The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-05-03
MORE PENSION FOLLY.

world to come over to Washington
and deposit few cartridges with
clockWork machinery and attach
ments in such eligible places as
would scatter to the four winds the
money that is in the treasury
vaults. Why such proceeding
might prove a benefit is this: Ii
might set Congressman 10 thinking
Of something besides schemes foI
getting rid of the public money.
So long as the treasury is over
Sowing with wealth, and more
is pouring in through the systems
of burdensome taxation and high
tariffs, Congress viii persist in
doing very silly things.
The latest exhibition Of the lack
of craftsmanship and Of downright
recklessness occurred last week,
when q pension bill was
passed in the House under suspen.
sion Of the rules, a more plentiful
lack of sense in legislation has sell
dom been seen than was shown in
the passage of this bill on the
simple favorable recommendation of
the committee on pensions,
without the slightest information
as to the scope of the measure or
any estimate Of the amount of
money it would take from the
Treasury. 1t is also suggestion Of
ignorance or slavieh fear that the
Record tells of only one man who
had the courage to SPEAK in oppo>
sition to the bill. Mr.. Hewitt, Of
Albany, did make speeeh against
it, and due credit should be accorded
him; but ia view Of the Circams
stance that there was perfect unan>
unity in voting on the measure by
all who could in ally manner be
affected by it, perhaps Inc AIabs ma
gentieman's praises should be sung
in low key.
The bill provides thai every per
son who served three months in the
field in any war in which tbs UniS
ted States was engaged, and who,
by reason Of any wound, injury or
disease which there is probable
cause to believe originated in the
service in the line Of duty, is now
disabled in whole or in part for pro-
curing subsistence by manual lahor,
shall be placed on the PENSION rolls.
Thus expar.e evidence which
would lead the pension bureau
to believe there is "pro 0able
cause to believe" the wound or in
jury originated in the service, would
necessarily have to be accepted, and
the door opened to unlimited fraud.
A new class of claimants is also
created, consisting of PARENTS whose
sons were lost in any war in which
the United States has been engaged.
For them to get pensions it is only
necessary to chow that they are
without other means Of support than
their own manual labor or the
charity contributions Of persons not
legally found for their support.
The existing law, which is motor
iously loose and liberal, requires that
parents shall show by competent
evidence that they were dependent
upon their sons for support at the
time the latter lost their lives in the
service. But the new bill wipes
out this requirement and gives
parents the right to pensions, al
though they were In well.
TODD circumstances at the time
Of the death of their sons.
And finally innumerable pension
cases are. created by barring the
government from proving that a
claimant was in any way diseased
when he enteredsthe service. 1t is
worthy of note that only fifty seven
votes were cast against the bill, and
without exception these were all by
southern men whose constituents
could not draw pensions, having
fought on the wrong side in a war
in which the United States
was engaged. Northern rep
resentatives, Republicans and
Democrats, voted for the
measure as something that would
please their constituents and thus
retain votes, the justice of the bill
not being taken into consideration.
Fortunately the cooler~headed Sens
ate is back of the House, and in all
probability will not sanction the bin
that has 60 little to recommend it.