National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-01-15
PENSIONS AGAIN.

DTacer this morning.
PENSIONS AGAIN.
The yyfGters Bill and the Grand Army
Man."
! The following article from the pen of person
well informed on the subject of pensions is fur
nished. 1t favors the Withero' bill now pending
in Congress, and is in reply to the article on pen
sions which recently appeared in TIE REPUBLICAN
from "a Grand Army Man.
The writer Of the article published in THE RE.
PUBLICAN on the Sth instant relating to the subject
of pensions, can have no controversy with the
member of the Grand Army. who replied on the
10th, as 10 the respective merit of Senate bills No
495 and lSS1-both providing plans for the adjudi-
cation of the pension claims. They will speak for
themselves to those who will carefully examine
them. He does believe, however that the princi-
pies which underie the questions involved should
be discussed, and Grand Army states seyera! i'm
portant propositions that are SO fallacious that
they need but be pointed out to be seen by all
The first is that 1.-The evils of the present
system lie almost wholly, if not entirely, in
the methods of preparing and presenting the
claims and the evidence" That is but halt
the evil; the testimony being taken er pdrte
The other half will be found in the er parts
consideration of that testimony in the Pen
sion Office, where the claimant has no voice
through which to explain it and to state his
view offs weight a whole nor in its relative
parts. Neither is he heard to the intent of the
law-making power in the application of thestat
10 the facts in his particular case. The Pension
Office is court in which the United States only is
heard, engaged in the examination of testimony in
the preparation ofwhich the claimant only is heard;
that, with the displacement of judicial power in
an executive department of the Government COM
pCises the whole evil and it describes a situation
in which the ablest and purest Department officials
cannot do justice to claimants nor protect the
Government.
TIIE SECOND FAILACY
is that pensions are a grant by the whole people
of the country to such of its citizens as have suf
Tered more than their fair share III Il war waged
for the benefit of all and is in the nature of free
indemnity for the excess" Asa statement of the
reasons that prompted the enactment of the pen
sion laws this might suffice; but as a definition of
the legal relation Of cl"imants and the Govern
ment hereunder ii is wholly insufficient. The
fundamental pension law relating to the war of
the rebellion is the act Of July IA, 1862 II prom
iSed pensions to all who enlisted and to their rea
tiVeS upon the occurrence of certain conditions
subsequent, upon the happening Of which it be-
came an absolute engagement. 1t had all the ele-
ments of contract good in law and of precisely
the same force as the contract for the monthly
pay of the soldier II is true its terms have been
voluntarily enlarged and liberalized since the
war, and so far only its provisions gratuitous;
but these original claims all founded upon the
original contract The claimants are the creditors
ofthe Government and have q well-defined legal
demand. A pension is not the bestowal of gift
but the payment of a debt
THE THIRD FALLACY
that dimS the vision of the member of the Grand
Army" is that the plan for the judicial determine
ton Of these claims provides for the institution Of
suits and contests in court between the claimants
and the Government, and that 1.-The soldiers and
sailors can never rightfully be placed in such
position as relates TO the Government they helped
to save" Webster defines suit to be an action
or process for the recovery Of a right or claim;
prosecution of a right before any tribunal" A
plaintiff is one who commences an action or suit
for the aSccTtainment of his rights; and the term
defendant" is equally applicable to the other
party in interest, whether he admits or denies 1t
matters but little. however, what names are given
to the different interests involved in these
claims. The conditions that surround them in the
relation in which the law places them the sub
stantial things to be considered. The contest SO
portentously announced viii consist in the full
discussion of the law and the evidence before an
authority independent of both interests and this
is indispensable to the conservation of the rights
will consist in bringing both sides of the case into
full publicity, that one may know all that is known
TO the other, and that neither shall be affected by
things not brought to his knowledge, and which
he had no opportunity to explain. Why should it
not be so? Why should not the United States be
placed upon an exact equality with the claimants
in the transaction of this business?
IT Is ADMITTED
under both remedies proposed that a cross exami-
A.
sential STEP that precisely the duty that would
devolve upon the solicitors in the courts of pension
claims How could their acts in court be more op-
preSsive than the cross-eNanination by lawyer
would be under the administrative plan? Grand
Army" quotes the Commissioner of Pensions as
sustaining his views. The writer hereof, vino has
the highest personal regard for Mr.. Bentley and the
greatest respect for his Judgment knows that what
Grand Army" states upon that point is correct
but al the same time Mr.. Bentley comedies that the
subject is broad enough and deep enough for hon.
est differences of opinions to arise. In disnissfng
the subject so far as the writer is concerned, he
desires to refer 10 the determination and ability
displayed byt the Commissioner of Pensions in his
uphill fight for nearly five years in bringing this
deeply important subject TO the attention of Con-
gress and the country. 1t is due to his efforts that
the evil has become known and widely discussed.
The remedy is sure TO follow.
Governor Porter on Good Rea ding.
Goyernorelect Porter said at the Indiana teach
ers meeting the other day that he believed that
the best preparation of the boy for virtuous life
is to interest him in good reading. l remember
that few years ago, when one of my boys was
little fellow, noticed that he was reading what
thought was an Objectionable novel. L said, i
don't like this business of novel reading and
thought he ought not to read the book any more
But before insisted on his giving it up he said:
wish you would read one OF these books have
been reading took up the book, and found tito
be a boys book about The Coral Islands, 1t
CHANGED to be Sunday morning, and did not go to
hear any preacher that morning, or afternoon
either. and was not content until had read the
book through. [Laughter.l Why, such books put
into boys hands are perfectly irresistible. You
can catch the drift of boys mind and character
by tumbling out before him promiscuously a lot Of
books better perhaps than in any other way; and
it is while boy is reading books IN Walch ne is IN
csted that he is shaping what his life VII pc.
oil WI * mt far removed