davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The National tribune., 1882-04-15

months before he died, however, he would
have been entitled to no arrears of pension
money, while had he applied two years pre-
viousyl, he could have claimed from the date
of receiving the wound which finally caused
his death. The injustice OF the legislation
which would have made such an anomaly
possible, needs no comment.
But this is not all As it happens, Walter
left wife and four children, and the widow
has filed, or is about to file, her claim in the
Pension Bureau. There are some two hun
dred and fifty thousand claims ahead of hers,
however, and at the present rate of progress
it may be five or ten years before her case is
reached. There is q possibility, then, that
thirty years viii have elapsed from the date
on which the Government became liable for
the support Of the invalid and his family
before cent of the money due is paid over!
But it viii be said that this is an exceptional
case. In some respects, perhaps it is; but
tne lECJ tndU between TWO ana Jlfee thOd-
sand applications are being filed in the Pen
sion Office every month shows that the pro-
portion of those who have hitherto refused
to take advantage of the pension laws is
much greater than has commonly been
supposed. In many cases it has doubtless
been It does not seem to have occurred
10 our legislators that there is any special
hardship in 4 pension claimant being
compelled to wait years for his money, al
though the machinery which they have pro-
vided for the prompt payment of the bond
holder shows that they are not inseusible to
all human suffering! Yet they have but to
authorize Commissioner Dudley to increase
his clerical force in order to secure a reason
ably early settlement of these long deferred
claims, and it will cost no more in the end.
Is it any wonder, under these circumstances,
that Republics are pronounced ungrateful?
The National tribune., 1882-04-15

| eloquent speeches and patriotic resolutions,
it is hard to believe that this is the same
country and the same people.
Why should Congress have been so eager
then to reward the soldier and be so reluc-
tant now? Time has not diminished the
value of his services, but on the contrary
made their worth the more apparent The
suppression of the rebellion and the ex-
tinction Of slavery have resulted in far
greater benefit to the country than the most
sanguine hoped for in 1865; even the South
has experienced a prosperity to which it was
4 stranger before the war, and in the decade
and a half that has elapsed since the re-
establishment of peace every physical trace
of that mighty struggle has been removed.
Turned into the channels of industry and
trade, the zeal and vigor of the soldier have
proved 4 wonderfully potent factor in the
work of developing our national resources,
and we are to-day, beyond all question, the
most prosperous people on the face Of the
globe. The Government, too, shares the
general good fortune. 1t has reduced the
principal Of the public debt well nigh
billion Of dollars, refunded the balance at
low rate Of interest, and its annual revenue
exceeds its expenditures by one hundred
and fifty millions.
If then, there was occasion for gratitude
to the soldier in 1865, how much more IS
there now, when we have realized all the
substantial results of his patriotism, and
how contemplate it is to withhold, on the
false plea of economy, that which is due
him.
The National tribune., 1882-04-15
Songs of the CamD,

