The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-12-02


which he illustrates how the present pen
sion laws are degrading to true patriotism.
Lieutenant FooTE is a veteran volunteers
and a pensioner, but the fact does not pre-
vent him from attacking the vicious sys-
tenn by which the unparalleled pension roll
continues to increase thirty-one years
after the close of the war; the system
which has brought into existence q vast
army Of pension agents who are industri-
ouslY engaged in adding names to the roll
for fees which the agents receive. There
is probably no good citizen in the United
States who objects to government
making liberal provision for the
men injured in the war, and
for the dependent families Of the killed aud
wounded. The question ought not to be
one of party or politics, and is not, SO far
as the Democrats are concerned. What
good citizens and patriots object to is the
reckless squandering of the public money!
upon unworthy persons and the granting
OF pensions to ex-soldiers who ought to
De ashamed to accept the bounty of the
nation under such circumstances-the
understood conditions being that the pen
sioner will support at the polls the party
"hicn IS most generous with the peoples
cash. Lieutenant FooTE has certainly
earned the right to speak and he raises his
voice against what he designates the degra-
datlon OF veterans and the cheapening of
PATRIOTISM. An extract from his paper
VIII illustrate whether or not his assault
upon the pension laws possesses merit.
as though II was feared that those who volun-
teereo 10 serve their country would not volun-
'eer 10 accept the bride thus offered them sixty
thousand pension attorneys have been commits
stoned about twenty thousand OF whom are in
active practice, to hunt up the old soldiers and
coax urge and tempt them TO make oath that
they are unable TO earn support by manual
labor. For this work OF corrupting the 10y
atty honor and honesty OF the Boys in Blue"
tne government offers g reward 10 the pension
attorney of SO each. These pension attorneys
are re enforced by Senators and Representa-
yves In Congress- who in one year have made
lo4Sl7 requests on the commissioner of pen
sions for the condition of claims Under
such conditions, the country need not be as
founded at the figures given By the commits
sioner Of pensions in his official report for the
fiscal year ending June 80 1891:
Number of divisions in force 616 161
Number OF claimants not on rolls 49,. 559u27
Number OF persons pensioned or seeking
to be pensioned.- ,235, 1S7
Number OF claims pending. including
original claimants, claims for in
creases, and duplicate claims -. 92S 473
Number OF rejected claims in files w 1866
Total number of claims requiring atten-
uoh ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. ,015 009
II is estimated that the organization is now
so we'll disciplined and the work SO well IN hand
that $4,000 claims can be allowed during the
fiscal year TO end June 30, 1899, and that sI33
4I3,OS5 can be distributed. The influence of the
act OF June "a, 1891. rs seen in the fact that
li4,157 pensioners were added 10 the rolls and
49,, ISL claims were placed on file, in one year
under that act; making total OF 5959sS claims
which, at Sl0 each. show the pension attorneys
interest realized from the passage of that law
TO BE- s., s69.Ss0. Amount paid as fees to attor-
neys during the year, g2, 769, 200 20.
The growth of the industry of corruption-the
industry of procuring claims to prosecute
against the government, in the name of its
benefciaries who should receive the full
amount paid by the government on their &C
count, not as collection forced by process of
law, but as cordial recognition of honorable
service-is strkingly illustrated by the fact
that In 1896 but 65 637 claims were allowed, and
now the promise is made that 350.UOO claims
may be allowed in 1872 Is it not time that
honorable men should hand themselves to-
gether 10 destroy the industry of corruption?