The National tribune., 1886-02-04

LIZ "a lut NGtlOud
Pension Committee of the GAR, and espe
e;aily that one referring to the repeal Of thu
limitation to arrears have aroused the Gus
tomary storm of hostility.
The arguments mostly relied upon by The
opponents of this measure of indisputable
justice to the soldiers of the country is The
enormous amount of money that it will
take TO satisfy the claims that will be pre-
sented under such law Some demagog;
have even gone so far as to threaten the
| people that if the law is enated it will be-
come necessary to revive all the war taxes
| including the Cdious income tax-to save
the country from bankruptcy. The wild
eXaggeTation of such q statement is so evil
| dent to any one even casually familiar with
! the statistics that it carries its own refuta-
| ton. 1t is only calculated to impress the
! ignorant and unthinking. Even at the
| highest figures which the opponents Of the
! bill have placed the cost of the measure to
the Treasury it will still not add dollar to
the burdens of the people, nor cause the
Government TO forego a single expenditure
or Improvement which it is now thought
desirable to be made 1t will simply take
up part of the present surplus proceeds Of
taxes. The man who asserts that the pres
ent surplus income Of the Government will
/ be insufficient to meet this demand upon it,
simply insults the intelligence of hi S hearers
So much for the rant about bankrupt
ing the Treasury" Let us now consider
the matter on higher grounds
If this or any Nation ever owed Just
debt, then that debt is a just one which it
is proposed to liquidate by the removal of
the limitation to the arrears of pension law.
The Nation promised pensions to all who
were disabled in its service, and to the wild
ows, children, and dependent relatives of
those who fell in that service. This promise
was as sacred as any promise ever made by
any people. 1t was as sacred covenant as
any made by the Iraelites with their God.
On the one hand, the men who became its
soldiers covenanted to do its bidding even
to the sacrifice of their lives On the other,
it covenanted to provide justly for those
who should be stricken down in doing its
work. They carried out their part Of the
covenant to the last letter. Now it remains
for the Nation to fulfill its share of the cove
nant
1t is Of small moment how much it vii
cost it to do this The only question to bel
considered is, is it just debt? If it be, then
it must be paid, 60 matter what the amount.
The size Of the sum due the bondhoders
for principal and interest was not made
reason fer repudiating the debt due them.
Why should it be made an excuse for re-
pudiatiDg the still more sacred debt due the
soldiers Of the Nation and their dependent
ones?
We said that to bubble, juggle. Or seek to
evade payment Of any portion of indebted
ness 10 the men who furnished the Govern
ment with money, or munitions Of war was
the depth Of dishonor What reason can be
given for placing the debts due the men who
gave their bodily strength, health and life
to the Government on a lower plane of
honor?
What decency was there, or can there be,
in barring out with a tricky statute of limi-
tations the men who repuIsed Pickett's
charge at Gettysburg, OF those who swept
up the steep slope Of Mission Ridge?
We have affirmed repeatedly that if the
country had to be taxed for generations to pay
Off the Indebtedness due the bondholders it
should be done, and they be satisfied to the
last cent Of their claims Why is not the SOL
der as worthy creditor as the man who lent
the Government a few dollars, or sold it a
drove OF mules, or car load of provisions
PROFESSIONALLY the amount the Govern
ment will have to pay under an extension
Of the arrears law viii be immense. But so
was the number of men it called into the
field. So was the extent of the struggle they
carried on, the sacrifices they made to serve
it, and the losses they and their families
suffered. Nothing equaling this appears in
history.
When we talk Of hundreds of millions for
pensions let us always remember there
were more than 2,750,0O0 men called
into the field; that they served in
war that lasted for more than four years,
and during that time fought the enormous
number Of 1890 battles and slirmishes,
many of which were among the largest and
bloodiest in history, and that more than
10000 were killed or died while Oh duty.
Is il not absurd to measure the pension roll
that must result from such a struggle by
anything in our previous history, or in the
history of any nation?
Still another thing must be taken into
consideration: Much Of the size Of the pro-
posed pension bill is the direct consequence