The National tribune., 1882-12-14

will involve not only great and unnecessary
labor, as we have said but an absolute waste
Of public money, for the list, according to the
published estimate, VIII make book of al
least three thousand pages. To devolve this
work upon the Pension Office at the present
time is to defeat the very object which Con
gress had in view in authorizing an increase Of
the force in that Office, namely, to expedite
the settlement of claims, the delay i'll which
had already worked cruel injustice to thou
sands of brave and deserving men, and had
become, indeed standing reproach to the
Government. For this reason, if for no
other. Mr.. Beck's amendment ought to be
rendered imperative.
Secondly, the publication of these lists
will be productive of direct and irrepar-
able injury to the pensioners themselves.
1t will make them the prey of all sorts
Of swindlers and confidence men, who
will use the mails to entrap them. To
rogues of this class the publication Of the
names and addresses of pensioners, together
with the amount of pension which they
draw from the Government, will be perfect
God-send, for it is notorious that the first
requisite of a successful practice Of their
swindles is a list of bOaG.fde names and ad-
dresses, 4. e, possible victims. Congress has
no right to expose pensioners TO this danger.
Thirdly, the amendment is obnoxious, be-
cause under the most favorable circumstan-
ces, it will afford the Government no better
protection against the frauds which Mr.. Beck
alleges are being perpetrated upon it than
already exists. The requirements of the
present pension laws in respect to the
amount and character of the evidence neces-
sary to establish a claim together with the
ample authority conferred upon the COmmis-
sioner to make special examinations, offer
all the protection against fraud that could
be desired, and the only result that could
possibly follow from such a publication as
is proposed would be the burdening of the
Pension Office with mass Of heresay evil
dence which no court would admit, and
which would have the effect of still further
delaying the settlement of just and righteous
claims, without in the slightest degree con-
tributing to the detection and prevention of
fraud. If Senator Beck or anyone else dares
to affirm otherwise it goes to show either
that he is ignorant of the existing law or
maliciOusly bent upon misrepresenting it.
Fourthly and lastly, and more important
than all else, we are opposed to the publica-
ton of the information which the amend
ment of Mr.. Beck calls for because its effect
Will be to make every pensioner an object of
suspicion to his fellow citizens, and convert
his fellow citizens, on the other hand, into
body of detectives, SPIES and iniormers. 1t
viii subject thousands of brave and honor
able men, who voluntarily aud freely gave
its very existence was at stake, but whose
wounds and disabilities are not visible to
the eye, to the risk-nay, the shame and
humiliation-of being branded as impostors
by those who begrudge them the pittance
which they now receive from the Govern
ernment, and who would gladly see them
deprived of it. Rather than that such an
outrage should be perpetrated upon them we
would have Congress close up the Pension
Office, abolish the whole pension system, and
turn over to the mercy and charity of private
citizens the men who saved the Nation
Thank God, the people themselves have not
yet forgotten what they owe to these men,
and they viii see to it that they are not
dishonored!