The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1893-08-03
LYING ABOUT PENSIONS.

The veterans are being punished for
their dastardly work in '61-'65. Hoke
Smith has declared that he will save
SIS, ,OOO,O 900, and save it he must. To
this end pensioners are being dropped
from the roll without regard to their
services, their wounds or their present
condition.-Akron Beacon.
Generally speaking the Akron Bea-
con is a very reputable Republican
paper, not given to wholesale or mali
cious lying, but in the above paragraph
there is not one iota of truth. 1t can
not be that the Beacon utters these
wholesale slanders through ignorance.
We must conclude that these utter
aaces are deliberate and known to be
false, but put forth to deceive the igno-
rant and to create prejudice for party
advantage. Up to date not one worthy
soldier has had his pension stopped.
No soldier is in any danger of having
his pension stopped. Read the follow
ing extract from letter, which is Off
cial, from gentleman who is always a
true friend to the true soldier. The
letter is from Hon. John NJ. Reynolds,
Assistant Secretary of the Interior, to
Hon. Jacob F. Slagle of Pittsburg, and
can be found entire in the Pittsburg
Dispatch of August /, 1893. Wequote:
EXTRACT FROM JOHN NJ. REYNOLDS
LETTER.
A Board of Revision has been estab-
lished in the pension Office for the pur-
pose of revising the former adjudica-
tions under the act of $780, The men,
bers of this board are not all Democrats.
The chief is a Republican, and the
medical referee during the administra-
tion of Benjamin Harrison is a mem.
ber thereof. These occur to me as /
write. How many others are OF the
same political faith do not know; but
no honest pensioner need be alarmed
by their activity, as they are instructed
to carry out the law, as construed by
both administrations, and nothing
more.
i am amazed to hear it said that
judgment is pronounced on suspended
pensioners in advance of a full hear
ing, when the present practice is sane.
toned by the decisions and rulings of
the office for more than 20 years. No
judgment is pronounced before a full
investigation and hearing is accorded
the peDsioner. The government re-
examines. If the record shows an IL
legal pension claim, it is suspended,
awaiting further proof. The proceed
ing is merely preliminary.
/ therefore answer that suspensions
are under section of the act of June
27, 1890, and not general under all laws.
No re-examination has been ordered
of the 10000 claims of widows, minors
and dependent relatives, pensioned
under the same act, nor of the 62i, 900
claims allowed under prior laws for dis
abilities contracted in the service and
line of duty, and widows, minors and
dependent relatives of such pensioners,
and no re-examination whatever is for
a moment contemplated.
/ have answered fully, and, trust,
satisfactorily. In conclusion i might
add, my dear Judge, that this admins
tration is not hostile to the soldier who
fought for the Union. Were 1t fact,
would not remain here an instant.
The country cannot be deceived in the
nature of our work through excitement
or denunciation. We are at present en-
gagged in correcting abuses and placing
all pensioners under the act of June ~,
1890, on an equality. We are pledged