The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1889-05-02
AN OPEN LErTER.-Iv.

non. James tanner, Commissioner u IeRSt0HS'
CosIRADE: Faithful are the wounds of
friend" says the good old proverb, but
the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." How
faithful are your wounds more than quar-
ter of century of devoted service to " him
who bore the battle" and to his widow and
orphans abundantIy testifes. You have
filed all those years with the most unself-
ish devotion to your comrades, and no call
upon you for help has failed to meet an
instant and effective response. Among the
many able and jealous friends of the vet
Grams you stand in the front rank, on the
right Of the company, and no one disputes
your title to that place.
Your appointment was recognition of
the widespread esteem of your cOmradeship,
and of the unmistakable desire of the vet
Grams all over the country that you be put
in charge of the administration of the Ma
TONS justice to her soldiers.
1t is the first time in the history of the
Pension Bureau that the veterans have had at
Its head one so entirely in accord with them
in all things. 1t is the first time that they
have had there a private soldier, cruelty
MANNED in battle, of National prominence
in the GAR, who was more of a comrade
than a politician, and who was well known
to the great mass of them before entering
Office.
Consequently, they are all watching you
with intense and complicated emotions. As
comrades they are exceedingly anxious that
your administration shall be brilliant sue
cess, and far eclipse that of any of your pre-
decessors. They hope and believe that you
viii surmount the obstacles which have been
such stumbling-blocks in the way of those
who have gone before you, and which have
made the conduct of the Pension Bureau so
bitterly unsatisfactory. For your own
credit and that of the Grand Army of the
Republic, of which you are the representa-
tive, they want your official career to be
crowned with the highest attainable success
For themselves, personally, they hope that
you will succeed in doing them the Justice
the laws intend. That is all. They know
that you cannot make or amend laws: that
is the province of Congress alone. But
they expect that you will do what has never
been done before: that is, give them the full
benefit of those laws, and make the policy of
the Pension Bureau rise to the level of the
spirit and intent of the legislation enacted
by Congress.
They are fully aware of the difficulties
that you will encounter-that your are, in
fact, already encOuntering.
To begin with, the newspapers which
regard the veterans as st. Patrick regarded
the snakes he found in Ireland began their
abuse Of you the moment that it seemed
likely you would be appointed, and every
movement yoS>have made looking toward
an improvement of methods has stirred up
| the venomous fountains of their BEING.
Whatever these selfish and venial organs of
the sordid money-centers can do to embar-
rass you, and prejudice Congress, the people
and your official superiors against you, viii
be done with an industry that passeth I'M
derstanding Previous success in driving
away from the right path men who have en-
tered Office fully intending to do justice to
the veterans encourages them to put forth
their highest efforts. We are confident that
the veterans will be able to say complacently
to them: "Vipers, ye gnaw a file."
Then, the Pension Bureau itself presents
difficulties like some of the labors of Her.
cules. 1t has been sedulously trained and
organized against doing the very thing il
was created to do. 1t was created to give
pensions to men who were injured in the
military or naval service Its own records
show that it has been operated to deny pen
| l. -. e 1.