| 1t is greatly to be hoped that some pains
! taking collector and annotator will one day
compile in comprehensive volume the
martial poems, camp songs and ditties
I which formed so large a part of the literature
| of the war Except at gathering of the
Grand Army the simple melodies and fervent
| sentiments that once fred the popular heart
/ are now seldom. heard, while many fugitive
/ pieces have been forgotten altogether Much
| that was written in the days of the rebellion
was doubtless unworthy of perpetuation, re-
garded simply from poetical standpoint,
but as expressive of the state of public feel
| ing at the time it deserves place IN the
history of the epoch Then, too, there are
some songs which belonged especially to the
camp and never found their way to fame in
the country at large. They are the carios
Of war literature, and already copies of them
| are difficult to procure. It seems hard to
believe that the day viii ever come when
such famous songs rs "Rally Round the
Flag" John Browns Body" "Tenting on
the Old Camp Ground" and Marching
| Through Georgia" viii be forgotten, yet
what ditty of the Revolution except Yam
kee Doodle" has COME down to Us from the
tuneful yeomanry Of the time? Not one; for
the Star Spanglcd Banner" was not written,
be it remembered, until 1914.
The poems Of the rebellion will I'M
doubtedly prove more enduring. Yet of
these comparatively few have found per-
manent place in American literature. It is
a curious fact that while Longfellow owed
nothing Of his fame to his war compositions
with the exception, indeed, OF his Sinking
of the Cumberland" he wrote scarcely any
thing in military vein-T. Buchanan Read
owed his popularity chiefly to those i'm
petuous lines, "Sheridan's Ride" Whittiers
Barbara Frechie," too, did more, we fancy,
to enhance his general reputation than any
other single fight Of his muse, and it is
iifNN4y W live tiS iOIiSS do Ills
or any of his more pretentious works.
George II. Boxers Black Regiment" is
preserved in at least one standard collection
of poems; but who remembers Janvier's
Sleeping Sentinel?" One might have sup
posed that for many years after the close of
the war the stirring incidents of the struggle
would have had an inspiration for our poets,
but such has not been the case, and that
touching Decoration Day poem, "The Blue
and the Gray" is almost the only important
contribution that has bsen made to our war
literature since the declaration of peace.
Compared with the national lyrics of Eng
land our own are indeed few in number, but
that is but the greater reason why they
should be rescued from oblivion. THE
NATIONAL TRIBUNE will be happy to lend
its columns to that object.
The National tribune., 1882-04-15
Help for the Helpless.

The bill recently introduced IN the House
of Representatives to increase the pension of
soldiers who lost an arm or leg in the service
to forty dollars per month is so simple in its
character that it can scarcely provoke ex-
tended discussion, and it ought to be put
upon its passage at the first opportunity.
1t is difficult to fix with exactness the num-
ber of pensioners it will affect, but there are
probably not over seven or eight thousand
who will be benefited by it. The total
number of amputations during the war was
about fourteen thousand, and making due
allowance for the cases where amputations
was attended by fatal results, the rate of
mortality since the war, and the percentage
of those who have never applied for a
pension, the figures given are probably
correct
There are good reasons why the compensa-
ton of this class of pensioners should be
increased. Their disability is one which
becomes more serious in its effects as
age comes on, and many soldiers who ~---
able Immediately after the war, when
labor was in great demand, to supp soae.
their income from the Government
the profits of their-.own labor ag
find the avenues of employment
against them. The time was when 7sss
was offered to our one armed and one
heroes on sentimental grounds, but that is
no longer the case. Employers no longer
mix patriotism with business, and the Grip
pied veteran stands but poor chance of
earning livelihood, compared with the
able bodied immigrant from the old world.
Indeed, considering the sharp competition
in the lighter grades Of work, it is surprising
that they should have secured any employ
ment at all, and such success as they have
met with must be ascribed to the ingenuity
which they have displayed in making one
hand perform the work of two, and patent
leg supply the place of bone and muscle.
Doubtless many Of our readers will re-
call instances within their personal knowl-
edge, where shriveled stumps seemed to be
endowed with the ingenuity Of the human
fingers, and soldiers with one arm surpassed
in mechanical skill the perfect-limbed civil
ian. 1t IS rare spectacle nowadays to see
a veteran grinding away at hand-organ at
our street corners.
But, as we have said, our cripples begin to
feel the effects of age and the increasing
competition in labor; and it is but just that
the Government should now provide a suffi-
cient compensation for their services to the
country to render it no longer necessary for
them to keep up hand-t0-hand struggle
with poverty. We owe it to these brave
fellows to make their declining years COM
Portable and free from care.
The National tribune., 1882-04-15

