Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1889-09-27
THE REAL AUTHOR OF TANNERS
TROUBLE,

THE REAL AUTHOR OF TANNERS
TROUBLE.
The resignation" of Pension Commits
sioner Tanner which was made on the de-
mand of President Harrison has been no.
ticed. But it forms too important chapter
in the history of Mr.. Harrison's admins
tration to be passed by lightly. text for
Tanners fantastic tricks came from his
superior When he was in the Senate, Mr..
Harrison III commenting on President Gle
veland S strict adherence to, and enforce
ment of the Pension laws, said sneeringly,
that ''This is no time to use the apothe-
cary S scales to measure the rewards OF the
men who saved the country. " And that while
the country was already measuring it with
avoirdupois scales to the tune Of $9S. 600 900
ayear! His appointment of Tanner was an at
tempt to secure the soldier vote for a second
term. And when he handed the commission
to thoroughly unqualified man with the
Injunction to ''Be liberal to the boys" he
was betraying the National interests for his
own selfish ambition. With these prece-
dents and instructions poor Tanner started
.cheerily into shovelling out the Nations
money. He commenced re-rating pensions
at rate that threatened to deplete the sur
plus millions in short order. In eleven
cases he re-rated, there was $72, 1852 of gov
eminent money paid to men already draw
ing good pensions. Of this, Richard Whit
ing of st. Louis, got 900, and the Deputy
Commissioner himself, Hiram Smith, got
So, 035. Five of the Chiefs of Divisions in
the Pension Office drew S., 600 on re-rating.
At a banquet given by one of them-Capt.
Henry Phillips, who had drawn So, 800
while receiving in addition $4,000 salary
from the government, Corporal Tanner an
nounced in speech that though he might
be crippled in body he was sound in mind,
and if his good right arm held out, he would
'syet make a big hole in that surplus. y
Just before his resignation, the Corporal
had sent out a circular to ali pension agents
announcing q re-rating to "a a month for
all pensioners who were drawing under
lIldt. liz lllOulllCu llIC lltlC VI fluCuOC3 oO
that disability might be proved by the evil
dence of only one private soldier, and thus
opened an easier road for the raiders to ap-
proach the treasury.
That President Harrison will pay dearly for
the loose text he set for Tanners guidance:
for the follies of the Commissioner, and also
for having dismissed him is certain. He
is trying to mend matters with the Grand
Army by finding another soft office for
Tanner, but that will not avail him much.
He will have to do as his predecessor, Cleve
land did, and with firmness take a stand
against the Pension raid on the Treasury
and hold there. That raid is thus foretold
in speech of Senator ingalls, at Arkansas
City, Kansas, last week
There were just three things that ought to
be done, said the Senator. First, the limita-
ton on pensions ought to be removed; second,
the disability pension-bill ought to become a
law, and third, and every soldier who received
an honorable discharge ought also to receive
pensions. These were the results that Com
missioner Tanner had sought to attain in his
administration of the Office of Commissioner
of Pensions, said the speaker, and Mr.. ingalls,
honored him for his high desire and brave eff
forts in behalf of the veteran soldier,
''The only fault have to find with Tanner,
he continued is that he did not have two feet
while he was in office, so that he could have
made more rapid progress in the attainment of
his policy"
That is comfortable programme for the
tax payers of the United States when they
contemplate these statistics-In 1879 there
were az, 755 pensions, in 1889, 409, 725. In
1879 the annual amount paid for pensions
was $35, 121 900, i'll 1889, SIS, 275, 600!
The United States now pays its creditors
in interest SAL 900, 900 and it's pensioners
over $SS,000,000. The pension appropria-
ton has Increased just twice as fast as
the interest on the public debt has decreas-
ed. If the ratio is preserved the pension
list will soon take the place Of the public
debt. 1t is now SIS 10000 more than the
cost of the enormous standing army of
Germany. and $20,000,0 600 more than the
cost of the standing army of England.
1t is little reassuring to know that with
this tremendous burden and Republican
majority in the Senate and House, Corporal
Tanner is about to go to Ohio to take the
stump for Foraker on the platform of
being Liberal with the boys
Oh for an hour Of Grover Cleveland, that
man of iron!