The National tribune., 1888-11-29
EARNING a PENsIoN.

We spoke last week of the very impor-
tant statement by Gen. John C. Black in his
report as Commissioner of Pensions to the
effect that his Investigations showed that the
pensioners who are now being put on the
roll served on an average two years and three
months.
The full significance of this is not to be
understood without a careful consideration.
The more it IS considered the more impor-
tant viii it appear, and the higher the credit
to the men who are now receiving tardy
recognition of their rights.
In the first place, it is an official refuta-
ton of the calumnies of the soldier-haters
about "shirks," dead-beats," "coffee-boil-
ers," bounty Jumpers" etc, getting on the
roll. Men who served an average of q
months cannot be considered for a moment
as belonging to those classes. 1t shows how
undeseryed was President Cleveland's fling
about men who, whatever they may OF not
have done il their short term Of service, at
least accumulated a great deal of disability"
As very many of the men must have been
disabled before serving nearly so long as
two years and three months, it follows
necessarily that the greater part of the re-
mainder served much longer than two years
and three months.
The subject is so vast that we cannot hope
to cover the whole of it in a single article.
Let US, then, take what everyone must admit
to be fair illustration. Let Us take the ease
of one of the %, 465 men who responded to
the Presidents second call for three-years
troops in the Summer and Fall of 1862
Let us take one of those who enlisted in q
Pennsylvania OF New York regiment and
was sent to the Army of the Potomac. His
two years and three months took him prac-
tically to the end of the war, his fighting
we VIII say, having begun with the luckless
assault on Fredericksburg, and continued tC
the evacuation of Petersburg Let us see
how much he gave to the Government, and
how much he received from it.
The men who responded to this call diff
fered as a rule from those who went out
earlier. They were older-they were more
settled" as the phrase is. A large portion
| of +Ioca ,,-|o -arro,5a5 - {ba 6rc% 10 Tx
were young men who could more readily
leave home 1t was different with the
men who came out at the second call
They were DO less earnest than their pre-
decessors, but many of them were married, Of
had parents or relatives depending on then
for support, or they had just taken farms o.
engaged in business, which they did no
want to sacrifice. They had fondly hoped
that the war could be fought out without
| them. The gloomy turn which affairs took
in the Summer of 1862 dispelled this pleas
ing hope. The Army Of the Potomac wa
forced back even beyond the river from
which it took its name. The Army of tht
Ohio had had to abandon all its bloodily
won conquests, and was engaged in des
perate race to save Louisville and Cincin
natl from destruction. Disaster broodet
everywhere, and never did it cost man 81
much to be patriotic as those who in 186:
gave up everything and enlisted for tire
years or during the war. Let Us say tina
our pensioner was a good mechanic. W
select him because his wages offer an cas-.
way of estimating his pecuniary contribu
ton to the Government A young farme
gave up quite as much, if not more, thal
the average mechanic, but it is not so cas-
to figure out his sacrifice on paper.
0ur mechanic then was not receiving les
than 81 day for his labor, or $500 year.
he had staid at home his wages the next yea
would have been double, and he would Gel
tainly have received at least $4,000 for til
q months that he spent in the army. No1
what did he get for that service? Their
was scarcely any local bounty at that tim,
so that all that we have to consider is hi
pay from the Government. This was:
y months at
Is months at
Bounty II
"a years clothing
SO days ratons at =