THERE is striking contrast between the
conduct of the Treasury Department and
the Pension Bureau. Such a thing as a lack
of clerical force to properly discharge the
business of the Treasury would not be toll
Grated for moment, and as matter of fact
the checks for interest on the public debt
are filed out and mailed to the holders of
Government bonds with the regularity of
clock-work. In the Pension Bureau, on the
other hand, the clerical force is so made
quate that the business of the office is from
five to ten years in arrears. The explanation
of this singular state Of affairs is that Con-
gress places the claims of the bondholder
above those of the soldier, and while it
authorizes one Department to employ all
the help that is necessary to the prompt dis
patch Of business entirely ignores the needs
of the other. There is neither Justice nor
economy in such discrimination.
The National tribune., 1882-04-15

THE Mormon merchants of Salt Lake City
have entered into an agreement not to trade
with the Gentiles, hoping by the withdrawal
Of their patronage to drive the latter to the
wall. This is not the first time, however,
that they have resorted to this method of
retaliation, and if we may judge by the fail
ure of their efforts hitherto the attempt is
likely to result in disaster. The most sue
cessful business house in Salt Lake City was
made so by the refusal of the Mormons to
trade with it, for it Immediately received
the united support of the entire Gentle
population.
The National tribune., 1882-04-15

THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE is the only rep
resentative soldiers paper in the country
Nothing which affects the interests of the
veterans escapes its attention, and its col
umns are always open for the expression of
their opinions on public affairs. No soldier
who desires to keep well informed concern
ing the state of pension legislation can afford
to be without it. The subscription price is
only one dollar per year.
The National tribune., 1882-04-15

observe it. 1t will not as now, perhaps. he
tinged with sadness; nay, it may even ae-
quire festal character, for the season Of
flowers is also the season when humanity is
most sensible to the exhilarating influences
Of nature; but it viii be enough if the
spirit of patriotism shall still imbue the
hearts of the celebrants.
The National tribune., 1882-04-15

In for1carding his subscription for THE
NATIONAL TRIBUNE from Laurence, Mass.,
Gen. George S. Merrill, Commander in Chief Of
the Grand army Of the Republic, says:
"The bold advocacy Of THE NATIONAL
TRIBUNE of the rights Of the soldier ELECTS my
hearty qpprocal. Keep on as gou hare begun,
and do not consider your 'cOrk accomplished
Hnta ecery soldier anLO as entitled 10 a pension
receives 1t, and erery soldiers 1cjdonO and erery
soldiers child are prorided for By the GOrern-
qnent. (Siqned) GEO. S. MERRILL
The National tribune., 1882-04-15

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF della
WARE, GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC,
ASSISTANT ADJUTANT GENERALS OF
FTCE,
WILMINGTON, DEL, April 7, 1882.
To the Editor NATIONAL TRIBUNE:
l have your letter of yesterday and also
two specimen copies of THE NATIONAL
TRIBUNE you mailed to me- 1t is certainly
valuable soldiers paper, brim-full of inl-'
portant and interesting information, late
and lively news and Grand Army topics
1 felt so well pleased over the copies you
sent rae that 1 have already mentioned 1T
favorably and showed the copies to other
friends and comrades
No soldier can afford to be without it.
Enclosed please find one dollar for my
subscription for THE TRIBUNE for one year.
Yours, &c,
JOHN WAINWRIGHT,
Department Commander Of DeLaUare.
The National tribune., 1882-04-15

THE examination of Shipherd has resulted
so far in the establishment of the fact that
this second Colonel Sellers is more of rogue
than visionary, and that he takes fendish
delight in imputing to others the motives
by which he alone seems to be actuated.
Not scrap of evidence has so far been pro-
duced to show that either ex-Secretary
Blaine or the late General Hurlbut ever
used his official position to advance the
schemes of this unscrupulous speculator,
and the more his pretensiOns are Probed the
more evident it becomes that his claim to
the friendship and counsel of public men
of prominence was as baseless as the fabric
of dream. His sole capital appears to have
been "cheeb," and he "overdrew his ac-
count" That is all that the disclosures of
Mr. Shipherd have 80 far established.
The National tribune., 1882-04-15

q 'o.aure Of pension intelligence and Grand
Amy d0ings, it does not by any means
ignore the general news Of the day, and its
weekly summary of events viii be found to
embrace all that is worth recording in the
field Of politics, society, and trade AS a
journal Of the times in which we live, it has
no superior and few equals. The price of a
yearly subscription is only one dollar.
The National tribune., 1882-04-15
rrnre Endorsements.

