San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-08-07
THE PENSION SHOWING.

the country at large and so severely
condemned by the democratic party
as the appropriation for pensions
That the southern democrats should
oppose such appropriation is natural
and it is not altogetherunnatural that
the northern democrat should follow
suit, Notwithstanding very consid-
cradle body of northern democrats
were in the union army. The quar-
ter of a century elapsed since the
close of.the war has largely damped
the democratic arder of union war
sentiment. The solid south has mar
ried the democratic north to itself in
hostility to pen sions appropriations,
and the prevalent feeling anon g
to pensions. 1t is also true that
this hostility is not universal and
that good democrats can be found
who feel that the Nation. Is simply
redeeming its pledges and paying it's
honest debts in making the most
generous provision for the Nations
defenders that was ever made by q
grateful people. But there are not
democrats enough of this kind to
count in the creation of spublic senti-
ment, and this sentiment is opposed
to the declarations and platforms Of
tho tu ic aton thot tho
republican party, particularly in the
far west and in the south, where
settlement is largely matter of post
war times, is not unit as to pensions
appropriations. Many good repuDli-
cans consider the policy OF the gov
eminent as an extreme one and view
with alarm the increase of pension
payments from IS, 500, 900 in 1865 to
$4,000, 900 in 1891. These good re-
puolicans are honestly of opinion that
the country is being impoverished to
pay the soldiers who saved it from
destruction thirty years ago, and see
no end to the drain that is to be made
upon the Nations resources for this
purpose. The alarm may be natural but
it is not so serious case as it is repre-
sented. A full quarter of a century
has passed since the close of the war
and it cannot but be that the limit
of pension paying is about reached.
Of the vast army mustered out of SER
vice in 1865, all have reached middle
life and thousands have passed their
threscOre and ten. Year by year the
number of survivors will be rapidly
decreased, and pensions be cores
pondingly diminished. The payment
of pensions has heret' fore kept pace
with the decrease of the interest pay
ments on the public debt in inverse
ratio, so that today interest and PEN
sions are about the same as they
were in 1865, few millions less.
While this is true the population and
wealth per capita have rapidly in
creased, so that the burden upon the
people is one-half what it was in 1865.
The recent statement of Commissioner
Raum on this matter is instructive.
IL is as follows:
"In 1865 the interest charge upon
le public debt was nearly Sl5l 800
900 and the pensions were s. 500, 900;
au aggregate of Sl60,000,000 The
p lblic creditor expected his interest,
ID It was paid by the people without
Datement. The population was then
30 000,0 900, and this annual charge of
interest ana pensions was 81 81 per
capita. The public debt is now al
most paid. 1t is no longer a
burden. The bondholders have re-
ceived$2 800, 179 ,00Oin interest and pre-
miums since. July l, 1851. The pen.
sioners have received Sl,2S4, 7l6, 900.
The present interest charge Ior 1891 is
S36 ,4O8 600, and the pensions for this
year will cost SIG, 900 600, or an annu-
al aggregate OF interest and pensions
of 1852 40S 900. We now have a popu-
lattOn OF So 900, 900, SO that this annual
expense OF interest and pensions is
81 "A per capita.
J The gratitude of this nation to s
| defenders should be measured by tho
value Of the service rendered and the
financial abilities of this people to re-.
spond to the demands of just pension
legislation.
When the war of the rebellion clos
ed the public debt amounted to about
one tenth of the wealth of the coun-
try. Now it amounts to about on g.
fittieth. Then the public debt was
s63 90 per capita. Now it is
1915 per capita. A new nation OF
100000 has been added to the
population. The states now span the
continent and are Traversed from
ocean to ocean by great lines of raj :.