The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1891-05-14


The following from the New York World,
replying to a letter from soldier, which, it
prelends, was written TO il, is good speci-
men Of commingled mass Of lalsehood, ma
lignaney, and ua-Amcricaniam, which the
soldier-hatiug papers are continually foist-
ing upon lhe public:
You fail to understand, perhaps that This bush
ness Of pcnsioning everybody promiscuousy was
only intended for Republicans, by Republicans, TO
pay mcn for voting thc Rrpub lean ticket. lisnut
that there is any trouble regarding tHe wounds you
did not receive or The disease you may have con-
tmcled, bat you must hayr failed 10 produce q
"proper political record" Have you not failed on
some occasion 10 vote ihe Republican Ticket Have
YOU Hot occasion earned tho il-vill ~ some
R'puhicou politician? That would account for a.
ID B. expected that within thc next - years there
vii be- expended for aud on behalf Of pensions TO
be raised hy taxes the people If this generation,
san amount CEepedng iH value the total wealth
saved y ly tuu Union army, In other words, ille
pensions tlni viii be paid between now and 1918
would have bought Ia 1869 every acre Of land Ia
the loyal State, every house everything Ia every
house. every animal e every kind, every vessel n
every port aud an stock nud plnut ct every kind
not owned by the Union army. ID you served un
tho army ior 30 days you are entitled under The
pension laws Co your share in this piunder Of The
property which you ure supposed 60 nave saved
though irons What il was saved is pretty hard
20 understand. This pension business j. case Of
salvage, where tHc salv0r takes all HINT hc sHNcs
aud greui deal more; hui, like Pizuro's division
Of the piuuder Of Peru some got more ihon their
share, and some gat Left. You seem 10 have got
lcn.
In one way this is artistic, and that is the
amount Of lies and venom crowded into SO
few lines The writer shows his utter igno-
rance Of the whole matter by asserting that
pensions are paid for 30 days service,
whereas everybody know that fully 30 days
and an honorable discharge are required. IL
is utterly untrue that politics plays any part
whatever in Lhe allowance Of pensions. The
Pension Bureau does no. know and cannot
know Of the politics Of an applicant Any
attempt to make discrimination on accounted
politics could not be kept secret for day,
and when discovered woald make such a
hornets nest that the determinations would be
driven out Of the Office in deserved disgrace.
The venom comes out when the writer
discusses the rights Of veterans to pensions.
Then be gives free reign to his unbounded
lying capacity, without thought about how
ridiculous be is making himself lie says
that the amount that viii be paid for pen
sions by 1915, would have bought every
particle Of prop srty there was in the loyal
States IN 1860 Now the census Of 1860 gave
The value Of the real and personal property
in the United States, as SlG,159,6 1G,0Gs, OF
which, in round numbers, S50O0,0 900 was
in the seeded States. This included tn,
valuation Of their slaves This would leay,
over 81 ,000O0000O- worth Of property il
the loyal portion Of the country. Inasmuch
as the veterans Of the war OF the rebellion
and their dependent ones, and the veterans
Of the Revolutionary War, that Of lsl2, and
with Mexico and the various Indian wars
have received alittle oyerS1, 0O,O00,000sincr
1860, and will not, in all probability, Teceiy'
as much more by 1915, it will be seen tha
the entire sum, instead Of being more thar
the valuation Of the property in the loya
portion Of the country in 1850, is not one
sixth Of it, But lie OF several billions 0
dollars is nothing to the World, when talkin
/ oF ,.anciupr ar co11farq
The World cannot understand what III
soldiers who saved the Nation really di
"saye" Against such un-American con
tempt for the value Of the rescued Govern
ment it is folly to argue.