We print below two communications
from prominent members of the Grand
Army strongly endorsing THE NATIONAL
TRIBUNE. Following so soon the fattering
letters from Commander-in-Chief Merrill
and General Ross, Chairman of the Exeeu-
tive Committee on the National Encamp-
ment we naturally feel highly complimented
at these voluntary testimonials from such
sources. 1t is evident that the rank as well
as the file Of the Grand Army organization
fully appreciate our efforts to make THE
NATIONAL. TRIBUNE a welcome visitor in
the household of every ex-soldier in the
land. The letters are appended:
BALTIMORE Posi- OFFICE,
BALTDIoEE, Ap,H 6, 1892.
Editor NATIONAL TRIBUNE:
Your very excellent paper is received and
read with pleasure.
Your earnest advocacy of the cause of the
Union soldier and sailor, and the Justice due
them in equalization of bountes, &c, viii
certainly meet with proper appreciation by
them.
wish your paper the greatest success.
Very truly, &c,
HARRISON ADREON.
Postmaster
The National tribune., 1882-04-15

RETO SUBSCRlBERS.-WHE CHANGING
YOUR ADDRESS PLEASE GIVE FORMER AS WELL AS
PRESENT ADDRESS, WITH COUNTY. AND STATE.
RgTAKE NOTiCE.-lN SENDING MONEY FoR
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CURRENCY EXCEPT IN a REGISTERED LETTER.
A POSTAL MONEY ORDER OR A DRAFT ON New
YORK is THE BEST FORM OF REMITTANCE.
Losses BY MAIL WILL BE MOST SURELY AVOIDED
IF THESE DIRECTIONS ARE FOLLOWED.
EB- No RESPONSIBILITY is ASSUMED FOR SUB
scRIPToNS PAID TO AGENTS, WHICH MUST BE
AT THE RISK OF THE SUBSCRIBER.
sB- COMMUNICATIONS, SUBSCRIPTIONS, AND
LETTERS UPON. ALL BUSINESS MATTERS RELkT-
ING TO THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE,
MUST BE ADDRESSED TO
THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE,
Washington, ID. G.:
The National tribune., 1882-04-15
A Question of Sentiment.

