The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1888-08-30
aESERvAT1NG 11sTLEssN Ess."

together and preserve our sell-Fespeet without
looking to the National Treasury, aud are better
o. that il Is Sc.
The Confederate solder did not fight fer boun-
ties Or pensions, or booty aud, nay friends, Il viii
he the best for Us In the end. Dependent bread is
tie most dangerous food eaten by mortal man. 1t
c5n,sins s lurking poison, which eventually emas-
cciates self reliance and independence, that surest
safeguard 20 hUmsn liberty, that Proudest boas. OF
citizen Of E free Republic. 1t is already work
ing most evil effects ia many sections Of the country
where the lavish and reckless granting OF pensions
src bounties have been put in operation. a friend
who resides in herder state that contributed about
al equal number 80 each army informs me that
the Confederate receiving no pension, and COM
PEELED 10 rely upon his own szertions, has gone far
Rhesd Of lis Peusoaed neighbor In the race OF life
ia Eii that constitutes selfrcI2nt, sslf-respectng
go-Rhcad American citizen. The inconsjdeEate and
reckless system of granting pensions By Congress
has driven, and viii drive many able-bodied men
into lhe shade Of enervstius iisHessness and de-
paadeneG that must finally destroy tller usefulness
az members Of tEe community ia which they live.
It ia not often, fortunately, that an utter
aace Of 8 United States Senator contains
such : mass Of alisstatement and sophistTy.
In the first place, the sousheInezs have
not. as a rule, paid their taxes promptly"
TIE history Of most Of the Southern States
is e chronicle Of evaded and grndgiug pay
nlents. So far as those due the Government
are concerned, the amount has been insig-
nifcant, as compared with those paid by the
loyal States, ana the cost per dollar Of col
lecting the same has been greatly in excess
Of the COST elsewhere.
Secondly, the statement that the Con-
fsde7ate soldier did not tight for bounties,
pensions or booty Is SIS Gar as possible from
the truth. The Confederate Government
began offering bounties before the United
States Governmental Gid. Bounties were emily
abandoned Bben thsy failed to induce men
10 volunteer, and 3 general CONSUMPTION had
10 be resorted to. Then men were forced
into the army at the point Of the bayonet
and kept there by brutal force. a thousand
men we're shot for desertion IN the rebel
armies where one was shot in the Union
camps Pensions played quite SIS much Of
6 part in the calculations Of The rebel sol
diezs as in those Of tie Union. Every enc
OF them looked forward quite as much az
tie Unionists to being properly taken care
Of by his Government II disabled. Had the
Confederacy succeeded they would have
been Pensioned quite as literally, to say the
least, as the Union soldiers hsvs bsen II
did not succeed, but The wounded EXON
f9derates have been taken care Of in another
and quite effective way. All Offices Of profit
and enolument IN the South have been con-
sidersd theirs by a prescriP5ive right. no
unwouBded or able man had any claims
which could be considered along with theirs.
To-day every State in the South pays pen
sions to disabled ez-Cenfedezates. We have
no hesitation IN sta1ipg that, man for man.
The wounded rebels hare received more from
TIE public purse than wounded Union SOL
diers
When 1t cones to booty tia truth of
history is taas there was nc comparison be-
tween tie rebel and Union soldiers as re-
naorseless pillage1z Several rebel Generals
have officially spoken of the appetite Of
their men for pillags with praise. They
thought it made them fight harder. That
they did not do more Of it than they did vas
due TO the SUCCESS Of the Union armies in
keeping them Of loyaI soil Whenever
tbs rebels got where there was any booty
they loaded themselves down with it. After
the battle Of Gettysburg our cavalry capt
urod miles OF wagons laden with the spoiis
Of Pennsylvania and Maryland stores.
Bagg's and Kirby Smiths invasion Of Ken
lucky, Prices raids into Missouri brought
/ sorroBfuI times to every dwelling aud store
within reach Of their raEenous hordes. The
only organized rebel force thatreached North
ern asil in the West was AoFgan's The mo-
ment he crossed the Ohio River he began
plnndering, and after the pursuit commenced
his course could be traced by the bolts O.
cloth, millinery goods, boots and shoes, etc.
thrown away by his booty-encumbered men
Taking everything into consideration, TIT
extent Of country captured the length ant
bitterness Of the war, the wanton injuries {,
the invaders by the people, there was aston
i1hingly little pillaging done by the Union
soldiers. There never was so little done b.
an army under the same circumstances il
the history of the world.
The last clause in the speech is the mos
amazing part oft. Think Of driving man,
able-bodied men into the shade of enervat
ing Hstlessness and dependence" by payin,
to them from to Y cents a day! Is it no
exquizitely abaurd2 Yet this is wha
the majority of pensioners receive. tn
average pension Of more than half {
them is about $3.50 per month -
i cents q day. Yet the Senator has til
} hardihood TO assert that this niggardly a
/ lowance-sbout the starvation wages of a
t Italian peasant-is sufficient TO take ava