The National tribune., 1889-03-14

coffee just lifted from the fire. Our yells of wrath,
as our breakfast was poured out on thesacred soil
of the Sunny South drowned his howl of pain,
and oft as we spoke of him that day we thought
not of him writhing in the ambulance, but only
wished that he had died in innocent infancy.
And yet, there were men shot down on the bat
tlefeld before that week was over, who went
to hospital, had the lead mines in their beings
worked to the last color of ore, or had their
limbs dressed and reported read y for duty before
that poor fellow got out of the dreary white
washed walls. Had his foot been torn off by
shell, he would have been hopping gaiIy around
on a crutch long before he was able to swing
that scalded leg in the same way. And yet, if
man should ask for pension because he
stepped into a camp-kettIe of boiling coffee
how the civilian mind would regard the whole
affair with derision. The civilian forgets what
little thing constitutes an injury on his " Ac
cident Insurance Policy"
So you see it happens, not infrequently, that
a soldier needs, and most richly deserves, a
pension when the cause Of his disability was
an accident, an injury so apparently slight at the
time, when anything short of being torn or
shot to pieces was esteemed light affection"
that everyone but himself has forgotten about
it, At least, it is only remembered by his CON-
rades in a general, uncertain way. Yet the
soldier is just as worthy of his country's care
and support as though he had been born on the
list of casualties" "He jests at scars who
never felt wound" and the man who was
never kicked by steer belonging to Quarter
master does not know that it is worse than the
recoil of a Belgian musket, which was worse
than a 12-pound round-shot; OH much worse,
because there was no lodging it.
Now, I do want every Union soldier who de-
serves and needs pension to have one. Some
times l think that every fellow who needs one
deserves it. am always glad when I can helpa
man to get one. am always glad when can re-
member these trivial incidents, and am always
sorry when 1 can't. Nothing worth anything
ever happened to me. At Corinth 1 went out
one day and chopped a walnut tree down on
myself-a feat which not another man in the
regiment could have done. Didn't seem to
hurt me. Scared me, but was used to that.
l expect it might have hurt me, only the Quar-
termaster charged me with the ak, which was
knocked into the creek, and that made me so
mad I forgot to have the baekache. don't
know; maybe my back was broken; probably
it was, but was too busy thinking up some
way to get even with the Quartermaster to
notice it, But because 1 have no right to a
pension is no reason why better men who do
need one shouldn't have it. Gladly would I
indorse any measure that would make the de-
Ginning days of the men who carried musket or
swung saber for the Union, free from all care
and anxiety, so far as money can do it. But
what arerWe to do in these cases where a sol
der needs and deserves a pension, and nobody
can remember the details of the injury which
led to his subsequent disability and need2 It
isn't fair to leave him out.
So l was wondering if we couldn't kind of
"hOld.the age" on this thing? The expression
may be familiar to some of the comrades. Sup
pose, to sort of equalize matters and relieve the
strain upon the human memory, we have every
body draw pensions, beginning from the vet
Grams 50th birthday. and increase the pension
slightly each succeeding year? How would
that strike your You see this is purely unself-
ish on my part; would be just as liable as
anything in the world to die when was 49
years old. But it would be a bonanza for the
rest of the boys. And it would be an incentive
to longevity; it would add greatly to the re-
spect which mans friends wosld feel for him.
and the loving care of his family would be
doubled. A man would not become useless
incumbrauce in his old age; no indeedy
He would increase in value, like wine. He
would be a regular old compound-interest note;
longer he run, better his holders would like it.
Think this over. Lawsy me, if this plan works
I will always think 1 should have been in the
Cabinet And if it doesn't go through, well,
it's an i'll wind that doesn't blow somewhere.
suppose I will live to be hundred years old
and die at last with back like an alligator, the
digestion of an ostrich, eyes like hawk, and
not enough pension to pay for my burial per-
nit. z. ]. BURDETTE, Bryn Mawr, Pa.