The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-10-14
What the Old soldiers are Doing to Help
the Administration.

What the Old Soldiers are Doing to Help
+b. Administration.
To the Editor Of the Press;
We read and shall continue to read for
some time to come, as the matter is no
douht intended for campaign purposes
NEXT month. that the receipts Of the gov
eminent for the month of September
were two or three million dollars
in excess of the expenditures.
A few weeks ago we read u despatch in
the papers saying thai Secretary Carlisle
expected through increased revenue re-
GENTS and decreased pension expenditures
to achieve such d result.
From curiosity we have been reckoning
I'D how this great achievement has af
fected the soldiers and pensioners herea-
bouts. and. while tho facts and data are
somewhat incomplete, yet we have sutfi-
Gent to show that the soldiers and pen
sioners of the country are entitled to all
the credit for furnishing this two or
three million surplus which the admin
istration is boasting OF as result of
their tariff legislation. The pensioners
in this vicinity are nearly all paid at the
different agencies from which they draw
their pensions, in September.
Our observation extends over at least
the pensioners among sixty thousand
people. and while we do not know every
case personally, we have general knowl-
edge of a very large number OF them,
and we find of those pensioners who
drew their quarterly pension in Septem-
Der about forty had their pensions re-
duced six dollars per month, or eighteen
dollars per quarter about forty had re
duction of four dollars per month, or
twelve dollars per quarter; several were
reduced twelve and more dollars per
month, and about fifty, getting six and
eight dollars per month, or eighteen and
twenty -four dollars per quarter, We're cut
off entirely: five widows were rejected
because this administration has decided
that a widow getting an income of
ninety-six dollars per year from any
source cannot be pensloned; these wild
ows would legally have drawn twenty
IOuE uOl1dES p6I pOi csoooo oNOAArJ
invalid soldiers had claims rejected which
under any other administration would
have had to be allowed, and the
amount paid would have been from
twenty four to thirty six dollars to each
soldier in the past September payment,
to say nothing. and make no account
of the claims and fees that will ulti-
mately have to be paid, but have been
held up to effect the above result.
lox 70 al IpaGt thrpe
thousand dollars of the three millions saved
came from the old soldiers in this vicin-
ity. Our observation only covers about
one-tenth of Maine, and as the same
action has been taken all over the coun-
try, the total obtained from the pension
ers in Maine must have exceeded thirty
thousand dollars; and as Maine has less
than a hundredth part OF the pensioners
in the country, the three millions saved
must have come entirely from the pen
sioners.
Now we presume it is pertinent to ask
old soldiers and pensioners how they like
the operation of the present tariff law.
A great many of these old veterans who
have contributed this mite to furnish
campaign material for Democratic ora
tors could i'll afford to do SO; it has been
at a great sacrifice on their part to do it.
| The most of them have seen long years
of hard service in the war, are physically
unable to work but little, if any, and
have families needy and dependent Oh
them for support, but they have had nc
choice about it.
A few years ago a law was passed with
penalty for any person demanding OF
| soliciting funds for campaign purposes
| from any employee of the government.
Why is it worse now to compel old pen
sioners to furnish, Indirectly, campaign
material for an administration that has
proved itself hostile to them? We pre-
sumo those who voted for this state of
things will gladly contribute of their
pensions to this end and if farther de-
| ficiency exists in the Treasury they will
gladly make further contribution, and
| if need be lay the whole business On the
altar-preferring no doubt, hard times,
little work and small pay, and even loss
of pension, to Republican administra-
ton that has hitherto brought good times,
plenty of work and good wages, just and
| liberal pensions to all soldiers and wild
ows entitled thereto.
A friend says, fthey will not trouble
to cut down pensioner but once" Why
not? They have just the same right to
cut again as they had in the first place.
They have practically nullified the law,
and if their treasury is in distressed cir
cumstances again, as it is likely to be-,
what is to hinder a reduction of eXpen
ditures by further reduction of pen
sions?
We have lately seen the rejection of a
widows case where the soldier, an Off
GER, was pensioner for lumbago con-
traoted in service and from which disa-
bility he was a great sufferer; and in a
recent severe attack of the disease he
became so exhausted his physician said
he could not rally, and he died therefrom.
The Pension Bureau rejected the claim
on the ground that, as the soldier was
getting along in years he had not
strength to rally from the attack of lum-
bago which he had. thus furnishing a
precedent for future cases, that old age,
which is fast creeping on to the old vet
Grams. will be fatal bar to pensions for
their widows if this administration is
continued further and the only chance
old soldiers will have of leaving pen
sion for their widows will be to die
How many old soldiers will deliber-
ately walk into the trap and vote to con-
tinue this state of thingsP We shall see.
H.
Real Estate Transfers.