The National tribune., 1888-05-17
TIE DISABILITY BILL.
Visit Of the GAR. Pension Commit
tee,


National Pension Committee Of the Grand
Army of the Republic came to Washington last
week for the purpose of urging action upon
general pension legislation which the Commit
tee has in charge, under instructions from the
National Encampment. Owing to illness, Gen.
Merrill, Chairman of the Committee, was uu-
ayoidably absent, and Gen. Wagner was not
present.
After spending several days in personal in
terviews with Members of the House and of
the Senate the Committee appeared formally
before the House Committee on Invalid Pen
sons at the Capitol, Friday morning at 10
o'clock, for hearing, which had been granted
by the Chairman.
CORPORAL TANNER
acted as spokesman for the Committee, and in
substance he said:
"The members of the Pension Committee,
and myself especially, have appeared at vari-
GUS times before this Committee, and
have made known our views through the cour-
tesy of the members of the Committee AS it
is ell-known, we very much desire above all
things that favorable action should be taken
upon the bill recommended by the National
Encampment at st. Louis, known as the Disa-
bility bill. Allow me to say, by way of preface,
as we have said to the Chairman of the Com
mttee of the Senate and various assemblages
of soldiers, that we regret the action of the
Senate in passing the bill in the form as it now
appears, Senate Bill ISL. II is only proper to
say, however, that the changes made in that
bill were made in open Senate and not by the
Committee on Pensions of that body. To be
frank about it, it is known that it was the aim
of the National Encampmcnt and of this Com
mittee to secure such form of bill as would do
the most good to those who need help at the
present time, and still meet the objections Of
the Executive. We therefore do not advocate
the bill as it came from the Senate, but as it
came from the National Encampment and this
Committee urge above all things favorable
action upon it"
A DISCUSSION.
Several interpretations followed by Chairman
MatsOn, which gave rise to a running discussion,
in which Col. Matson urged that the per diem
feature introduced into the substitute report of
his Committee was the proper one, inasmuch as
the bill itself recommended by the Grand
Army Committee could only be based upon
service.
This position of the Chairman, Corp1 Tanner
antagonized, and claimed that the bill was q
disability bill and should not be COMPOUNDED
with a service pension bill, and that the bill as
reported by the House Committee on Pensions
was neither disability nor yet a seryice-pen-
sion bill. 1t would suit neither one class Of
soldiers nor the other. 1t was, in short, Mug
wump bill. He proceeded to point out what
he claimed were the inconsistent features of the
substitute, and specified particularly the provis-
ion made for widows, the substitute basing their
pension upon the length of service of the hus
band. Corp'l Tanner claimed for the Grand
Army Committee that a widow whose husband
had died after six months service was fully as
much widow as one whose husband had died
after two years service.
Col. Matson asked if it was not conceded
that the only claim the widows had upon the
Government arose from the fact of the service
e - til L.E
that was conceded, a pension which PEN
stoned them according to the length of term of
service of their respective husbands fully met
their claim upon the Government.
COrpl Tanner insisted, as expressing the
views of the Committee, that there was a claim
upon the Government exceeding that on the part
the widow and that pension to a widow even
though her husband had served only six
months, which amounted to 81 80 a month, was
a mockery He also claimed that the substi-
tute was
NEITHER a DISABILITY NoR A sERyICE-PEN-
SION BILL,
and that if the committee was prepared to
concede the ACCESSIBILITY of a service-p ension
bill for all surviving soldiers of the war; the
| Grand Army Committee would not be found
opposing it, and never had been opposed to a
true servce-penson bill; that the National
| Encampment of the Grand Army had never
| DSen brought lace 10 lace VIII lu6 question OI
| a ce-pension BILL
Chairman Mats0n assumed look of marked
| interrogation, whereupon CorpI Tanner pro-
ceeded to testify that the contests of the Ma
tional conventions of the Grand Army had
| been between disability bills and the s. month
| bill; which, he insisted. was in no sense a
service pension bill, inasmuch as it made no
| distinction between so days service and four
| years service.
PER DIEM SERVICE.
| In answer to an interrogation from Chair