The Forrest City times., 1893-06-09
PENSION HEFOR N.

Probably the most important pension decision ever sent from the office of the Secretary of the Interior to the com missioner of pensions was hlled lew days since. It is believed by those high in authority in'the pension bu- reau that it will reduce the payments of pensions under the act of June 21, 1890. between S15,000. 900 and S20.O0O,- 900. It involves the repeal of an order issued by General Raum and approved by Assistant Secretary Bussey, and d return to the language of the statute requiring the disability, not of service origin, of an applicant for pension, to be such as to prevent the applicant from earning a support by manual la bor. Under the Raum order, any camp follower-men who never saw the ene- my. nor fired gun, but who, ln after years. in the natural pursuits of busl- ness or pleasure had an eye put out or finger broken, maysreceive a pension. A case was cited in The Republic, d few days ago which shows mp the in- consistency, as follows: ''ln Lancas- ter county. Pennsylvania, hired man lives on farm and works daily at less wages than an ablebodied man would receive. This man enlisted in 1861 for three years, was wounded in the Will derness campaign, X bullet,. tearing away part of the muscles of the thigh. Vow under the provisions of the old laws governing pensions, he IS properly reckoned one-thrd disabled for manual labor and receives S9 per month pen sion. Nobody can object, nor will any. one object to this pension to the battle scared veteran of the war. This vete- ran s employer owns farm worth S25,- GOO, and draws a pension under the act June P, 1890, of SIP a month. He is an able-bOdied man and does 0ne7tlird more work daily on his farm tban' his hired veteran. How does he get the SIP month pension? When Lee in- vaded Pennsylvania in 1862 63, he went out with the militia and served 90 days, l How does he get pension? Well some four or five years ago he was rid ing on railroad. A spark from the locomotive lodged in one eye and de stroyed the sight. This loss the medi- cal division here at Washington rated at Sl0 per month. While breaking a colt few years ago he broke his little finger by carelessness, and the medical division rated him g. month for this, making S12 d month. So you see that
 the real veteran of the war limps
 through life @ne-third bodily disabled from wound received in line of battle
 which endangered his life, and receives $8 per month, while the farmer, rich
 and able bodied, and injured while on business or pleasure bent, receives SIP per month. Now, the true soldier and
 well meaning citizen can See DO justice Tn this determination. The act of June 28, 1890, has been construed 10 cover cumulative disabilities of every concelyablelnature that human flesh is heir to or any accident that follows
 i'll the wake of tie peaceful pursuits of
 life. The Daseballest who breaks his
 little finger, or the woodchopper who careleSSly chops off his big toe, is rated S6 d month for both injuries, because
 forsooth, 30 years ago hs served 90 days in the militia. If he has catarrh of the head or a bad cough from a cold, he is rated at St more, making his pension SIP d month. There is no pretcnse that the man is disabled to any visible extent, within the meaning of the law"
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