The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1893-07-22

The Pensions Policy.
Now that tue policy of the Demo
cratic administration with reference
to pensions is taking shape in defn-
tic acts, there is no longer any ex-
cuse for misunderstanding or misrep-
resenting it. What that policy would
be was long ago foreshadowed by
Mr.. Cleveland, whep he declared that
the pension roll should be a roll G.
honor. What has been done thus far
to so purge it as that it shall become
a roll of honor. deserves and will re-
ceive the applause Of every honest
veteran in the land, and especially
of those veterans who are drawing
pensions, with proper legal and NOR
al title, to ease their declining years
in their journey to the grave; for so
long as it is known that there are
pensions being fraudulently drawn,
the whole pensions business will be
tainted, and many will not take heed
to discriminate between the just and
the unjust pensions, the deserving
and the undeserving claimants, but
will condemn and denounce them all
1t has been recklessly and falsely
charged that the Democratic party
is opposed to the whole pensions pol
icy, but nobody believes the accuse.
tion, those who profess to being big
oted partisans, incapable of admit
ting the truth as to their opponents,
and unworthy a moments consider.
alton in the minds of honest men.
Every platform the Democrats have
adopted, the votes on score of ocea-
sions of the Democratic members of
Congress, the course of the Pension
office when Mr.. Cleveland was Presi-
dent the first time-all these go CON
clusively to show that there could be
no greater degree of honorable liber-
atty to the old soldier than that
which the whole Democratic party is
willing to accord and has accorded.
What the Democratic party is after
I is the swindling pension shark, the
fraudulent pensioner, the man who
has lied and sworn to lie to get a
pension he never earned and does not
now deserve or need.
And in this pursuit the new Com.
missioner, Judge Lochren, has done
What? He has instructed the
paymasters under him to withhold
payments in cases where the records
of the Departments, which have been
carefully examined, and other sources
of information, show
That the pensioner is on the rolls
as a deserter,
That he did not serve the time
fixed in the law as the shortest on
which pension is allowable;
That he has sworn to total disabil-
ity and has been drawing total
disability pension, while he is not in
the least incapacitated for the per-
Torrance of his daily labor;
That women drawing pensions as
soldiers widows, are not widows,
having married again.
Over 100000 cases have been
found as to which one or the other of
these facts appear on record and, as
already stated, in such cases the pay
masters have been instructed to with
hold payments until the pensioners
can prove that that which stamps
their pensions as fraudulently gotten,
is error, and can clear up that error.
What honest man can complain OF
this2 What honest old soldier can
complain Of it? What soldier, who
asks credit for the patriotism that
led him into the army, and the cour-
age of his conduct when he got there,
will hesitate to applaud it, as the on.
ly course consistent with fairness to
him and to the taxpayers?
The Democratic party is, always
was and always will be as faithful
and dutiful to the old soldier as any
other party, and in respect of the fact
that it's policy seeks to separate the
frauds from the patriots, it is his on
ly true friend among the parties.