The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1894-06-08
PENSIONS ,NJuSIiCES.
The Cleveland Administrator Trcatmena
of Old Soldiers.

I
of Old Soldiers.
In a Decoration day address al
Mound City, Ill, eight miles from
Cairo), Judge Charles ID. Long, of the
Michigan supreme court. in the course
/ of an eloquent grafton made the fol-
lowing pointed reference to the treat
ment received by the old soldiers al
! the hands of the present administra-
\ ton:
Pensions have been granted TO most OF
/ those who are disabled. well to ths
/ widows and orphans Of those they laft behind
\ The representatives Of the people in the IA
tional congress and the executives Of this gov
1 ernmens have since the close Of the war framed
/ laws most just and equitable for the payment OF
/ pensions to the nations protectors We have
/ had no fault to find with this legislation, or
with the construction given to it, until of late
I The two great political parties have ct all
times declared in their platforms that they
we're in favor Of liberal pensions.
The members of the Grand Army OF the Re-
| public and the old soldiers OF the country have
believed that these promises were made in good
/ faith and not intended as a delusiOu and .
/ snare At the commencement OF the war our
comrades were not all Of one political faith
I and since its close they have been separated to
/ some extent on political lines We do not
/ quarrel with each other In our grand army
life over political Affairs or question each other
as to the matter Of religious beliefs We
/ were q band OF brothers then and We continus
to be.
I 1T IL but natural that this body Of men who
/ for years we're associated In the intimate re-
I latiouship Of soldiers in a common cause and
shared alike those hardships and dangers and
/ the glory which Is their common heritage.
I should remember their comrades and love and
I honor them. and regard 1t Imperative
duty to see that justice Is meted out- and THAI
I their crippled comrades and those who came
I out OF the service with health shattered and
l broken. should be placed under the special
care and protection Of the government and OF
society, and that the widows and orphans OF
I deceased soldiers should be cared for and their
necessities supplied This Is the especial work
/ of the Grand Army Of the Republic and tha
{ Women's Relief Corps, that grand auxiliary to
our order.
There Is another principle. too In the order
that to perpetuate the spirit Of allegiance to
/ the government; to cherish respect for and
I fidelity 10 its laws: to frown upon corruption
and dishonesty In the administration Of ma
tional affairs. and to discourage whatever i'm
/ pairs the permanency Of our free institutions
/ or excites the spirit of Instruction, treason
and rebellion
With these objects in view We have from
| year 70 year urged upon congress the care Of
disabled comrades and nobly. generously have
our petitions been met; but now il has come To
pass that our petitions are unavailing. Here In
[ the presence of our dead may inquire into
the csuses-why it Is that those who for tbs
time being are placed n authority over Us do
not listen to our petitions. and why rv iings ars
being made which bring desOlation, want and
restitution into 50 many peaceful homes Here
tofore pension rulings have been most Just and
equitable In most cases to old soldiers Now
such construction is being placed upon pension
legislation that thousands are being stricken
from the rolls, and many more thousands are
being reduced to q mere pittance-
BY what authority is this donei Are the
people Of this nation demanding it? Do either
OF the two great political parties Of the country
demand 1t: Has any political party demanded
IL in its platform, We answer. no. And yes
the pension bureau. with its army Of over two
thousand clerks. has been kept busy for mora
than year, not in the examination Of the five
hundred thousand claims now pending. and
upon which the dust OF years is accommodating.
but in the examination Of claims already al
lowed and under which payments are being
made. to the end that some fact or some proof
may be unearthed to give some slight show OF
reason for striking pensioners from the rolls
or reducing them; and IL no reason. In fact, can
be found then by an Interpretation OF the acts
OF congress, which had never before been
heard OF.
During the first SIX months OF the preseus
administration the net gain in the pension roll
was one hundred and thirty. while under ths
/ last year Of the preceding administration
there was net gain Of more than two hundred
thousand. Why are not the old claims exam
I ired2 There Is an army Of clerks supplied for
that purpose II is because Of a deliberate.
wicked and set purpose to reduce the pension
roll By some means. fair or foul. and this. too.
at time when the country IL suffering from
such business depression that with more than
two million wage-earners out Of employment.
| 1t Is almost impossible for those decrepit men
to earn a livelihood
The course OF the present pension admins
tration toward pensioners has apparently been
from the outset aetuated By the most bitter
hatred. and with desire 70 arouse the antag-
onism of the people toward them False charges
OF fraud upon the pension roll have been per-
sistently circulated Their services have been
belittled and their disabilities made light Of
They have been held up to scorn and ridicula-
Their claims for pensions and for Incl eases have
been neglected and their letters Of inquiry for
the reasons thereof remain unanswered Their
pensions have been cut OF without reason or ex-
cuse. or have been reduced to such an extent
that but a pittance remains Tier have been
deprived Of nearly s30OOOo0 which congress
had already provided. and which. under tbs
rulings OF former commissioners Of pensions.
they would now be in enjoyment Of had not tia
present commissioner arbitrarily overturned
the former decision
The present commissioner well knows thzs
no such frauds exist as given out 10 the eoun-
"
selves are more DESTROYS Of making The pension
roll roll Of honor than are those temporarily
In power over these matters
He knows that by his arbitrary rulings hs
has stricken from the roll many thousands OF
deserving pensioners, who cGn never make their
proofs again By reason Of the death Of their
Witnesses and who will in consequence never
be restored 70 the rolls under his rulings He
knows that By them many who were drawing
pensions for disabilities have been reduced be-
low what the acts Of congress provide, and thss
By his Interpretation OF those acts he has over
turned the decisions Of former commits sioner1
which have for years been aequiesced in
He knows that the boards Of medical az
amiuers provided for by law thrcughout tbs
country thus giving pensioners the oppor-
tuniry for examination without delay and with
but little trave) are better prepared from
such personal examinations 20 datermine ths
degree Of disability. and yet he arbitrarily sets
the decisions and opinions OF su-h boards -
defiance and requires the proofs Ct such ex-
zminatiors 20 be submitted 20 boarC Of his
own appointment st Washington and By <sIeh
means the rating Is almost invariably Gus
down below that warranted By the proofs and
that which had been made BY the home boards
He knows that he has misinterpreted ths
act Of congress Of isoO. which gives 70 needy
soldiers the sum Of twelve dollars per month.
BY holding that every one Of them was guilty
OF fraud who applied under it unless he Was .
total wreck
He knows that he has been overriding tha
decisions Of his immediate predecessor b.
striking from the roll the names Of al who
we're receiving pensions under that act add
requiring them 10 show total disability De-
fore they could be restored The present con-
zress. even. seems poverless to stop these
Wholesale suspensions and reductions. for tho
h1e II