The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1889-02-14
CRTTICIsMs,

EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUEE /. Why do you
make the discrimination in favor of the short-term
men by paying them eight cents per day service
pension, and the three or four years soldier but
one cent per day?
2. Why is the soldier who got wounded and re-
ceives an invalid pension not entitled to service
pension well as his more lucky comrade who re-
ceived no wounds or injuries IS 7. CARLTON. I'd
| Ohio Cav, Girard, o.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE wish to ask ii you
| think the per diem bill, as advocated by you, ex-
actly fair? As understand it. all honorably-dis-
charged soldiers will receive one cent per day for
| time served. claim that is not just. For exam
pie, two soldiers living ia this town enlisted at the
same time in same company and regiment, and
discharged together with company. One was dis
abled and one not. The one disabled is draw
! ing Sl2 per month. The other is an able-bodied
man. and can do full days work. The other can
not work but about onefourth the Time. If the
bill becomes law the sound man will receive
about Sl265. cannot see the justice in that. Can
you?-CHARLEs F. DAVENPORT, Erieviile, n. Y
We wish to say to our correspondents, and
through them to thousands of comrades
everywhere, that it is simply impossible to
draft a general pension bill which viii do
equal and exact justice to every individual
case. The most that can be hoped to attain
| is to do approximate justice in the great ma
jority of cases.
For example, q general service pension
bill giving every man, say, So month,
would not be fair, since it would put the
man who served but three months on an ex-
act level with the one who served four
years.
On the other hand strict per diem pen
sion bill would not be fair, since very many
thousand soldiers who rendered splendid
service in short terms would be cut of
with ridiculously small rating. For ex-
ample, the men who fought the bloody bat
tie of Wilson's Creek would get the insignif-
cant sum of 80 cents a month, and STAN
nard's heroic brigade of nine-months men
who stayed over their time in order to take
part in the battle of Gettysburg and who
did such splendid work on the flank Of
Picketts column, would get but S2T0 g
month.
THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE Pension Bill
is an effort to remedy the injustices that
would be wrought by all these bills. We dc
not claim for it perfection. We do not believe
it gives all by any means that the soldiers
are entitled to. We simply claim for it that
it is by far the best general pension bill yei
proposed-that it comes much nearer render
ing justice to the great body of Union vet
Grams; that it is vastly freer from defects
than any other, and whatever it falls short
in can be readily remedied by further legis-
lation, because it is great, long step in the
right direction.
This is not merely our opinion, but it is
also that of all the comrades who have consid-
cred the pension question earnestly and long:
who have investigated for themselves the
condition of the public mind the and attitude
of Congressman. The last National Encamp-
ment Endorsed THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE
Pension Bill by an all-but unanimous vote
We ask the comrades to lay our bill along
side of any other proposed measure and
carefully compare the two. We have M
doubt of the result
The course of wisdom-in fact the only
course that gives any hopes of success
for all comrades to unite solidly on this bill
and get it passed. Then we can go on and
get other things thatare due the comrades.
we waste our strength on diversity of meas
ures, we shall get nothing.