Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1894-03-21
PENSIONS.


In the winter of 1870, the writer of
this, an ex Union soldier, purchased a
pair of boots at the largest retail boot
and shoe store in Knoxville. The pro-
prietor followed the writer to the door
of his store as he walked out, and at
the moment, early in the morning, there
happened to be passing about a half
dozen men wearing the old army blue
%oyercoats which they had worn when
the war ended. The merchant said {:
who are those men wearing the SOL
diers o%vercoats ?" The writer replied
"They are old ex-Union soldiers from
the country who have come to Knox
vile to get their pension money" "Oh!
said the merchant, that's it is it l
am glad to see they are here for their
pension money" AS the merchant
was an ex-Confeder To soldier, who
had lost an arm in battle, the writer
was surprised to hear him speak as he
had and told him 30 told him that he
would have supposed that he would be
opposed to pension payments. He re-
piled No; not only am I not op-
posed to them, but l rejoice in seeing
these men get PENSIONS First" said
he, "if my cause had succeeded l would
have been in favor of every sx-Con-
federate soldier having a pension, and
it is but natural that the aus which
won in the war should pension the men
who won the fight 81 have" he said,
mo unkindly or vindictive feelings to-
wards the soldiers of the Union army.
They had no agency in bringing on the
war. The politicians, North and South,
did that and these men wearing the
blue did what they believed to be their
duty. And beside that l have" said
he, "a selfish reason for rejoicing in
these pension payments. The pension
ers are among my best customers large
RuInpCio " bhOh Souuo ucTc vi every
pay day, and buy boots and shoes for
themselves, wives and children"
This incident illustrates the benefi-
cence of the liberal policy of the Re-
publican party in pensions legislation
and the narrow mindedness of those
people who suppose that only the PEN
sioners and the people who vote the
Republican ticket are benefited by
pension payments. Those distinguished
Democratic Senator'S, Voorhees, and
Vest, have made earnest speeches in
Congress, for pensions on the ground,
among other things that of all the
hundreds of millions collected by the
Government on tariff and other taxes
the pension money was the only money
universally diffused and circulated
among the people. All the balance,
they said, goes into the hands and
pockets of a few hundred manufactu-
rerS and monopolists. There we're three
hundred and eighty three thousand
white men in the Union army from the
fifteen slave States and about three
hundred thousand negroes. The sums
paid these men, for pensions, is enor-
mous and it is circulated among all the
Southern people of all parties. And
the point in the whole matter is that
the money to pay these pensions is
almost exclusively collected, in the
way of tariff, taxes, from the rich peo-
pie of the North. Even before 1850 the
Northern States had the bulk of the
wealth of this country, as the statistics
of the savings banks, of insurance and
other corporations show. Then, the
North made money by the war and
the South lost nearly all the wealth it
had when the war began. The fine
imported goods, the silks and satins.
kid gloves, broadcloths, foreign per-
fumery, costly paintings and engrav-
ings and statuary and costly imported
wines and liquors and cigars, on which
the tariff is levied to pay the pensions
are nearly all bought and consumed
by the rich people of the Northern
States. East Tennessee which buys so
few of these goods that it does not feel
theitarif on them, gets more in pen
sions, in proportion to population than
does any part of the United States, and
is more benefited by the pensions and
legislation of the Republican party than
is any other part Of the country.
A Federal soldier who received four
thousand dollars arrearages pension
money in East Tennessee, several years
ago, bought a lot for one thousand
dollars and paid twenty five dollars to
an x~-Confederate lawyer to examine
the record and see that the title to that
lot was good, and write a deed for the
same. He then paid twenty five hun
dred dollars to a carpenter who was
an ex-Confederate soldier, to build him
a house. This builder employed sew
eral ex-C~onfederate soldiers who were
carpenters, plasterers and brick masons
to do the work. Thus it will be seen
that the four thousand dollars paid the
ex-Union soldier went into the pockets
of numerous ex-Confederates and DEM
ocrats. After paying for his lot and
building his house the ex Union soldier
had five hundred dollars left. The
greater part of this sun was paid to ex-