St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-02-16

with looks gushing with sympathy, ard
then added:
II do pity you, my dear fellow; 81
table indeed. You most suffer fearfully:
and pray, what is your ailment?n
Turning furtive glance at me, and
edging away with nervous suspicion, he
replied:
''Well, Use tells you, young felier, lse
been sick duke lately-that's straight.
Been putting up at the hospital up yere,
and is getting weaker all the time. So,
you know, old Capt. Blank said l Orter
had more. and Ise just sworn to this af-
ferdavit. and brought ME fren's In to
help me out in establishing my need for
more stuff"
AS he uttered the last word he and
his companions had reached the street.
and once there, they had no time
for me.
This is simply an illustration. corrob-
orative, in measure, of what has been
asserted of the bum pensiOner. Draw
such conclusions as you will: the ways
of this horde are palpable enough.
Upon another occasion there came a
young man, scarce older than twenty
seven years. He had enlisted in the
army but few years ago. and his
affidavit and petition showed that he
had been discharged at Fort Leaven-
worth, Kan, as untitled for the service.
His plea for pension was that his
nerves were lncurably collapsed. The
atlantis who accompanied this young
man-who looked dissipated indeed
SwOre in effect that the applicant was
of nerve powers, and that his vocation
as bOokkeeper would have to be aban-
doned, etc.
When the young man came to sign
his name, there were no signs of wrecked
nerves, there was no tremOr in the
chirography, but ON the contrary the
signature was quick, ready, and a model
of smooth. legible penmanship. So was
it with his manner, his voice and action.
ana considering his case Oh the whole,
the symptoms of Jared nervous sys-
tenn were entirely absent. The petition
also cited an alleged cause for such
sad state of health, and to be generous,
we might say that it was ridiculous, but
an honest opinion would declare it
rank falsehOOd.
And so one might continue to enumer-
ate case after case of subjects who, by
trick and subterfuge, rob the govern
ment and keep up TO enormous proper
tions the annual pension draft upon the
people. Where there is even the slight
est tinge of pride or independence in
mans nature he would strive his utmost
to subsist upon his own industry 'ere he
would add his cry and wall for help to
the myriadS which now devour the pen
sion fund. But it seems that this dis
trict is cursed with that species of pen
sioner which is decidedly 'bum'-if the
vulgarisms may be pplied to a subject
which in itself warrants no aestheti-
clSm. 1t is this class of bounding idlerS
which feeds the life of the pension dis
bursement. and by link and tie
which the laws wide latitude and flexi-
bility permits, there is no certainty
when our bum pensioner will find the
object of his pilfering beyond his reach.
These observations were made, not
from the deck of prejudice or the masts
of malice, but from the humble posi-
ton and level where all the vulnerable
features had fair view.
Gods blessing, as ever, will shed
down upon our worthy fathers, whose
sacrifices are but meagerly acknowl-
edged by a pension grant, and the
only to reel in the misery of wOrldstrife.
may her conscience be at ease about her
paltry pittance far be it from dispar-
aging those to whom all are and must
be grateful; but to that horde of sneaks,
that vast and growing school of i'm
posters who are the very eXcrescenoeS
upon our economy, it is to them, and
them alone. that this district owes its
representation in the army OF the bum
penSiOner. HAROLD WITHRAE. "