The National tribune., 1882-07-01

that large proportion of the persons now
on the rolls have no legal claim to Govern
ment support, and Congress ought to make
a thorough investigation before appropriat-
ing another penny for pensions.
Now, as to the first charge, we are quite
willing to admit that the expenditures
upder the Arrears of Pensions Act will ex-
'ceed the estimates as first published, by |
some millions, but we fail to see IN WhaV |
way that can be said to affect the equity OF
the measure itself If the latter was wrong !
in principle it should not have been passed.
even had the amount involved been no more
than one dollar, and, on the other hand, Ii
it was just and righteous measure, the
insignifcance or magnitude of the sum to be
paid out under it was matter OF minor
importance AS matter Of fact, the great
and all-sufficient reason for the passage Oh
the Arrears of Pensions Bill was the obliga-
ton which rested upon the Government to
render equal and exact justice to all Its
soldier creditors. Having itself recognized,
in the case of those who applied within
certain time, the equity of their claim to
CONDENSATION from the date of their dis
charge from its service by reason of disability
incurred therein, it could not, with justice,
deny to the many what it had granted to
the few. 1t could not honorably refuse to
render the same compensation to the soldier
who lost leg at Fredericksburg, but did
not apply for q pension within certain
period, as to the soldier who sustained
similar injury at the same time and did
apply for pension within that arbitrary
period That was the one great principle
which underlay the Arrears of Pensions Act,
and if it is at variance with equity, justice
and right, then, indeed, the measure itself
was iniquitous, and should, even at this late
day, be repealed but if, on the other hand,
as every lover of truth must admit, it is IN
| harmony with them, then surely the Arrears
| of Pensions Act is but the acknowledgment
| by the Government of sacred obligation,
which, whatever its equivalent in money, 1t
| is bound to fulfill.
As to the second charge, that the contem-
| plated increase in the clerical force of the
Pension Bureau and associated Offices will
involve as large payments within the next
three years as otherwise would have been
necessary in period of twice that length,
and therefore ought not to be authorized
we deny the conclusion, while We most
cheerfully accept the premises. Nay, we
regard it as cause for general rejoicing
that instead of being deprived for many
years longer of the pensions to which they
are entitled, the two hundred and seventy
odd thousand claimants whose claims have
been so long pigeon-holed in the Pension
| Bureau are about to obtain their due, and II
seems to US that the Government cannot be
too solicitous to atone for its past neglect.
AS for the immediate increase in the annual
cost of pensions being cause of alarm, it Is
only necessary to say that the Government
is now in better condition to meet it than
it has ever been before or may be in the
future, and that the total cost will be the
same whether the payment is made in the
shortest possible period or distributed
through another decade. At present th5
surplus revenues of the Treasury amount to
$150,000000 yearly, and they certainly can
be put to no better use than the liquidation
of the Nations past due debt to its pen
sioners.
To the third charge, that the whole pen
sion system is an engine of fraud, etc, it Is
sufficient to reply that in spite of the per
sistent demands for proof" which havt
been made in Congress and out of it, not an
ota of evidence has ever been brought
forward to sustain this accusation. On the
contrary, the facts all go to show that the
percentage of fraudulent claims filed IL
the Pension Office is surprisingly small and
the chances of such claims escaping detec
ton almost nil The truth is, that the
requirements of the Pension Bureau for the
establishment of a claim are Of such ;
stringent nature that there is always create,
danger of deserving applicants failing
through some technicality, in their efforts t.
secure pension, than Of imposters succeed
ing.
- The Fourth of July.