Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1883-03-07
Pensions.

WASHINGTON, February 2l-Gov-
ernor Curtin has been interviewed by
the Philadt lpha Times on the Forty
dollar Pension Bill He said among
other things:
| reported that bill to the House and
advocated it, and it passed unanimous
". giving it TO every man who lost a
Leg or arm, OF al equivalent disability,
forty dollars per month the remainder
of his life II was my deliberate .judg-
ment then. and it is now, that in such
eases men who served during the war
and who are MANNED in the manner de-
scribed ia the bill should be supported
by the Government. In the first de-
cade after the war the loss of life in the
class of men who lost arms or legs
was even in one thousand In the next
dee ide, or that part of the EeXt decade
which has just passed, the mort allty IN
the same class OF men was 81 per
eco 1t has been ascertained, not
only from the opinion of scientific men
and men whose profession would lead
them to investigate such subjects, as
well as statistics from the insurance
Offices, that the average duration of life
where an arm or ie.; is lost between
the age of twenty-five and thirty-fve,
at which age these people were thus
MANNED, is not over fifteen years.
If that is correct and the mortality
should increase for the future at ratio
corresponding with the past, the Gov
ernment Will not be long taxed to pay
this increase of pensions. ! notice
that complaints are made about that
part of the bill which provides for an
equivalent disability. What would be
regarded as an equivalent disability
should not be hard to ascertain, and ia
nv judgment disability of that kind
should carry with it the $40 per month
which the bill provides for those who
lost an arm or leg There are, | be-
leve, 5000 Of this class of disabled
soldiers living, and as they are all
pensioners now, there would be no
difficulty in ascertaining to whom the
pension should be paid, and impositions
oD the Department would be qnitc i'm
possible No distinction is made be-
tween priyatcs and officers in this bill.
An unjust and improper distinction eX-
lists in the present pension laws. The
private j. quite as deserving as tho
officer and generally is in the greater
need.
Some, without investigating, cry out
that these pensions will cost 500. O00,
900. can not say dcfni itcly what. the
amount will be, but think $1,000, 900
or $40, 000, 600 will be sufficient. The
bill before the Senate increases the
pensions as they are now paid. l do
not think the bill is just, because it
still continues the distinction between
the private and the officer. 1t refers to
that class Of men who lost limbs or
parts Of LIMBS, and increases their pay:
as, for instance, the man who lost an
arm below the elbow joint gets eigh-
teen dollars per month; the man who
lost leg at the ankle gets twenty-four
dollars. So the maa who lost the hand
gets less than the man who loses the
leg at the ankle. Now the distinction
as to what man shall receiYe-aS TO
whether the arm or the hand is gone,
or the part of the Legs absurd and
unjust The man who lost part of the
leg can no more use the leg naturally
than the man who lost all of the leg
and the man who lost his hand Is quite
as much deprived of the means of a
livelihood as the man who lost his arm
at the shoulder.
There are about two thousand five
hundred applications per month fled at
the Department for Pensions. How
do you account for so large number? ?
81 account for the increase from the
fact that many persons are applying
for pensions that have neglected it !;
many that have been able to do with
out It, some who were TOO proud to
apply for pensions before, and some, |
regret to say, who have no right to
a pension. There have been a large
number Of fraudulent cases, and large
amount of money has been paid on
pensions which should never have been
paid. Those frauds / think arc stop
ped. Now it is quite impossible to
get fraudulent case through
Mr.. Curtin said in conclusion, that
be felt a great interest in the passage
of this bill as he thought it a simple
act of Justice. "Aud when it is pro-
posed to extend further justice and the
munifcence of the Government to
other classes Of soldiers equally meri-
torous, | will he found active in the
support Of such measures"