Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1891-03-14

Various Reasons for Asking for - share
Of the Great Fund.

Various Reasons for Asking for n Share
Of the Great Fund.
The o lditv of human nature has found
an apt illustration in some of the man
claims for pension that have been re
ceived under the new law. Many men
have stretched their imaginations As
well as their consciences their efforts
to he placed on Uncle Sans great and
rapidly growing pension roll They
alege every disease and ailment known
to the science of medicine, and then urge
the claims with energetic persistency.
Some of the causes alleged are as odd as
they are interesting. An ex-soldier III
Ohio wrote:
81 don't exactly know what disease ]
am suffering from, but l do know that |
deserve a pension, as am stuff ring the
pains of death all over my body.
Another veteran in West Virginia
thinks he should receive a pension be-
cause as lie states it. during the war he
fe off 80 foot brid ,e, witch resulted in
"a general breakup up of his system.
A veteran of the Fourth Wisconsin was
salivated by'reason of an excessive use
of salt pork durin his army career, and
now he applies for pension because he
got salvation in tie army" as he puts it.
Under the provisions of the recently
passed dependent pension law it is only
necessary for the Claimant to show that
he is incapacitated from manual labor,
whether the causes are due to army
service or not, i'll order to have his name
placed on the rolls. To show his inabii
ity to perform manual labor the affida'
Wits of neighbors are necessary reciting
that fact.
A veteran in H ward county, Md,
sent the testimony of a neighbor, who no
doubt meant well enough. but did not
know how to expr himself. The lat
ter swore to the statement that he had
known the claimant 10 years, and that
she would not work unless he was COM
PEELED to. The wit Tess of course meant
to say hat claimant while really unable
to work by reaso, f his physical mfr
mites was freque thy compelled to at
tempt labor in order to sustain himself
The widow of n man who shouldered
a musket in the Pennsylvania Reserves
wanted pension. and was asked If her
husband was ever wounded.
"Oh. yes" she replied, "he received
an axe wound of the right foot "
Being asked to explain the crcum.
stances surrounding the wounding of
her better half, she said he cut his foot
while splitting wood. 1t was not during
the war this occurred but in 1879, at
their home in Pennsylvania. The pen
sion attorney WI. ted to know what
bearing such an occurrence could have
upon the pension law, and the widow
answered CURLY:
"Well, sir, the axe he cut his foot with
is the same one he brought home with
him from the war; 1t was an army
axe
A rather remarkable declaration was
made by Michigan veteran. He stated
under oath that he picked up shell on
the battlefield of the Wilderness and
took it into his tent. While holding the
missile between his knees examining it,
the shell exploded, badly SCATTERING his
nervous SYSTEM, but miraculously caus-
ing no other injury.
An eX, cannoneer of one of the regular
batteries claims that he stopped can
non ball with his abdomen, and has
since been greatly troubled with stom-
achic disorders. The ball, lie says, was
spent one, and came bounding along,
striking him squarely on the exterior of
the inner man and nearly knocking him
into the middle of the following week.
One Goranna, member of the we'll
known Garibaldi Guard, recites in his
application for pension that he was
"probed" by rebel bayo net at the Bull
Run fight, and Jersey cavalryman says
he was severed" by rebel saber at
Spottsylvania Court House. These are
only few of the queer causes for pen
sion that are daily received at the de-
partment. There are thousands of
others equally queer. -[Washington
Post