Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-04-03

C.vil Pensions.

u
siou BY The people Of this country,
whsthsr they are willing TO have .
civil-peusion list or not. We hare
sesia md again expressed our hos
sil;fy to any such measure. 1t Is be-
cause the civil-seryice-rcfcrm act Of
Congress threatens to pave the way to
ciyiI pensions that We object to that
Law. The assumption is intolersble
that because . man has been
10 fortunate as to secure fat
berth under the Government and holds
1t q long O. be can he must then be
pensiousd. tits adding insult to injury.
II Il to exclude men from lucrative
Government places by giving those
places to the successful applicants for
them, and then to tax the unfortunates
who do not get the Offices in order to
pension the fortunates whs do get
them. What would the thousands
II men who desired one or an
other Of the lucrative and honor
able Offices which Mr.. CLEVELAND has
filed during the last few weeks think
il their congressman should propose to
tax them in order to pension the men
who kept them out Of Officer
The Boston Globe has the following
article on this subject, which is, VIC
repeat, q subject that promises soon to
exercise tho minds Of the people of the
whole Union. Our Boston contempt
rary talks plainly and sensibly and
directly to the point. 1t says
"The State Senate is about to con-
slider the judiciary-retirement bill re-
Gently passed by the House. Massschu-
sets wants no civil-pension list of any
sort. That practice may do for foreign
nations. but not for free America. We
want no privileged classes here. The
untold thousands who till the soil and
man the shops and fill the places at the
counters and desks. or engage in any
Of the thousand and one occupations in
private life, neither expect, ask, nor
receive pensions on retirement from
their labors, nor do they believe that
public servant should be more ia
yorcd."
"The amount, more or less, that the
Supreme Court judges might receive as
pensioners il not the point. That would
not Be great; but the principle lying at
the bottom Of the proposition is bad
one. Once adopted, its application
would be extended indefinitely. In a
year or two the Superior Court judges
would naturally claim the same privi-
Icge, and so on until every one in the
public service would come to look upon
. pensioncd retirement as his right,
more especially as the civil-service rules
practically place all holders Of public
Office on life-.enure from this time
on"
ain no long time every clerk in the
States employ would be placed upon
the civil-pension list. 1t is true that
the Government Of the United States has
judicial-retirement law, but it ought
never to have been passed; the fact that
II is used as . precedent TO secure the
passage OF similar law to apply to the
Judges Of this G Commonwealth shows the
contagious character of all such legis-
lation."
The UNpKRwooDs and B0yDs are
FIRE specimens Of UNCLE SANS pen
sion list. The next Democratic ns-
ticosl platform should declare in favor
cf repeating the law granting pensions
TO Federal judges. It is bad enough
70 be taxed to support Aliunde BRAD
LKy whilst be is discharging his duty
On tho bench. Il is an outrage upon
the people to tax them in order to pen
sion such cattle after they retire from
Tie bench.