Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-11-12
Pension All Soldiers.

he duty of the government to pension
every soldier who served in the war
and who survives The laws As they
now stand make it very hard for th,
deserving survivors to obtain pensions
The afidavts of officers cannot be
readily obtained, even ii the officers
are alive, and in many cases all the
"fficers who knew circumstances of 9
wound or injury are dead, or have re
moved to some remote place. In
many cases an injury that was so trif
ing twenty years age that a soldier s
tent, mate did not know Of it, has he.
come burden that is almost unbear
able, and the soldier should have a
pension, but unless he can prove that
doctors prescribed for him, and that
company officers were familiar with the
circumstance, the soldier fails to get
his pension Many officers are to-day
rscking their brains to try and remem-
ber some incident in the career of a
soldier whose name is almost forgotten
that they may make an affidavit with
out lying, that will benefit the poor
man in his application for relief. II
an off Ger is conscientious. and does not
wish to swear to something that he can
not recall to save h life, injustice is
liable to be done to a brave soldier,
and the soldier is liable to think his
old officer is mean, not to try and help
him. This condition of things places
thousands of officers in very unenvia-
Bile positions They want to do the
fair thing by old comrades, but they
do not want to swear to a lie, by
claiming to remember things that they
never heard of u"ti they received
letters of inquiry from comrads that
had been almost forgotten. Either
soldiers that are deserving of pensions
must fail to receive them, or officers
must become star liars. Now, to do
justice all around. and give late officers
a chance to hold up their heads and
look other old soldiers in the face
without trying to remember something
that occurred twenty years ago, that
they never heard of. the government
should decide to dc justice to all the
men who served it in time of need
There are bills before congress that
cover the ground, and they must be,
come laws The .Sme will work as
best it may, in print and by personal
effort of it's editor, for the passage of
such bills, until the law is on the stat
ute book, which permits all the old
soldiers t" 60 up to The paymasters and
receive their regular salary as long as
they live. Tie government can stand
it without hardship. aud it is due the
soldiers. With such law soldier
need not feel that he is criminal
attempting to Introduce his hand into
the treasury in the dark. AS it is
now, the first move soldier makes for
a pension, he is spotted. and looked
upon by the government off cIals as a
conidence man. They try to prove
that he is not so bad off as he asserts;
nei ghbors who do not like him. can be
found to swear that he is The healthiest
man in town, he is laughed at because
he has just discovered, after twenty
years of active lfc, that he was di>abl
ed years ago. and didn't know it, and
if lie finally succcedS in getti g "a few
dollars month, he is liable to be
pointed at as one who has come it on
the government by false swearing.
With such a feeling as sometimes
exists about a soldiers drawing a pen
sion, where he lives, many had almost
rather starve than receive it. 1t a
man is all knocked to pieces, and so
crippled that all can see, there is not
much kicking about his receiving a
pension. but if he looks as we'll as an
ordinary citizen. though his liver
may he cut in two. his bowels tied in a
double bow knot. his lungs half gone,
and nothing about him whole except
his gall. there will be a feeling in the
community that his drawing a pension
is piece of favoritism, brought about
by fraud, and that he is so much ahead
of Uncle Sam. Give the hoys all a
pension freely; make them feel as
though they deserved every cent of it,
and not try TO euchre them out of it
when they get it. and every citizen
with soul will feel happier, and the
boys will feel more like training their
children to be ready to jump into the
uniform and grab gun in case of an
alarm in the future From this out
the San will favor a general pension
law that will make the old soldiers fee
as though the Lord was on theil
side. The REPORTER heartily en-
dorses the above and hopes the neces
sary law Will pass this winter.