The love of flowers is a sentiment which
some superior beings affect to despise, and,
indeed, it is not remarkable that those whose
lives are spent in the pursuit of fame and
fortune should be unable to comprehend the
attraction which a bunch of violets or a
half-blown rosebud may possess for the poor
and lowly. Luxury may, indeed, approve
their sweet odors and brilliant colors, yet
after all value them no more highly than
that of any other object that gratiies the
senses. Fashion, which prescribes how they
shall be worn, recognizes in them nothing
but their decorative utility; and yet it is to
the flowers that the masters of verse have
sung their sweetest strains. Burns sounded
the praise of the mountain daisy, that Wee,
modest, crimson-tipped flower"
There. in thy .canty mantle clad,
Thy snawie bosom sunward spread,
Thou lifts thy unassuming head"
Story worshipped the faint delicious,
spring-time violet" which Hood called a
num-" declaring the while that the cowslip
was country wench, the tulip a courtly
queen, and that he would "woo the dainty
rose, the queen Of every one" Even the
common dandelion has not been without
adorers. Our own poet, James Russell
Lowell, wrote of it:
Il f-t
way,
Fringing the dusty road with harmless goldi
First pledge of blithesome May,
Which children pluck, and full of pride, up
hold
Igh-hearted buccaneers, oerjoyed that they
An Eldorado in the grass have found
Which not the rich earths ample round
May match in hI-thou art more dear to me
Than all the prouder summer blooms may be-"
The good old poet, Robert Herrick, said
OF violets, that they were maids OF honor
waiting on the Spring, and likened the
primroscs, filed with morning dew, to
sweet, whimpering younglings" Words
worth sang Of
"a host of golden daffodils
Beside the lake, beneath the trees
Futtering and dancing in the breeze"
To the trailing arbutus, which is now
raising its dainty pink hood above the
hillside, Rose Terry has sung one of her
sweetest lays:
Hinged with color family,
Like the morning sky,
Or more pale and sanity,
Wrapped in leaves ye lie
Even as children sleep in faiths simplicity
The faint Oxlips and tender blue-Deils,
the comely honeysuckle, each possesses some
suecial sentiment that the poets have dis
covered and embalmed in verse.
One naturally recalls these pretty phrases
as Decoration Day approaches OF all our
national customs none is mere beautiful
than that of strewing the graves Of our dead
heroes with flowers, nor anything worthier
of perpetuation. The time has gone by
when the ceremonies were wont to arouse
feeling of personal grief, and the general
sorrow for the loss of the soldier is already
swallowed up in the sentiment of admira-
ton which the contemplation of his GAL
lantry excites; but the day seems to have
become firmly fixed in the affections of the
people, and it may be that long after the
survivors Of the war shall have reioined
their comrades the Nation will continue to
The National tribune., 1882-04-15

TITS is the month of anniversaries. Seven
teen years ago, last Sunday, Lee surrendered
1T Appomattox, Richmond having fallen the
iiaaday preceding; and seventeen years ago,
J - n;~ht, President Lincoln was assassi-
I..,el by Wilkes Booth
The National tribune., 1882-04-15

Mr.. GLADSTONE admits that the coercion
act is practically failure, and that the con-
ditiOn Of Ireland is worse than before the
suppression Of the Land League By the
arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of it's
principal directors, and he seems 10 be at 4
loss what 10 do next He shrinlls from pro-
claiming martial law, which IS almost the
only resort left 10 him, and for political
reasons he cannot afford to rctracc his steps
and order the release Of the suspects. IN
short, the British Premier is betwixt the
devil and the deep sea! And yet there are
.hosc who, for fear Of war with England,
woaId have the United States quietly ignore
tLcrshts o. its citizens in Ireland and turn
deaf ear 10 their appeals for protection.
The National tribune., 1882-04-15

ONE DOLLAR invested in a subscription to
THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE is the safest and
most remunerative investment that an ex-
soldier can make.
The National tribune., 1882-04-15
A Short Essay on Spring.

Mr.. VennOr predicts a white April. from
which we infer that Winter viii once mora
be caught lingering in the lap of Spring.
The weather prophets agree, however, that
the season viii prove a propitious one for
the farmer. There viii be a splendid yield
Of wheat and plenty of peaches.
In the Spring, the poet tells US, "a young
mans fancy lightly turns to thoughts of
love-" and the prudent father viii therefore
do well to oil the hinges of the front cate
afresh. There is something extremely
touching in the spectacle of q fr;sky maiden
of thirty-nine summers billing and cooino
over the palings with pensive youth Of
sixteen in the early twilight of an April
evening. 1t suggests rheumatism and ini-
ment for two.
1t is little early yet for the trailing
arbutus, but the violets are opening their
sweet blue eyes among the cracking leaves
in sheltered hooks of the forest. The spring
poet should not forget, however, to put On
his rubbers. Nothing is so apt to chill the
soul of the poet as wet feet.
In the city it is not always easy to fix the
exact time of Springs arrival, but you can
generally tell by the garlic in the butter
1t is curious that the gentle kline should
prefer garlic to the tender grass, but there
is no accounting for tastes in this world
Spring is indeed beautiful season. In
the spring the cOlored citizen hangs out the
sign Whitewashing by John Brown" the
landlord puts up the rent, the devoted hus-
band puts down the carpets, and the thrifty
housewife gets the last years bonnet pressed
over again.
The toughest thing about springis Spring
lamb.
A great many things happen in Spring
that do not occur at any other season of the
year-Easter, for instance, when flowers 60
up and eggs 60 down.
Nothing could be more enchanting than
the country in Spring, when the roads are
UP to the hub in mud and the purling brook
is cavorting through the second-story win
dow. They are so fond of Spring along the
Mississippi that the people get out on the
roofs of their houses to look at it.
Spring used to be depicted by the painters
as dainty maiden in short frocks and low
neck, but the artists of the future viii
probably throw in a waterproof and UNI
brella. However, Spring does not come
every year. When winter does not end until
the 31st Of May there isn't always room for
it. The weather prophets, as we have said,
predict that we shall have good deal of
snow this Spring, but the editor of The
NATIONAL TRIBUNE would remind his read
ers that their subscriptions are already due.
The National tribune., 1882-04-15

