The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1881-03-25

ana II ought not 10 have, any where
| in any bureau or in any department OF
| this government where this righteous
claim is pending, any one authorized
or required to pass upon such claim who
deems il to be a duty TO view this
cliament with suspicion, to act as the at
torHey of the government in resisting
and if possible rejecting the clam. l
do not say that in reference to the adj
ministration of the pension bureau un-
der the present commissioner speak
of il generally in reference TO the senti-
ment that has gone abroad adverse to
the applicants for pensions. say moth.
ing about the commissioner; he has
done what he believed to be his duty :
have no doubt; and while dissent from
some of the methods or contriyances
which he has adopted tor the purpose OF
aseeriaining who were entitled 10 pen
| sions, al the same time give to him the
credit which 1 would claim for myself
under similar circumstances.
But l come to this point. that with a
| man who is Endorsed here as person
| competent for the position, under a law
whose administration he has entire con-
troll of, these cases accumulate, and are
still accommodating, and viii continue so
to do for years to come. This ought not
to be. We may not be able TO relieve
| this docket, if / may so call it, TO the ex-
tent we ought, but we can at least mani
fest our goodwill by increasing the force
which may he applied to the examina-
ton whether an applicant in a given
| case is entitled to Il pension. That We
ought to do. l have great faith that adj
ditional examiners and clerks will bring
some relief, and that It's better 10 do this
than to try q new experiment upon all
the pending cases, the result of which
cannot be foretold.
Many applicants under the admins
tration of the law as il is now carried on
viii die inevitably before their cases
can be reached. That say would be Il
shame. 1t is a disgrace to this govern
ment that it is not prepared by proper
machinery and proper appliances of
whatever kind necessary to take up these
cases promptly and dispose of them, so
as to be able to say to a man whether he
is entitled to pension under the law
or not. These men were willing to die
in the service of their country, they
were willing TO die and will
ing TO be forgotten If necessary
III order that the country might live.
But they are not willing TO die now on
| account of poverty which came from
their service, or on account of diseaae
and wounds which came of that service,
while rich, prosperous and powerful
| government, growing richer every day,
Boosting itself of its riches and prospect.
! ty, is lavishing its resources in the pay
ment of one class of its creditors and
| higgling as to whether it shall pay the
| obligation cemented by the blood of the
| men who saved it from destruction. We
may have to determine between these
two classes of men, not as to ultimate
payment. but as TO preference In time of
payment.
The soldiers accepted SIG a month for
| their services, in currency which one
day was 60 per cent. discount and on
the next 200; and they made no com
| plant. Another class of men served the
| government by taking bonds, which they
| paid for at 60 cents on the dollar; and
they have been repaid twice over. l do
not object to that. l am glad that the OBJ.
| legations of the government sell as high
| in the markets of the world as those OF
any other government. But while it is TO
the credit of the government that it has
paid its legal obligations to the men who
loaned il money, so long as there is any.
| where underneath the folds of its flag a
| single man to whom the debt due by rea
son of military service rendered in the
| war of the rebellion remains unpaid
| that credit will not be as Ii ought to be
! its escutcheon will be furnished, aud we
| shall present the spectacle of nation
that has forgotten its obligations to the
| men who were willing to take the mus
ket, were willing TO sacrifice not only
home and property, but life as well, in
| order that it might save more dollars TO
return to the men who while they took
out with one hand to lend TO the govern
ment ut.largely into the pocket with
the other by means of contracts and
other opportunities for making riches
which the war brought them.
If we make distinction, let us make
it in favor of those whose service was
most valuable, and which involved sacri-
fee. If we are not to make distinctions,
and we ought not, let US say these boun-
tifuf haTves.s, this great growth and pros
perity of which we boast-that all these
things, the results flowing from the ser
vice of the men whose yalor saved the
union from disruption and the country
from anarchy, are to be paid to the ut
termost farthing.
Let us not wait until these men knock
at our doors, till we are shamed by their
poverty and awed by their importantly !;
rather lei us say: ave owe YOU this
debt; come and take what the govern
ment has promised TO give you; we will
put either here in the capital or in other
convenient place, as the case may be,
every appliance which the law can pro-
vide, whereby the justice of your claim
and the amount of it may be speedily and
freely determined" and the building of
more railways and canals, the improve
ment of more harbors, and the keeping
up of an expensive and useless navy
all these things can well be postponed
until this government does justice to the
men who saved it in battle, and who
have reaped only poverty and suffering
therefrOm