The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1888-02-23
JET US HAVE A VIGOROUS PROTEST.

LET Us HAVE A VIGOROUS PROTEST.
COMRADES:
The thing which is of the utmost interest
TO you to-day is the contemplated reduction
Of the revenue. This is a question the i'm
pOrtance Of which far exceeds all Others,
whether you consider it as citizens or as
veterans.
As veterans you must consider it as the
most fatal thing that can happen to pension
legislation. A reduction of the revenue now
means the immediate abandonment of all
hope of securing arrears of pensions, of
equalizing bounties, of increase of pensions
of all kinds, and of paying in any form any
portion of the great debt which the Nation
still owes to the men who saved it. Itmeans
the REIMBURSEMENT of every prospect of
having single one of the recommendations
Of the GAR. National Pension Committee
enacted into law.
Everybody but the veterans themselves
can see this. The free-traders and the sol
disr-haters understand it thoroughly, and it
forms the very cornerstone of their plans.
The free-traders want no more pensions, so
as to have no use for the money raised by a
continuance of the duties on imports; the
soldier-haters want the revenue reduced, so
that there will be no money with which to
pay pensions. They know that the most
fatal objection to any pension measure is
the plea that there is no money in the
Treasury to meet the expense.
Therefore, you who want the Govern
ment TO do its duty by those who did
their duty by It at terrible cost to them
selves, must be infezibly opposed to both
these plans. You must fight to the utter
most any flank movement to defeat pension
legislation through the destruction of the
Nations power to pay pensions. You must
resist the cruelty and dishonor of longer
evasion of payment to men who have passed
the meridian of life while waiting for their
dues, and are now sinking into the grave by
thousands every year. With a practically
Iimitless amount of money at its command
It Is an ineffabIe shame for the Government
to stave of payment torecognized creditors
and invoke the aid of age, disease and death
to reduce their numbers, and lessen the
amount to be paid them. The debts should
have been paid years ago, and no amount
paid now win atone for the wrongfulness Of
having let thousands die unpaid, bat speedy
payment 10 those who yet survive viii avoid
the further aggrayation Of that great wrong
As citizens having the common interests
of all our people at heart, you should de
mand that, after payment to the veterans
the fzst duty of Congress is to free the coun
try from the debt due the bondholders, tina
it may be handed over unmortgaged to on
successors, as our fathers handed it over Il
Us. A great public debt is great pubi
danger. There is no telling what year un
fareseen trouble may arise, which viii cal
for every effort that our people can make
when the public debt which they neglected
TO rid themselves of in prosperous days ma,
hang about their necks like a milestone
We can, by maintaining our revenue as
is, pay of both the debts due the soldier
and that due the bondholders, without tn
effort being felt By any one. 1t can be don
without anything like the friction and los
to the business interests Of the countr
which viii inevitably attend any til
kering with the revenue. It is the ranke:
folly not to do this.
The thing to do is for every comrade to {
once address to his Representative and til
Senators from his State vigorous protel
against any meddling with the revenue mt
the recommendations of the GAR. NJ
tional Pension Committee are made part
) the Law Of the land. Let this be made IL
du.y Of the day, which no one must neglec
Write, comrades, every one of you.
EVILS OF A PUBLIC DEBT.
# 10 sophistry can disguise the stern, co
q fart that auv dahf nub1ic or uriVafe is