Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1893-01-31
RETRENCHMENT WILL SOON


sions has turned The cry for
more pensions and higher PEN
sions has always been needed up
to the present time but the people
have begun to realize hat there
is something radically wrong with
the pension system when pension
appropriations require more than
one third of the entire amount
paid out by the government for
all purposes.
The annual appropriation for
pensions is about twice as much
as it costs to u the entire postal
system Of the country, including
the pay of the hundred thousand
employees and the large sums paid
to railway, steamboat and stage
companies for the transportation
of the mails and all the incidental
expenses of the department. Pen
sion payments annually amount
to many times the sum paid by
the government for the mainte-
nance of the regular army in the
field.
If the pension payments we're
confined to old soldiers unable to
make q living and to their desti-
tute widows and orphans, there
are not half a dozen people in
this whole country who would OBJ
ject to the payment of pensions
sufficient to maintain them COM
fortably. The fact is that more
than half the pensions are paid to
men and women who are capable
of earning their own living and
who, in fact, do so.
The republican party has never
neglected an opportunity to in
crease pensions or to extend the
scope of the pension laws in order
to secure and retain the support
of the Grand Army of the Repub-
lie and the sons and daughters of
veterans. Without their support
the republican party could not
have carried a single presidential
election within the past twenty
years and now that party is in
the minority with the votes of all
these pensioners.
1t remained for the democratic
members of the subcommittee on
appropriations in the house of
representatives to make the first
move toward retrenchment in pen
sions. That committee has adopt
ed several amendments to the pen
sion law of 1890, among which are
the following: That no widow
shall receive a pension under the
act of 1890, unless married to the
soldier prior to 1870; that no per-
son shall receive a pension under
the act of 1890, unless disabled in
the service from manual labor,
and in receipt of an income of
less than 5000 a year, and that no
nonresident of the United States
shall receive a pension, unless he
was actually disabled in the SER
vice. These amendments, if adopt
ed, will cut off many millions of
dollars from the pension sppro-
priations and will relieve the la
boring people of this country from
supporting others as capable of
earning a living as themselves
who are receiving pensions from
the government.
The action of the sub-commit-
tee is a step in the right direction
and the matter ought not to be
dropped until every name is taken
from the pension rolls except dis
abled soldiers who are unable to
earn a living and who have no in
come. Considering the fact that
it has been nearly % years since
the close Of the war, the orphans,
or at least most of them, ought, by
this time, to be able to support
themselves and most of the wild
ows have had time to marry
again.
The pension steal-it might as
we'll be called by its right name
is the most gigantic steal ever per-
petrated on this government and
the sooner the payment of pensions
is limited tn deserving soldiers the
better.
THE SILVER SITUATION.
1t is now reasonably certain
that the Sherman act will not be
repealed at this session of con-