The National tribune., 1882-11-23
OUR SOLDIERS COLUMN.
Should Congress be Compelled to Bear
sll the Blame?
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
Answers to Many Core
spondents' Inquiries.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
To The Editor NATIONAL TRIBUNE:

To the Editor NATIONAL TRIBUNE:
Through the kindness of friend have been
made 8 subscriber TO your paper. l never heard
CT it till the first copy reached me. am very
much pleased with it, and shall, if possible, ss-
cure you some subscribers. / am Methodist
Episcopal preacher, am in charge Of this circuit,
and member of the Columbia River Confer
ence. shall take a copy of the paper with me
when go out among my people, and when l
find an old soldier, or anyone else who would
be likely to subscribe, will secure his subscrip-
ton if l can. am an old soldier, discharged
on account of disability after nearly three years
of faithful service in the cavalry. Though
knowing myself entitled TO a pension, for
many wears thought l would never spply for
one; but finally discovering that my disability
partial deafness) is so much in my way IN
everything l undertake, ! concluded that l
might as well have a pension as any one else,
especially as it was becoming evident that the
Government is abunGantly able TO do justice 10
all Ibid not, however apply till the fall OF 1851,
and so am cut off from arrears because l so long
felt unwilling to add to the burdens of the Gov
eminent 1t is probable that many OF the late
applicants made late applications for the same
reason; but now, since there is such an i'm
rnense surplus in the Treasury, they probably
feel as / do-that sympathy for formerly de-
pleted Treasury ought bot, when the Treasury
is full to overfowing debar Us from that JUS
tice which is being meted out TO those who felt
no such sympathy. Justice demands that the
benefits of the ArreaTage act be extended to late
IS well as early applicants. The Equalization
of Bounties act would benefit me to the extent
Of about one hundred and fifty dollars, and
an unable to see why l should not receive
enough more money to make nay bounty equal
to that of others who served no more faithfully
than l. As to issuing land warrants to all sol
diers am in favor of it if they can be SO issued
as to compel the soldier TO lay his warrant on
land either personally or by proxy for himself,
such land being so secured to himself and heirs
for a specified number of years that II cannot
fall into the hands of land spectators. do not
see why that could not be done. am not so
much disgusted with Congress for not doing
Justice to the soldier in the above-named re-
spects and others that might be named as / am
with the various Presidents for not recon-
mending Congress to do SO in their annual mes
sages. If any one of them has ever recon-
mended the equalization OF bounues, am not
aware of IT. Some of them, / think, have rec
commended one or more of the other measures.
Please give US some light on that point. If the
President does not recommend a measure of
justice to the soldier is it not fair to infer that
should it be passed, like Grant, he would veto
itf | am inclined TO believe that injustice to
the soldier does not lie at the doors of the halls
of Congress SO much as at the door Of the White
House
Yours, truly,
THEODORE HoAGLAND.
ny I'm,