Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1881-02-17
PENSION CLAIMS.
Speech of Hon. j. 7. Updegraff in the
House Of Representatives, Feb. 9Th,
1881.

Mr.. Chairman, in reply to what has
been said by the gentleman from Ten
nessee, (Mr. -Atkins,) chairman of the
Committee on ApprOpriaii0 ions, that il
will require no less than S75O,OOO, 900 tC
pay arrearages of pensions only to sol
diers. and claiming the Commissioner OF
Pensions as authority for th,. statement
| ask the attention of the House for a
few moments to plain statement of
facts. l hold in my hand a very careful
computation based on the report of the
Commissioner of Pensions, which re-
flutes utterly the fabulous estimate OF
the gentleman. The Commissioner states
on page % of his report, recently pub
lished, that there were pending. June 80
1880, 233,066 original invalid claims
Multiplying this whole number by the
average in each case allowed during the
year 1880, namely. S733.59. the amount
would be just S173, ,175, 5,65694. The Com
missioner states that there were also
pending at the same time, June 80, 1880,
1881 widows and other heirs claims.
Now, multiply this gross number by the
average amount allowed each of this
class of claimants during the year 1880,
namely, S991O3, it amounts to S7O,99S,-
469.93, which, added to the amount for
original invalid claims, makes total of
$244, ,164, 1861, for the whole 3O7, ,697
claims are allowed, though large num-
Der of these cases have been already re-
jected and large per cent. more will be
if the past is any guide. In his report
of 1878 the Commissioner admits that
$4,000 of these very cases now counted
have been rejected" settled" or "dis-
posed Of"
Besides this, thousands of claims filed
under the arrears law were from wild
ows who remarked within one or two
years of the death of soldier, and who
would therefore be entitled to only one
or two hundred dollars.
Thus, unless we trust an excited i'm
agination for our statistics, it is demon
strable that it will require not half nor
one-third of the real sum named by the
gentlemen to meet the requirements of
this law; and 1 desired to place these
facts before the House at this time
Mr.. Chairman, have been surprised
ever since l have been 4 member of this
House that when pension claim comes
up it is seldom opposed on the ground
that the particular claim before the
House is unjust or fraudulent and should
not therefore be allowed. Nobody has
said that to-day in reference to this
claim; but the argument of to-day, as the
opposition generally, is based on the
ground that it will take vast amount
of money out of the Treasury to pay
these just and long-deferred debts of the
Government. Yes, it does take vast
amount of treasure to pay the cost of
that great and guilty rebellion But our
Government stands so honored and so
high to-day among the nations because
it has recognized all its obligations to
the very spirit as well as the letter of
ISIS promise. 1t holds sacred its debt to
the bondholder, which is a just obliga-
tion, and its public credit is higher than
that of any nation on earth. Our pub
lie debt is a vast aggregate, but only
reckless repudiators have dared to sug-
gesr that it is not to be paid because it
is so great. The people of this country
are justly proud of their national finan-
cial honor.
Now. if there is one debt more than
another that is due not only in business
honesty but in good faith and honor, it
is the debt due to the brave men without
whose heroic sacrifices we should to-day
have no Congress Of the United States,
no National Treasury, no Nation.
The attempt is being constantly made
both in Congress and out of it to magni-
fly and exaggerate the amount necessary
to pay the pensions due the soldiers of
the country. The vast amounts that
will be required to carry these pensions
for sixty years to come are paraded as
the awful burden that the taxpayers of
the present have to deal with. At our
present rate of growth another half CEN
tury will give us 140,000,000 of people
and it is scarcely necessary for us to go
so far into the future to meet trouble.
Mr.. Chairman, it is but fair that every