The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1886-10-21


amount of the present pension appro-
priations, would remind them Of the
magnitude of that war. Our govern
ment actually put in the field for three
years service 2,32O,272 men. or these
we lost:
Killed in battle. .................... A,23a
Died OF wounds. Observation-Disclosures. 49,906
Suicides, executions, etc. 54
Died OF OlSe0se. 06,2lC
Unknown causes. es................. 4,lA
Missing and in al probability dead. aO,ON
1otal.. ...134, ,J6G
THEIR SACRIFICES.
II the hardships of that war were
such that 86.21 actually died Of dis
case, how many more thousands must
have contracted diseases that disabled
them for life. Unlike the armies OF
other nations. our soldiers were com.
posed Of the best wage earners in this
country, and this should be remember
ed in considering the sacrifices they
made. The amount which they re-
ceive, If allowed pension. is mere
pittance, when compared with the SER
vices rendered for our country in its
greatest hour Of need, and our nation
can well afford TO pay it. We rely up
on such volunteer soldiers in case Of a
war, and therefore have no standing
army to maintain, at an expense Of
hundreds Of millions annually, and we
can afford to literally pension our vet
Grams. These men are not mendicants,
but heroes, who followed the flag Of
the Union through scenes Of blood and
carnage, and to whose patriotic devo-
tiOn to the Union we are today in
debted for the enjoyment Of the bless
ings of the best government the world
has ever seen; and it is the duty Of
those of us who did not have to under
go the hardships which they did, to see
to it that justice is done them. They
should not be compelled to appeal for
what is Justly their due. We should
secure that for them without their ask
ing. Thousands of deserving appli-
cants for years have been cruelty de-
prived Of the pensions due them, on
&C count Of the present condition Of the
pension laws. This should not be.
These laws should be SO amended that
there would be no necessity tor
PRIVATE PENSION BILLS.
II the bencficiaries of these bills arc
entitled to pensions, the general Law
should be SO amended that all such
claimants could have them allowed by
the commissioner of pensions. ny
view of it is, that the law should be so
that the veteran who applies for pen.
S;n,. chN,,lI - v,roo,,e1
appear before board Of examining
surgeons to establish the existence Of
his disability and grade Of it, and
(when that was established) he could
prove by his own affidavit that that
disability was incurred while in the
service. The oath Of the man who
periled his life in defence of the Union,
should be all the evidence of that char.
acter required. It was not questioned
and was considered amply sufficient to
establish his loyalty and patriotism
when he enlisted. There are hundreds
of cases where the present law requir-
ing additional evidence has operated to
perpetrate monstrous injustice upon
deserving claimants, who really need
this, their just due. More than this:
When the board of examining surgeons
had established the grade of the PEN
sion, tEeir report should be final and
conclusive. The practice, which has
prevailed for years, Of allowing the
pension Office to reduce the grade Of
the pension from that fixed by the
board OF examiners, should be prohibit
ed. | have heard pensions already
granted criticised, and / imagine l
hear the selfish say that this would
open the doors of the treasury to
THE ASSAULTS OF FRAUD.
deny it. insist upon it that our
veterans are not deserving Of any such
imputarion, and that the pensions al
ready granted do not warrant it..
Every pensioner has to establish his
disability before board of surgeons
and prove it was incurred in the SER
vice. This ought to satisfy the most
captiOus. Few men desire to expose
their disability to the public gaze, but
| presume the world will always have
doubling Thomases. NV friends, the
cost Of these pensions is q mere bagat-
elle to q great and wealthy nation
such as ours. Nearly . quarter OF q
century has passed since the war end
ed, and the patriot heroes are rapidly
passing away. Last year Il, 200 mem
bers of the Grand Army of the Repub-
lie alone responded to the last bugle
call. and each succeeding year will
show an increasing list. Soon there
will be comparatively few Of the I'm
ion veterans for us to comfort in their
declining years. While honoring the
dead, let us not forget that the grand
est memorial to their patriotism that
we can erect is monument of fulfilled
duty to their surviving comrades. II
elected to congress, will act and vote
upon the subject Of pensions in ac-
cordance with these views. and shall be
disappointed if my action shall not
meet the approval Of the great ma
jority of my constituents. also think
it a shame that the bill granting q PEN
sion to the veterans of the Mexican
war, recently pending in congress, has
not been passed.
THE LABOR QUESTION.
The question Of the rights Of labor.
which now agitates the public mind,
is second in Importance to mono OF
those demanding the thoughtful atten-
ton of the statesman and the public.
Compelled by the monopolistic tenden-
cy Of capital to organize for self-pro-
lection, the workingmen of the country
have banded themselves together in
a powerful organization known as the
Knights of Labor. Its existence is re-
garded by manv with feelings akin to
alarm, but l do not so regard it.
Nothing as yet occurred to inspire the
belief that the methods and purposes
are otherwise than those Of law-abiding
citizens. The recent strikes, and the
action Of the Knights of Labor officials
Herewith, showed that whatever was
lawless on the part of the strikers was
condemned by the principal officials.
They have as good right TO organize
for protection and to advance their
interests as any other class of our
citizens, and so long as they aim, BY
lawful methods alone, to accomplish