Omaha daily bee., 1882-12-22
PUBLISH THE ROLL OF

hONun'
The pension list that bears the
names Of disabled loyal soldiers who
rallied in defense of the flag and
saved the Union, is a roll Of honor.
Every soldier whose name is right
fully enrolled as one Of the hero, q
who fought and suffered for MS
country can be proud Of the act.
The suggestion that it would hame
him or his children to publish him AZ
entitled to and receiving in his
old age the small CON .~pensation
allowed by the nation 70 those
who took up arms in dr. kes1se of tbs
republic is all bosh, az id che widow
who lost a husband, o { o on the
field Of battle cannot but be proud Of
seeing her name on che roll of honor
side by side with me gallant defend.
ers of the country =. 1t is only the class
that have no right to a pension that
raises Its voice against the proposition
to publish the pension roll which
would ead to the dissection of i'm.
posters.
It Va notorious THAT hundreds Of
soourdrela who never came within a
thousand miles Of the battle field have
succeeded in getting their names on
the pension roll by fraudulent tentl.
sncny. Almost ever neighborhood
is cognizant of this sort of scandal.
Here is q case In pcint: An elderly
cripple has appeared in Detroit claim
ing to be Charles K. Brewer, who
enlisted in company A, First Michi-
gan artillery, in August, 1861, and
vas reported killed in the battle Of
Bull Run, in August, 1862. After
that battle Charles X. Bre wer was
never again seen alive by any person
previously acauaiGted with dim. The
man who now claims to be tho identi.
cal Charles E. Brewer has his certii.
cate of enlistment and plenty of bat.
tle.ncars to show that ks was o sol.
der, bat tells a very arrange story
about his protracted disappearance.
He says tie injuries received in the
battle wherein he war reported killed
impaired his memory &c that he can
not tell where he was or what hap.
pened to him for a long time after the
battle. AL he knows is that he found
himself at last living in Kansas City,
where h;s homo now 10, and being In
destituts circumstances he has visited
Detroit to get some OF his old com.
rades tic esaist him in obtaining q pen
sion, with the arroars allowed by the
existing law.
This may be Charles E. Brewer,
but the story is just such a one gs
would BIO concocted by conspirators
who he'd obtained o forged Brewers
certificate and found some old de.
serter or battered old rebel willing to
person ate a dead unloa soldier for u
share of the plumber thus to be filched
from the treasury Of a grateful and
outraeooualy swindle6 country.
The trial of one " ackerle In st.
Louisedeveloped pretty strong proof
that 1t Is so easy for q living man to
personate a dead soldier and enjoy
his pension. The appalling increase
of the pension list makes it morally
osrtaic that u large proportion Of the
pensioners arc wicked impostors. Any
miBereGnt who robbed a wounded SOL
der on the battlefield may, if he pre-
served his victims papers aud Is ordi.
narily ohrewd, make .Use Of these pa
pers and by perjurad testimony get on
the peRsion roll and even draw o snug
fortune in the way of arrears.
The law, as now administered, offers
a premium on rsscality and fraud, and
the proposition to publish the pension
rolls in each locality or district where
the pensioners reside would not only
put a stop to the imposition, but would
rid the country of hundreds of bogus
pensioners who have no claim upon
the government.