WI-H OUR increased mechanical facilities
We can now print, with ease an edition Of
one hundred thousand copies. Sample
copies viii be sent to any e1-soldier on ap-
plicalon.
The National tribune., 1882-04-15
The 93afiona1 Tritmre

TIE VALIDITY OF THE PUBLIC DEsT OF THE UNITED
STATES, AUTHORIZED Law, INCLUDING DEBTS INCURRED FoR
PAYMENT PENSIONS AND soUNTEs SERVICES IN SUP
PRESSING NsURREcToE REssLuoN SHALL NOT Be CUES
ToNEo.-Sec. ., ART. XIV, CONSTITUTION OF TIE UNITED
STATES.
,y-r,., AZ ~. vg,e.,cTo, no,To-,,c. a, .,,o -. -,
The National tribune., 1882-04-15

Terms to Subscribers, Payable in Advance:
POSTAGE PREPAID
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Fn- COPIES e.25
oHE cory THREE MONTHS SO
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GUEST.
TERMS FOR ADVERTISING FURNrsHro UPON APPLICATION
The National tribune., 1882-04-15
THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE
(es7AHtrsHrD 1871
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY.
(esTAsusHuD 1917

To CARE Foa HIN WHO HAS eoREE THE CATTLE, AND EoH
MS w.1Ou ARD ORPHANS. kuaAHsa LINCOLN.
The National tribune., 1882-04-15
WASHINGTON, D. c., APRIL Is, 1882.

sn-saIO Az ne w.sa10s eos10EEoE As ssooaao.s n1rEn
The National tribune., 1882-04-15

TERMS FOR ADVERTISING FURNIaHFO UPON APPtIcAT0N
Connecticut western news., 1882-02-15

STEAMER BRHDGEPORT. =.
 CAPT CHAS. WEEKS. CHEAPEST ROUTE TO NAV. YoRx. Will leave Bridgeport every night (sasurdav excepted), from Steamboat Dook. ct N o'clock, arriving In New York A6out q o'clock next morning. Returning, Will leave New York every mqsnina Sunday excepted), rum Pier A6 Eas1 River, toot ol Catherlne-st, a. Il.3Q Freights received anu way-bilied thkOuxh so all stauons on tue housatonic raliroad d v,ry low rates. Tickets oxA be purehased through to New lork less than ky all rail. road, aud baggage checked thruugh from all trains. P. s. The evening Milk train on the houa- atomic railroad connects with the NttAm. CT Bridgeport.
 JOHN R. HUBBssaiAI,
 SnperlutendenR.
Connecticut western news., 1882-02-15

DHYSICIAN AND SURGEON. Canaan, Cont | Office day at Camps Drug Store, from ons D four o'clock. Thursday afternoons. S3volSti.