The National tribune., 1891-12-31
"PENsIONs AGAIN.-TIME TO CALL A
HALT"

"PENsIOSs AGAIN.-TIME TO CALL A
HALT"
Under this head Gen II. w. Slocum con-
tributes an article to the January Forum,
which is chiefly remarkable as showing how
much he does not know Of the subject. and
how thoroughly he misunderstands the facts
he attempts to present.
For example, taking up as his FIRST ques-
tiOn. whether the Government has been
generous or illiberal with its veterans, he
asserts the former, and endeavors TO prove
it by citing figures from the report of the
Commissioner Of Pensions showing that there
were s5 9s6 pensioners on the roll in 1865,
to 676,1GO in 1891 that the Government
paid Ss525153 for pensions in le65 TO
Sl1s,54s, ,959 in 1891.
Very illogically, he imagines that these
figures are conclusive as to National gen.
erosity. Their fatal defect is that they
show no relation TO other numbers. Eight
million dollars a year might be more ex-
travaganily generous than S1ls,OO0,0O0. The
all-important fact, which Gen. Slocum en-
tirely ignores, is that there were 100000
men in the Union army, that they fought
desperately and continuously for four years,
and that the wounded and disabled from
such an enormous body Of men, who fought
so long and stubbornly, must be beyond all
precedent-iust as nueh as the war they
waged was beyond all precedent. Consider
ing all this the wonder il not that there are
so many pensioners but so few; not that so
much money goes out for pensions, bat that
there is not vastly more.
The General then gives the pension ap-
preparations for Great Britain for 1891,
which aggregate c., ,4lO,s22 or S27,O54 40.
He does not state, as he should, that this
pension roll is nearly one-third the annual
value Of our pension roll for the same year,
the Commissioner Of Pensions report giving
the latter at Ss9,2l7,2OO, aud that our roll
represents more hard fighting and more men
Killed on The Jield Of battle than England had
iR the eight centuries that she had been nation.
These are historical facts that so well in
formed a man as Gen. Slocum should not be
ignorant Of We lost more men killed in
single campaigns-lile that Of Yicllsburg-
than England lost in the only real war she
has fought fer 76 years-that Of the Crimea.
The General goes on to say:
In 1891 France pays for military pensions ll9 2s5,
Jos fpncs or So. .s57 OO0
Iu 1891 Tie Empire OF Germany pays for military
and invalid pensions C]7g5, I56 marks, or about
SIS ess 600
In 1891 Austria pays for military pensions 2 l90-
7ls forms, or about SI2.245O00.
In ISIS Russia pays 23ig0OOO rubles or about
Sl6O0le0. j. Is safe 10 say t4at the pension roll
OF IIe Uued States to day is far greater than those
Of England, France, Germany. Russia aud Austria
comhuod. And yet il is said % Republics are un-
grateful.
IL is "saie TO say nothing Of the kind,
for it is grossly incorrect. la the first place,
he has reduced, apparently wilfuliy, all the
items. He counts the "e5, ,4lOs2 Of the Brit
ish pension roll as $25, ,0OO, 600" whereas it is
S2z05f,1l0, an error of over 81, 100000. Then
he counts Gennany's 63,796, 456 marks as
about Sl3,2S3OOO," when they are really
Sl5,lsi, 1868, another understatement Of
nearly S2,OOOOOO. These corrections would
make the total OF the pension rolls Of the
five countries