The sun., 1890-04-23

furnished the two-thirds vote necessary to
suspend the rules Of the House and pass the
Prison Pension bill. 1t Is fair to assume,
| therefore, as In the similar narrow defeat
Of the MORRILL, Age Pension bill. that when
| the measure comes up In regular order 1t
will be passed by a large majority. The
most that can be expected, apparently,
nowadays, Is to make big pension bill wait
for its turn on the calendar; instead OF being
rushed through under q suspension OF the
rules: and even that is no easy task
The project Of pensioning prisoners has
been before Congress- at least half dozen
years. One OF the early bills proposed
to pay each Union prisoner Of the army,
navy, or marine corps the sum Of 81
for each day Of confinement in Con-
federate prisons. Presently this sum was
raised to 50 per diem, while third step
added q life pension at the rate Of So a
month; and 1t was suggested to add 81
month more for each month OF imprisonment
exceeding six. Then it was proposed to give
arrears on the pension, which would have
included about twenty years; and these
arrears alone under one bill would have
amounted to from 81, 900 to $4,000 each for
soldiers imprisoned during periods varying
from six to twelve months. Afterward
more moderate turn was taken in this pro-
posed legislation. and the provision for
arrears was dropped.
In the present bill the allowance Of 81 q
day and the pension Of So a month are re-
tanned. AS to the former item. IL we as
sumo six months. or $50 days, as the aver
age term OF imprisonment, this would re-
quire $500 for each person. AS to the num-
Der OF surviving prisoners, an estimate OF
the House Pension Committee four years
ago put 1t at $4,000; but lately the Pension
Bureau has estimated 1t at $4,000. The for
mer number would require for the per diem
allowance 100000 In ALL and tho latter
$40, 900. But some think the average
term of captivity would not be moro
than ninety days. and this would
reduce the estimates one-half. The lump
sum would perhaps fall somewhere between
$5OO0OOO and $lO,OOo,OOo. That indeed.
might not be the end OF it, since an attempt
would probably be made to extend the per
diem allowance to the heirs Of those
who died in the prisons. But, with
out going beyond the present limits Of the
bill, an annual pension OF 500 year given
to $4,000 persons would cost So, 100000 year,
and given to 10000 persons it would add
$2,ss0 900 year to the ordinary pension list.
The ground on which this legislation was
originally put was that, as the preamble to !
ono OF the bills said, the prisoners suffered
great hardships and contracted disease hard |
to prove under existing pension laws" The
answer might be that those who were In |
prison were at least exempt from other
hardsh!ps, namely. those OF campaigning |
and from the perils OF battle. AS rejoinder |
the National Association OF Union Ex-Pris-
oners OF War has collected statistics TO show
that the death rate In the prisons was much |
greater than In campaigning. For example, |
Surgeon JOSEPH JONES. who had charge OF |
tho prison at Andersonville. says that the |
entire number OF Federal prisoners was |
about 4o.611. and during the period of near
seven months. from Feb. "a to Sept. 81, 9.t79 |
deaths were recorded; that is. during this |
period nearly one-fourth, or, more exactly, |
one In AZ, or 23.3 per cent" The association
added these considerations:
But even these nEureS fall very short of properly
representing the terrible mortality for the reason that
of tho total OF lU6ll prisoners received At Anderon
vile 3o0Oo in after tho opening OF tho great
campaigns May and the bulk of those that survived
were taken away in September, so that many thou.
in other prisons or on the road to them. OF
those who were lsft bohind At Andsrsonvile, one
in every three died In September and onehaf Of the
remainder diod in October. When It u remembered
that these vigorous, healthy young men nearly
ali from tho lighting lines OF Gems GRANT and sHKRHAE
and consequently seasoned to privAon and hardship
and that the average imprisonment In AnderonVille
as less than three mouths the destructive strain
the constitution of short connnement becomes
better understood.
Your memorIiists would therefore submit
denAble scientific truth that whore the exposure OF
body OF men privAuon and hardship has resulted in
killing fully one half OF them In An incredibly
short time the strAln on tho constitutions of
the survivors must have wrought hopeless and
injury. All physicians agree that
no man ever wholly RECEIVERS from any physical
strain or injury. Il 10 simply impossible that
the who managed TO survive what killed large
proportion OF his comrades should have his vital
snsrges lowered his capacity for work diminished and
his days shortened by what proved fatal TO them.
1t could not help disabling him snectuAy ~ Grip
pinE wound would have done
But while there is much truth in all this,
a great objection to such legislation Is that
1t puts premium upon surrender. 1t makes
it more lucrative tor soldiers to have been
tured the enemy. Wholly leaving out of con-
sideration surrenders duo to struggling,
even gallant troops captured without fault
OF their own ought not to be rewarded more
than others who fought and conquered the
enemy. That Is precedent which any
might we'll hesitate TO establish.
Qf course, where disability resulted from
It L. provided for under exist