Z liable. And more ! suppose som,
of You would want the testimony oi
your Captain, or some other witness
who IS perhaps in Missouri or Wis
consin. Suppose such a commits
sion was to come here to Altoona
is their anything impracticable II
going before it and telling your sto-
ry? Is there anything impractical
bic in having your witnesses goin.
before that Commission and tellin.
their story think not. Suppos,
your Captain or other witness is in
Missouri. He has a commission
there before whom he can tell hi,
story, and three cents postage vii.
bring the statement he makes to the
Commission here. | need not %
through with all the details in order
that you may see that it is not only
possible, but one of the easiest
things in the world TO do. Just az
easy us it is to have a hearing in
court, and easier, because YOU do
not have to 20 through all the cere-
mony required in court. Who has
made this alleeeration that the plan
. is impracticable? There have been
petitions signed by soldiers and sal
lOrs forwarded to Congress rcmon-
strating against this system They
have come from my own state, Wis
conSin, from Pennsylvania. from
/ Ohio, New York, and other States.
( | have seen them everywhere pro-
testing against the adoption of this
simple plan. Who were the authors
OF them There Is Il ring of gen
tlemcn residing about Washington.
There are q few men who live OUT
side, but there Is a ring about
Washington who live on the Treas
ury They yet there money out Of
the Treasury through claimants who
are to get some, and when they can
not get their money out of the
. Treasury through the claimants they
are willing to get it outof the claim
ants themselves. These men are the
Washington claim agents.
| told YOU there were 100000
claims unsettled in the pension Of
fee. There are few men in Wash
ington, with halt-dozen others.
whose names l could give but VIII
not now, who represent more than
239,0OO Of these claims. Your
neighbors do not attend to your
business for YOU. but your case Is
sent to Washington. These men
represent to YOU that they have
greater facilities than anybody else.
They will tell YOU that they can 90
into the pension office and get a
case through, orif they cannot they
can get a member Of Congress who
will, or who they say VIII. Now it
/ is these men who stand behind this
remonstrance against the adoption
of the plan recommend, simply
because they know when this plan
Is adopted "Othello's occupation Is
gone" that if YOU employ anybody
to aid YOU it will bc your neighbor
who will not be aparty toJny fraud.
These men know that the great bus
mess which they have built up Un-
/ der these false pretenscs Will be scat
tered among the country attorneys.
Therefore they say the system Is i'm
practicable it cannot be done, Oh
no: and the Commissioner of PEN
sions i q fearful fellow, and hc
don't love the soldier, and he is full
of all kinds of evil intentions and
purposes. They tell YOU TO beware
of him. Send your remonstrances
to Congress, to the President, to your
. Senators, and everybody, that this
bill which has grown out OF the
brain of the Commissioner shall
not pass. These men publish news
papers. Let me tell YOU of some Of
them. The National Tribaae, amag-
nificent name. Most of you have
seen the paper and read it, but did
not know that it was issued by
pension agent, but it Is, and by one
of the most extensive in the bUsi-
ness. That paper IS filed with all
kinds Of statements against this
plan of proceedings. Now, no doubt
YOU thought this National Tribune
was something like the New York
Tribune Look at the motto at its
head. | cannot recall to mind just
now what its words are, but it Is a
very patriotic one, and it is in the
interest of the soldiers and sailors,
so it SAYS. The man who runs this
paper is the largest claim agent in
the United States.
The National Citizen Soldier Is
another, and this is run by the next
largest claim agent. The United
States Record and Gazette Is not run
in the interests of any one in par
ticular so far as it appears, but in
the interests'of claim agents in gen
eral. Their purpose is to MAINTAIN
a system out Of which this Wash
ington ring may make its fortunes
whether the soldier gets what be
longs to him or not These are the
gentlemen from whom comes this
opposition to the better system, and
who are trying to influence the peo-
pie against the simpler plan and
lead them to believe that it is i'm
practicable and ii Is to be employed
to aid the bad cause. They say the
Government is a hundred years old,
and We have been going on in this
way hundred years but now
here comes Commissioner Bentley
and saws that the system is bad As
| told YOU a little while ago, they
don't know that the system which |
have recommended was adopted by
the fathers in pensioning the RevO-
lutionary soldiers and employed for
more than forty-tive years, when the
present system was established for
the soldiers of the Mexican Var
and intended for where the claim
ants came home ON certificate of
discharge, just as it wss intened to