The National tribune., 1894-10-18
THE DISABILITY BILL.

IL.
the Service Pension Bill. A very large
proportion of the animus of these comes
from men who are at heart not only
opposed to service pensions, but to every
form of pensions. They are simply
using this as weapon to introduce dis
sension into our ranks and divide the
veteran vote. We have in our eye quite
number of speakers and papers who
are now shedding crocodile tears pro-
fusely over the failure of the Service
Pension Bill, who have always been the
worst enemies that We had to oppose
when any real practical pension measure
was being urged. They have fought
bitterl y every hopeful measure and plan
proposed by the comrades and their genu-
inc friends. No one has been more vitu-
perative and venomous than they. Their
present attitude is miserable hypocrisy.
1t reminds us of that of a former Chair
man of the Committee on Invalid
Pensions, who could not bring himself
to support the first draft Of the
Disability Bill, because it contained a
clause giving pensions only to those who
were in need of them. He could not
consent to having a veteran declare
himself pauper before he would be
entitled to pension he would not affix
this stigma upon those gallant men. A
great many of us thought with him on
this point, and we succeeded in having
the Objectionable "pauper clause elimi-
mated. Then our Chairman was horri-
fed at the idea of bill which would
give pensions to men whether they
needed them or not" He would have
been only too happy to support a bill
which would give the poor, needy,
broken-down veterans something to live
upon, but as for bill which would put
even millionaires on tie pension-roll it
was too monstrous to be entertained for
moment. One would have thought
from the way he talked that the Dis
ability Bill was for the enrichment
mainly Of the Vanderbilts, Goulds and
Astors. Of course, the truth was that
he had determined not to support any
bill that could be formulated, and his
"reasons were hypocritical pretexts.
The plain aacts about the final
passage of the Disability Bill,
and they are facts to which there are
thousands Of living witnesses, are that
at that time Service Pension Bill was
impossible of passage, and every man in
and around Congress knew this. The
temper of. Congress had been thoroughly
ascertained during the eight years of
discussion of the measure which pre-
ceded its passage. Repeated tests of
the disposition of both Houses had been
made in bills which had been presented
to them. 1t was known to a certainty
just how far every individual Senator
and Representative would 90 in the d.
rection of liberality to the veterans.
Maj. Morrill's long servict on the Com
mittee on Invalid Pensions gave him
the most precise information on this
subject. The bill that he formulated
and succeeded in having passed went
to the last limit obtainable at that time.
While not nominally Service Pension
Bill it was practically one, for it gave a
pension to every man who had served
80 days and had been honorably dis
charged, and who was suffering from
any disability not the result of his own
vicious habits or misconduct. 1t was
more liberal in some respects than
the proposed Service Pension Bill,
because it gave those who were
badly disabled S12 month, where
the Service Pension Bill proposed a
uniform rate of S. month. 1t was
also more liberal in its provisions for
widows, orphans and dependent parents.
With fair Interpretation of its provis-
ions by the Pension Bureau, nearly every
man who served 80 days and was honor
ably discharged was entitled to pension,
because hardly man who served in the