The Indianapolis journal., 1893-09-07

w. Rock kwell. Terre Haute. Andersonville.
Presidents Anderson convened the associa-
introduced Past National President Will
liams. who spoke words of welcome to his
comrades, and thanked them cordially for
their psssence. After which he announced
that Preside mt Anderson would deliver bis
annual address. The presidents address
was lengthy exposition of what those
who assembled had suffered during the
war. He spoke feelingly of the absent
ones who had passed away since the last
meeting of the association, and suggested
that memorial resolutions be prepared
adopted and spread on the records of the
association. Speaking of pensions for ex-
prisoners he said:
when elected to the position of presi-
dent of this honorable association, it was
with q full realization that the times were
not suspicious for the interests OF the Union
soldiers. bot / entered upon the duties fully
determined to do verything possible with
terviews were had with the chairman and
members of the House committee on pen
sions. and the claims of the prisoners of
war. as asked in our bill, urged. Upon In
vestigation it was found that the bill
adopted at Detroit had never been intro
duced into either branch of Congress. there
fore, never printed. nor entered on the
calendar. / Immediately took the proper
steps to have the bill introduced. and IL
was presented by Mr.. Belknap. Feb. 81.
1898, and referred to the committee on mill
tary affairs. The second session of the
Fifty-second Congress being a short one.
IL was not possible CT that late date to get
the committee to even consider it. / have
taken preparatory steps to have the bill
reintroduced In both Senate and House.
Has the government folfiiled the pledges
made TO you over thirty-two years agof
Are you being cherished and cared for in
your old age by the governments you sacri-
iced so much to eaves Do you have the
preference IN your application for place or
employment Have you yet received
warrant for 16O acres of landi Echo AN
swers.
Have each and all Of you received tho
pension you are so richly entitled TO, and
were so faithfully promisedi L fear not.
and furthermore. so long as the Southern
press and the soldier-hating organs of the
North are permitted to. or will persist in
publishing to their readers statements that
are grossly false. thereby misleading the
people. and thus keeping alive the old SEQ
ing them against the old veteran. l sppre-
bend that you never WILL An eX-confed-
crate in tho House of Representatives
March 2, 1892. said the payment
s srd on'Gn blight so sh. South bessa:s na:s
IL Is drawn not from the wealth OF prop
erty of the country, but from It's consumers
1t Is transferred from the South TO the
homes of these soldiers" Another
Southern member in the House, March 23,
1892. said: The saddest thing in life to
me Is TO see poor confederate veteran as
he drags himself from his CABIN to the field
to labor to earn bread for his wife and
children. and to realize that One-twelfth Of
all he makes must be taken from him to
pension some camp follower or bounty
jumper Referring to the large
appropriation for pensions. he says: The
amount is more than g. per capita,
OF OF %HsS aisS.ns 1aan 0r vsns shs sms snsii
DER cent he says. goes back
TO Alabama for we have few pensioners,
and those We DO have are not. as q rule. en-
titled TO the money they receive"
He further said: When the people can no
longer stand the oppression. when they
can no longer remain silent; when the time
comes as believe it Will, IL they are not
given relief, that the masses in this coun-
try will rise MP and demand justice.
L warn you. gentlemen. not to tempt them
too far
This is precisely the kind of talk that
was heard N Congress- in 1851; but before
Indulging it any further he would do well
TO pause and reflect that, AS the three
tailors of Tooley street were not ''tbe
people," neither are the ex-confederates
for whom he speaks. nor any other
posed to the Day yment of pensions to Union
veterans. The real people of this country.
who have the right and tho power TO Iule
it, make uD majority OF the whole Nation,
ana it has been demonstrated that they are
overw helmingly In favor of the mainte-
nance of the Union. and of generous treat
ment to the veterans rho fought and suf-
fered on behalf of that Union. They will
see to it that the Union IS not des-
troyed now by snti-pension prayers any
moro than by the same class arrsyed as dis
unionists over thirty years ago.
''Denunciations of Union soldiers and re-
newed threats of dismem beriDg the Union
when coupled with fraud and misrepresent-
ations will soon make the load too heavy
for patriotic people to bear.
''But let US see whether the South is being
impoverished. as claimed. and her people
'beggarly pensioners.' In proof of the
fallacy and untruthfulness of such state
ment. quote from Comrade Corporal Tan
ner. who is posted as few other men are on
the pension question. He says:
1t is claimed by many Southern Demo-
Gratis. and not q few Northern ones. that
the South is taxed TO pay pensions to the
pensioners of the North The figures In
the Corporaps note book tell O different
story.
las he has figured it out the Southern
States are greatly benefited by the pension
system. Texas paid to the government last
year S6O6375 of internal revenue taxes and
received in pensions Se05. $50. South Caro-
lima paid S11.s12 revenue taxes and received
Sill. l29 IN pensions Tennessee contributed
Sl.21s. .s62 and drew out in pensions 80. .34I.-
!0S. Ala5ama's revenue taxes were SlO6 I'll:
her pension receipts were 2i00. 729 Arkan-
ses paid S95. 1855 revenue taxes and re-
ceived in pensions 81. .470. 90l.77. West Vir-
glnia's revenue tax was $50. .5Ss 80. and the
State was paid in pensions S.l5s, T03. II
Louisiana and Mississippi together paid
S734 s:SS22 % and received SS47. .552. ~ IN pen
sioDs. Maryland. Delaware and the Dis
trict of Columbia paid S3. 2Ss. S7S. II in in
ternal revenue taxes and received in pen.
sions "a. go. .S90.13.
The Southern pensions are paid largely
to veterans of the Mexican war and IT ia
shown by the above that the South re-
eeives more In pensions from the edsral
government every year than she pays TO &c
III taxes. by over s60000 900 annually.
IL entreat the loyal people TO remember
that large proportion of those benefited