The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-03-08

Tie W dI, ulu tlICh NuoN ih"NS W. " WV
! upon. Some never asked for pensions, being
in good circumstances, but meeting with re-
verses, come forward and demand it. When
these claims are allowed they will date back
ten or fifteen years, at from $40, SIS, $23 or
more a month, according to rank. In each
case it will be an award of $4,000 or $4,000.
There is now before the house about 1000
pension claims, or men asking to be put on
the pension roll, or "war widows" claiming
the blood money of their husbands. They,
if allowed, will date back, and each raider
will get a snug sum. Of course, many Of
these are worthy cases, but the majority are
fraudulent. Young, or prepossessing widows
also come forward, not satisfied with the PEN
sions their husbands received, but asking an
increase. They generally get it, for all states
men are flesh, and all flesh is grass. A widow
passing fair and forty, but not very fat, told
the MINER correspondent that since her hus-
bands death she had been twice engaged to
marry, but that she concluded to ignore the
advice of st. Paul, and draw her pension.
That day she was beseiging some of the MEM
DSiS VI phS l"i lNoS vi StppihS LIN pClIoioil III
creased.
There is some business in this pension bust
ness, and a great deal of what may be called
square swindling. Just how much, the
country perhaps will never know.
MORE OF THE SAME KIND.
1t is said kisses go by favoritism. 1t
would be queer if it did not. Positions in
the departments go about that way. 1t ! is not
the most competent and deserving who get
them in the majority of cases, but those men
who are the most abject, cringing and snob-
bish. They must sink all individuality, man
hood, and independence, and become a slave
to the man who is over them, and the Gin
fuence' by which he gets in. He is afraid
to talk because he may express an opinion
that might differ from that Of his master, who
m turn is equally afraid of the man above
HIM, and so Oh to the top. Women, not be-
ing paltizans, get III on their '%'face,' and
keep the places by hattery, coquetry, or ac-
cording to their liberal views of morality.
The number of employees init departments
is not limited by law. The head of a bureau
tdi pun III 10 manly DIS lie Wishes. men
comes congressman who want their friends
put in. The favor is granted, and finally all
additional appropriation is asked. The con-
gressmen who have got their numerous favor
ties in, know what it means, and vote for the
increase. There are some women in these
departments who ride to the building in their
coupes, stay an hour or so, and then go home.
For this they get SIS Or 500 per month.
One instance is a woman who keeps a fash
ionable boarding house, and who is on the
pay roll for SIS per month. She drives down
to the department whenever it is fair weather
and chats with some of the other women
about other women. Last summer this fe-
male favorite went over to Europe. Her
salary was paid all the same. A California
senator pays her $500 a year for a suite of
rooms, wine suppers charged extra.
Mr.. Carl SchulZ, the great civil service re-
former and political tlip-flapper, has a pretty
female amenuensis whose salary is 81, POO a
yeal. Her brother has a salaried position Of
about $4,000. This is a great country, and
we are a great moral people.
MONTANA.
WAsIINGToN, February 2ith. 1881.