The Portland daily press., 1893-10-18

| SlOnS to the Twenty SeVentH NdoloHaI
Encampment, G. Al has been sent in
full to various G. Ar. Posts in this
State, and is being generally brought to
the attention of veterans. 1t is as fol-
lows A
aTo bind up the nations wounds; to
care for him who shall have borne the
| battle. and for his widow and orphan. :"
| Tins spoke Lincoln the Great, Lincoln
| the just, standing reyerently, with
uncovered head, in the immediate pres
euce of cruel and devastating war, that
had already lasted four years, the END
of which, although so near, his propheGlc
vision was not able to see: speaking TO,
for ard by the authority or the Amerl-
can people, concerning one OF the SUI
preine duties of the hour and the future,
when entering for the second time upon
the discharge of a trust committed to
him by that people.
Within few short weeks that end so
long hoped for had come; but his dying
ewes were not privileged to see the full
fruitioa of his labors, and the work SO
well begun and carried on by him fell
into their hands, charged with all the
trusts that the condition implied and re-
quired; and those who had borne the
battle" after so many days turned their
happy feet toward their long-deserted
homes"
A grateful nation met and received
them, and gladly showered. upon them
the plaudits and the honors they mad SO
we'll and hardly earned.
These bearers of the battle"were then,
in the main, in the prime and vlgor OF
young manhood, with all the honors
and posi- bilities of life before them, with
all the hopes born Of lofty courage and
| patriotic and successful achievement
| beating high III their bosoms; and they
! little needed and still less cared for ma
terial aid from the country they had
| preserved and made free, save where
Loss of Life or Limb
! or impaired health and broken rconstitu-
tions were presently visible; and for
such, in the main, ample and prompt
provision was made by that country.
But as the years passed by middle life
too frequently developed into premature
old age. and youth passed into ripper
years with galloping feet; and alas! too
soon the exultant and hearty soldier
| found that in the race of life there were
weights upon his feet and burdens upon
! his Shoulders, as the result OF premature
and over-heavy draughts upon his vitali-
ty, that sadly interfered with successful
/ competition in the crowd and jostle OF
| the fierce struggle for advancement.
And still the nation sought to keep
abreast of the necessities of her heroes,
and by additional enactments to meas
urably make provision for the necessities
| of those who had borne the battle"
A quarter of century had elapsed.
| The Young had become old, the middle
aged had become feeble, and the old had
crossed the river. Time, with its
| TeuthIess Fingers
had Joined hands with the ravages of
war, and the two combined had proved
burden upon the aging soldier greater
| than he could bear; and the cry went
abroad that in too many instances for
the credit, honor or good name of the
nation, many who had followed the flag
and faced the fiery furnace of cattle, had
| in want fallen by the wayside, and in
| the poorhouses were looking longlngly
for the relief and comfort OF the grave
Their sympathizing comrades and a
patriotic people, with one accord, voiced
| the sentiment that such was not hui
| man administering of the sacred trust
recognized and announced by Lincoln.
| AS to what the remedy should be, mems
minds differed. Many, possibly ma
lority of the survivors of the, war, be-
lieved that the time had fully come when
| the name of every honorably discharged
survivor should be placed upon the pen
sion roll. Others, denying the right
| that they should receive aught from
| their country through the pension roll,
stoutly resisted the demand.
1t was under such circumstances and
| dealing with these conflicting opinions,
that Congress enacted the e;, dlsa blilty pen
| sion law Of June. 1870 This act was ac-
| cepted by the surviving soldiers and by
the people in general as settlement of
| the question. Under the administration
| of that law,
| The Poor House Gave Up Its Veteran
he who had borne the battle was cared
/ for: and thus the the sacred trust &C
cepted and left as legacy to the natl on
was faithfully administered.
Within a few months we hear with
profound sorrow and regret that all this
must be changed; that the construction
! Of the law has been changed
/ and the regulations and rules in regard
| to proof and ratings, under which more
| than three hundred thousand claims have
been allowed and paid, have been re-
| voked, ard another construction OF the
law has been established, and new regu-
/ lations for proof and ratings, less favor
| able to claimants, have Deen ADOPTED,
that board of revision has been organ
lied in the Pension Office, charged with
| the duty of revising all these adjudicated
| claims in accordance with this new con-
| struction, and such changed regulations
as to proof aud ratings; that under these
| changes, thousands of pensions have
| been suspended without notice and
| thousands of pensioners have been
dropped from the rolls. 1t is claimed
that an adjudication of a pension settles
| nothing, That the Secretary of the Inte-
rior and Commissioner of Pensions are
invested by law with absolute power
over the pension roll, and that it is with
in their legal authority
| To Reopen and Revise Pensions
allowed by their predecessors.unde regu-
lations adopted by them, whenever they
see fit to change the rules of evidence
and the scale of ratings under which the
| allowance was made: and this in a
country of law where from the very in
fancy of the government of the United
| States, by its. organic law, is in terms
| denied the right to deprive any person OF
property without due process of law,
! notice and an opportunity to be heard,
and where in every other relation ano
| condition in life fraud is never presumed