Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1889-06-07
TAah. N1AsiiOs.s DlO1iR
10 Those Who Ohfered Their Lives to Save
Her In Her Hour OF RI
Need.
rhe Pension Question Most Ably Handled
by the 'tNstionai Tribune Ill an Open :
Letter to the Press. Il

Il 80 : "a Il
The Pension Question Most Ably Handled
by the ''Nstionai Tribune III an Open
Letter to the Press.
Tothe Press Of the United States: H.
GENrLEMEs-The men who sacrificed then
selves to put down the rebellion which INTENDED
the destruction OF the Nation respectfully ash
that you give them a day in court." They beg
that you viii give some time TO the serious con
sideration Of the pension question. In order that
you may understand q matter that Is very I'm
perfectly understood by a great proportion OF
those who attempt 10 write about it. The pres
eat is propitious time for such study. Their
Is no ether grea, question now before you fol
consideration. 1t viii be some mouths before
any political campaigns open. So that you no.
have the opportunity. to make the study wi,hou
distraction by any pressing questions outside OF
It.. .s,5
II Is Of the utmost Importance 10 them that You
make the study, and be in position to speak in
tell!gently upon It, when cong ress shall take til,
question up, as it will certainly do shortly attet
its organization next December They are al
growing old. Every year the grim old reaper
Death cuts u constantly wiisning swath through
their thinning ranks Every years delay in the
settlement of tho question means a ruthless de,
Mini OF justice to tens OF thousands Of then, for
they viii have gone beyond the reach Of earthly
Justice and gratitude as well as of injustice and
ingrntitude. They want your powerful assist
ance in securing the passage by congress at Its
next session of legislation that will render them
approximate justice.
They ask OF you that you give the pension
system the same careful Investigation and
analysis that you give the tariff system or the
national Finances In those you are mot fright
ened b. an aggregate of millions, because.
with Nation SO great RS onrs all figures have
tendency TO run into millions, which,, however,
represent but small sums for each individual.
We will take up first the great argument OF the
soldier haters This country Is now spending
sS0.G0o,0 600 year for pensions, or a larger sum
than any of the soldier ridden countries of
Europe pay for their enormous military estnb.
iishments"
We will admit that 80 00o,0 is all enormous
sum. But there are facts which should be con-
sidered In connection with this which will
change its significance 1t represents payments
to the survivors OF an army fully twice as large
as any put In the field by my ma ton. which did
lost more killed and wounded than has been the
case In Europe III the las. three. quarters ola
century This is startling. hut /. is indispua-
bic. Since the close Of the Napoleonic wars in
1915, all the great countries of Europe-Great
Britain, France, Germany, Austro- Hungary.
Russia Italy, Spain. Portugal, Holland and the
Scandinavian countries. with their millions Of
armed men. and their frequent wars, have not
altogether fought rs many and as bloody battles,
killed and wounded as many men, and subjected
their armies to such strains as we did the Union
soldiers from 1861 to 1868. You can confirm this
statement BY very cursory examination 2. $780,
272 mon served an average Of three years during
our war In this century 10 other war has lasted
so long, or been filed with such continuous and
sangui.Inry fighting while it did last From
April Ia. 1861. to May &c. 1865, the enormous
number Of 1891 battles aud skirmshes were
fought-many Of them more destructive Of
human life than any battles IN modern history.
In the prosecution of the war more than AGO.
900 men lost their lives This is double the
number OF the entire army OF Great Britain
$4,000 moro than there in that Of Austro Hunga-
~, and four tfths as many France Germa-
ny have OH their rolls Il Is more men than
Napoleon arraycd against the famous Sixth
Coalition OF England, Russia. Prussia. Sweden
and Spain, and twice us many rs he Ind under
him when he began his last campaign. which
ended at Waterloo. Our war lasted nearly seven
times as long as the Franco. prussian struggle.
and we lost over six times as many killed on the
field OF battle as the Germans lost in overlunnlng
the whole Of France. These some .'compari-
sons with European countries" whic. should be
made when considering the aggregate cost ofthe
pension roll. Germany spends S!O5,6l4 600,
France sl2l 100000. Italy SILL QUO 900 Russia sl2a-
OO0o1O. Great Bl itain SOL 600, 600 Austrc Hunga-
~ $4,000 O0a yenr-Si32, 00o, COO In al,-il sup
porting armies which in seventy five years have
not done altogether as much hard lighting az the
armies to which these pensioners who receive
So 600, 600 belonged did in fonr years.
We cannot forbear one more comparison with
European standards to show how much bloodier
was the fighting of our own soldiers The charge
OF the light Brigade at Balnklava stands out iii
the history of all European wars as the most
mur,lerous loss ever sustained hy single Urgail-
ization in battle. II has been sung about, paint
ed in pictures, and made the subject Of countless
pieces Of mastery word-painting. What are the
exact figures? 1t started upon The charge with
673 men, aud lost ll3 killed and 1874 wounded
total 247, or 1867 per cent Of its number. This
was Its first and only battle. After that 1t rested
on its laurels. There were scores Of regiments
in our army that lost more heavily than this in
single engagements, after having suffered Sc
verely before, and which went OH to other bat-
ties where they suffered still more. Take, for
example, the LIST MIMI, which, after having
fought valiantly at the first Bull Run, on the
Peninsula, at the second Bull Run. Antie am,
Fredericksburg and characteristics found It.
self Ut Gettysburg, with the t.oso men Il started
out with reduced to 2G2. At a critical point in
the battle, Hancock found II necessary to sacrl-
flee tin order to gain a few minutes time, He
ordered It to charge into an overwhelming mass
OF the enemy, and capture their colors, which 1t
did, though almost annihilated. It lost - killed
} or MORALLY wounded. and 149 wounded-a24 III
all. or SO per cent? This did not stop its fighting
either, for 1t lost IN nearly every battle the Army
0fthe Potomac fought aiterward. The Light
Brigade's loss In killed was 1868 per cent. Losses
equal to the world famou, Light Brigade's were
ofordinary occurrence in.our war. There were
hundreds Of other regiments which lest in single
battles nearly as large percentage as those we
have enumerated. And, MS we have said with
reference Is the lst Minnesota, this did not begin
and end their fighting. as the Light Brisade's
charge did It's. They went right OF, for years,
lighting III the same determined way. Looking
o.tl,is exhibit ono would shy that man who
went through this terrible fighting should have
no difficulty In being. placed OF, the pension roll
at once, and at a comfortable allowance. How
sadly otherwise arethe facts. The report Of the
Commissioner Of Pensions for 1888 shows that the
3N0s9 Invalid pensioners who were put OH the
roll that year had been struggling to get there
for from, one TO twenty six ytars-more than hal.
having been under examination for i've years or
longer. iz4 a
e Then rs to the; muI,neenre of The provision
which tho veterans secure alter their years Of
/ struggle 10 get on the rolls One would say that
Z not less than q comfortable support was deserved
by every man shown 10 have been disabled by
participation I'll those years Of fightins where 1t
: was common happening for one man; in every
fout or five 70 be killed and mos, OF the rernain-
\ der more or less severely wounded Who doubts
Il for example. that twas the duty Of the British
& Government 10 secure rem want for the rest Of
bis life every man in the Light Brigade who went
through the fight, whore ] Il, 8 Of the number
y was killed? But when we study the report of
/ the Commissioner Of Pensions we find the vast
number OF o. COO pensioners OF one. tenth o. The
entire number, GET hut 81 a month or less; lo3..
no or nearly sone.tbird The entire number get
49,