The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1893-01-05
OUR PART OF THE PENSIONS.


A pension is a gratuity and congress
has been rather too gratuitous with
the peoples money. Every session
the causes for allowing pensions have
been increased and widened to such
an extent that the next thing the
aunts and cousins of soldiers in
federal army will be asking for pen
sions on the ground OF send
ing their relatives to the
front. Pensions have been granted
wholly upon the persistent and often
audacious application OF pensioners
until it has become kind OF fixed
principle that they are to be dictated
by those receiving them. This is d
false principle; as pensions are gratui-
ties they ought to be given upon the
assent of the donors. In other words,
il the people of the United States
want to pension soldiers Of the Federal
army, they, the people, mark you,
ought to be consulted in regard to the
class to be pepsioned aid the amount
each OF the class should receive Our
representatives in congress have not
only been governed by this false prin-
ciple in giving according to the de-
mand OF the ex- soldiers but they have
given too literally, they have given
more .han their constituents who
have 10 foot the bills are either willing
too without taking into
account the frauds that have been
perpetrated on the pension bureau by
the collision and connivance OF the
officers Of the bureau.
Commissioner Raum has held his
position despite the many protests and
the many exposures OF his want of ca
pacity and integrity He has held it
simply by his closing his eyes to the
short cuts taken by some of the soldier
element and their attorneys, thereby
ingratiating himselfinto popular favor
with the Grand Army of the Republic.
Ii is an open secret in Washington
that the fear OF this voting element
has fortified him against all attacks.
But outside of this matter the whole |
thing has been managed on an entirely
erroneous presumption, and is
that those to be pensioned should die
tate the extent of the pension. They
say that we down here have nothing to |
do with II. 1t is true we do not re-
ceive any of the pension money, but
we have something to 60 with 1t be-
cause we pay our proportion
of the pension money and have
just as much right to say what we
are willing to give as the people Of the |
states. Nor are we the least
mean about it in the south. We are :,
very willing to pay our share of the
pensions TO soldiers and to the wives
and widows of those who were disab-
led or killed during the war or to those
who by reason OF service in the army OF
VIC Oblltd plhtCo ttt w
earn comfortable support for them
selves or their families. But we draw
the line there and we want our repre-
sentatives to understand us, in fast we
draw two lines; we want the pension
bureau honestly administered, and
we want pensions given only to the
deserving. The former We reasonably
expect under Mr.. Cieveland's admins
5ration, and in regard to the latter our
must understand we
ire not in favor of giving too literally
merely because we happened to be on
he other side, and it might look like
We were governed by an illiberal feel
ng towards the Union soldiers
There is no sentiment about it. 1t
S as an honest debt even if it is gra-
given, and we are willing to
lelp pay it, but we want to pay it
nly to the deserving.
AND now let us all pull Off our coats {
nd go to work for Austin. This year