St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1889-02-14
PENSION ABUSES.

please take notice
PENSION ABUSES.
The American people are glad to
honor the soldiers who did service for
their country and very few are the
voices that are heard against pension
ing those who were i'll any way dis
abled by reason of such service. This
liberality is subject to fragrant abuse,
however, and there are doubtless
many undeserving ones who obtain
pensions. A case has recently been
brought to notice. A man enlisted
in the nine months men. He was at
once detailed to cook and never car
ried musket single day. He cut
his foot while splitting up kindling
wood, but soon recovered from this
injury. He has been granted a pen
sion of $40 a month with several
thousand dollars back pay This
would seem to be a case where the
generosity of the government is
abused.
These abuses remind one of Ter
rance McCarty's claim" which he so
lucidIy described in rhyme to the pen
sion agent:
These pensions are mighty convenient,
And easy to get, too, you see,
So thought would try one myself, sir,
And let Tim do the swearing for me-
So many are getting these pensions
That thought l would try it whack,
For somehow in jumping the bounties
Bedad, sir, hurried my back
THE NEW INSANE ASYLUM.
Early Friday morning a telegram
from Lieut. Gov. Woodbury. an
nounced that a majority of the COM
missioners had located the new in
sane asylum at Waterbury. A later
despatch from Judge HObSon stated
that the commission stood three to
two in favor of Waterbury. Our
people were not surprised at the in
telligence, but there is very deep
and general feeling that the commits
sion was unfairly constituted, that
this section of the state has not been
fairly treated, that the Governor
made up the commission with the
deliberate intention of having the
asylum located in his own town,
without reference to the wishes and
best interests of the whole state.
The reasons for this feeling and for
the general feeling of distrust that
existed at the time of the hearing in
this place are these:
BY act Ga of the public acts of
1888, the Governor, Lieut.. Governor,
and three trustees to be appointed
by the Governor, constituted board
with authority to purchase d suita-
BILE site and erect buildings thereon
for new asylum. 1t was thus in
the power of the Governor to ap-
point three out of the whole board
of five; but the law presumed that
the Governor would be fair and dis
interested in the appointment. The
legislature expected that he would
appoint representative men, and men
so diversely located as to view the
subject fairly from all sides. He was
urgently requested to appoint some
but declined to do so.
1t soon became known that Water
bury, the place of the Governors res
idence, sought to have the ASYLUM
located there. 1t was manifestlv in
the Governors power to so pack the
commission as to make Waterburv's
calling and election sure" The in
slant the commission was announc-
ed it was seen that four of the COM
missiOners were located within a cir
Gle whose centre would be Water
bury and whose circumference would
be not over 80 miles from Water
bury, while all the rest of the state
was ignored, except that Judge Hob
son was appointed from Essex coun-
ty- But Judge Hobson was init
mately associated with the Governor,
and his son has been for two years a
law student in the Governors office
at Waterbury, and through that in
fuence might reasonably have been
expected to favor that town.
But worse than all that, one of the
commissioners was appointed from
Stowe, a town which adjoins Water
bury, has its outlet by rail now at
Waterbury, goes there for all its bus
mess and IS about to be connected
with it by railroad Thus two of
the commissioners were from adjoin-