Morris tribune., 1884-10-29
THE PENSION LAWS.
Resolutions Adopted by National
Convention Of Soldiers,
Changes Desired I'm the Interest o;
Soldiers and Their Dependents
The Question at
the Polls.

INDIANAPOLIS, Oct 27.-At the nationa
Soldiers and Sailors convention held hero
Friday, Gen. j. r. Carnahan presided and
delegates were present from New York,
Massachusetts,, Vermont. Maine, Penn.
sylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois,
Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky,
Indiana, Maryland, and the District of
Columbia.
A committee was appointed to draw up
resolutions expressive of the sense Of the
members and presented the following:
We the ex-soldiers and sailors of the Union
army and navy III the war of the rebellion of
1876, now in mass convention assembled,
do now present to our comrades and our rep
resentatiyes in congress our views and our
desires on the question of pensions. Believ-
ing that our comrades who are now suffering
from disease or wounds are entitled to the
kindest consideration at the hands of con-
greSs therefore be it
Resolved, That we ask the following
amendments to the present pension laws:
L. That every person who served in the
military or naval service of the United
States for the period of three months during
the war OF the rebellion, and has an honor
able discharge therefrom, and who is or shall
become disabled, and shall also be dependent
on his own labor for support, shall be placed
upon the list of pensioners of the United
during the continuance of such disability at
u rate proportionate so the degree thereof.
2 That all widows or minor children of
soldiers and sailors, who as such are now re-
celvlng under existing laws the sum of IS
per month, be entitled to receive the sum of
$l2 per month; and all such widows or minor
children who shall hereafter be found to he
entitled to the rate of So per month under
existing laws shall be entitled to and receive
the rate of $40 in lieu of said rate of 49,.
3. That ii any invalid pensioners have
died or shall hereafter die leaving widow or
minor child under Syears of age, both of
such pensioners, such widow and minor
children shall be entitled, in order of success
sion named, to the original pension of their
own name without being required to prove
that the death of such pensioner was due to
his military or naval service to the United
States.
4. That pensions granted to widows on &C
count of minor children shall be continued
without limit as to age wherever it shall ap-
pear that such minors are of unsound mind
or physically helpless so as to render them
incapable of earning subsistence
). That in considering the claims of de-
pendent parents the fact and cause of death
and the fact that the soldier left no widow or
minor children having been shown, it shall
be necessary only to show that such depend
ent parent is without other present means of
comfortable support than his or her own
manual labor
6. That i'll all applications where it ap-
pears that the applicant was regularly en-
listed and mustered into the service that fact
shall be prima facie evidence of soundness at
the time Of his enlistment, but such pre-
sumption shall be subject to rebuttal
by record or other competent evidence. Be-
iieving that the foregoing embraces only just
AMI equitable demands Of the veterans of
the late war, and as all legisla
tion to this end must depend upon
the active cooperation of tie legis-
lature and officials of the country, we
earnestly urge upon the soldiers and sailors
of the war against the rebellion to give their
support at the polls only to such party or
candidates as are and ever have been in favor
of such just legislation in the interest of the
men who stood in defense of the country in
the hour of need.
The resolutions were unanimously adopted,
and Mr.. Burdette, chairman of the commit,
tee, was instructed to bring the matter to the
attention of congress. The convention ther
ad iourned