Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1880-10-21
,Gardeld's Record With Respect to PEN
SiOnS.

sGarfleld's Record With Respect to Pen-
siOns.
Mr.. James A. Garfield. the Republic
an nominee for President, is on record
as an opponent of the bill providing
that, pensions to Union soldiers or their
widows shall date from the discharge
or death of the person on whose. ac-
couns the pension has been or shall be
granted, and extending the time for the
filing of applications for the same. On
January 16, 1872, Hon. r. Milton Speer.
Democratic Member of Congress from
Pennsylvania, asked unanimous consent
of the House to report this bill from the
Committee of Invalid Pensions. Mr..
Garfield, of Ohio, objected. This sin
gle objection prevented Mr.. Speer from
reporting the bill.-See Congressional
Globe for the Forty-sec0asd Congress, I'd
Session, page 414.
On January II, 1872, reports from
committees being in order in the House,
Mir. Speer, when the Committee on In
valid Pensions was called, reported
from that committee the bill to which
Mr.. Garfield had made objection the
previous day. The bill passed without
a division or call of the yeas and
nays.-See Congressional Globe for the
FOrty-second Congress, I'd Session, page
437.
On January 20, 1872, Mr.. Garfield,
of Ohio, asked unanimous consent to
offer a resolution requesting the Sem
ate Ito which body Mr.. Speer's bill
had been messageD to return the
bill in question to the House. De-
bate Immediately arose and Mr.
Garfield moved to suspend the rules
in order that he might bring his
resolution before the House. In the
course of the debate Mr.. Garfield as
serted that many of the pensions al
ready granted were fraudulent and that
the bill had been passed without due
consideration by the House. Mr.. Moore,
Republican, of Illinois, defended the
bill and the action of the House there
on. Mr.. Maynard, Republican, of Ten
nessee, (now Postmaster GeneraD re-
piled to Mr.. Garfield by propounding
this question: elf so many of these
pensions are fraudulent, why does not
the Commissioner of Pensions correct
the fraud?' and added, "He (the
Commissioner has ample power to do
it." To which Mr.. Garfield failed to
make reply.-See Congressional Globe
for the Forty-secoaad Congress. I'd Session,
page 437.
Mr.. Garfield made very bitter and
angry speech against the proposition to
date pensions from the time of the dis
. charge Or death Of the person on whose
account they had been or might be
granted. He said: CHOW shall we, by
one stroke of the pen. by one act that it
took us but minute to pass, make
our pension laws, and all pensions
under those laws, revert back to the
period when the injury was received,
and at single blow add more than
thirty-two million dollars to the ex-
penses of this Government without
any investigation at allP'' He
also charged that about one-fourth of
all the pensions that had then been
granted were fraudulently obtained,
and that the strongest cases presented
to the Pension Bureau were those gotten
up on forged evidence. He said, to use
his own words, that ''the man who
gets up thoroughly rotten case. would,
when he started out to lie, doso strong
ly and unscrupulously, and hence his
papers would be prepared in the most
complete and convincing manner" In
other words, he branded the pensioners
whose cases were presented in the
strongest light as forgers and perjurers.
But the House refused to listen to Mr.
Garfield's violent denuncation of the
bill. and on the question being put on
bis. motion to suspend the rules, there
were but tifty-tive ayes. though more
than two hundred members were pres
ent. Had Mr.. Garfield succeeded in his
motion. the bill would probably have
been defeated and might not have be-
come law to this day In that event,
thousands of crippled defenders of the
Union, and thousands of women wild
owed and children made fatherIess by
the war. would now be homeless and
suffering the bitter pangs OF poverty.
Had Mr.. Garfield shown a like DISPOSE
ton to ecOnomize the public moneys
when he reported appropriations for
the District of Columbia ring and voted
for subsidies for gigantic and grasping
corporations, he could at least plead
consistency in extenuation of his assault
upon the pensioners. But in view of
his well-known course in that regard,
his bitter opposition to the back-pen-
sion bill has the appearance of having
been inspired by desire to save in
pensions only to spend in appropria-
lions demanded by the lobby. The
soldiers of the country will do well to
look up Mr.. Garfeld's record on sub
jects affecting their interests. Harris
burg (Pa.) Patriot.
An Unfortunate Year for Republicans.