The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1895-08-22
The Pension Poison.

There is q curious story going
through the newspapers about the re-
cent trial and conviction at Cresco,
Iowa, of Special Pension.Examiner
Waite which deserves the serious at
tention of every good citizen. Mr..
Waite had done very effective service
in exposing the conspiracy of one
Van Leuwen and various confederates
to defraud the government, and it was
mainly upon the strength of the testi-
mony collected by him that Van Leu
wen was convicted aud sent to the
penitentiary, and that one of his con-
federates, a DR.. Kessel, pleaded guilty
to the indictment. In a community
endowed with that moral sense which
we suppose the average American citi-
zen to possess, it might have been ex-
pected that the rascals 80 brought to
justice would be the objects OF public
condemnation and contempt, and that
the man who helped in putting stop
to their iniquities would receive his
share of public praise and gratitude.
But the people of Cresco, Iowa, and
the people OF Howard county. in
which Cresco 10 situated, or at least
enough of them to represent W hat is
called public sentiment, prefer to hon.
or the malefactors and to visit punish
ment upon the prosecutor of crime.
DR.. Kessel, while under Indictment,
was elected mayor OF Cresco without
opposition, and great efforts are on
foot to get Van Leuwen pardoned by
the President But Mr.. Waite, the
meritorious pension examiner, was, at
the instance OF the county attorney OF
Howard county, indicted by the grand
jury and tried on the charge OF hav-
ing obtained testimony by threat.
Iowa papers report that the charge
was supported by no testimony ex-
cept that of the interested party and
his wife; that IL. was denied in toto by
Waite, and that the denial was sup
POI ted by corroboratiVe evidence that
the course OF the trial was such as to
indicate clearly that "Waite was pros.
scuted, not because guilty, but because
he had been solargely instrumental in
bringing about the conviction OF Van
Leuwen and Keseel;" that Waite was,
in spite OF all this, found guilty by the
petit jury and that the judge, appar-
emily having no confidence in the
case, imposed upon him only a light
fine. Iowa papers also remark that
1t is difficult 10 understand the atti-
tude OF the people of Howard county,
since they can not wish to appear in
the light of persons opposed to the ex.
posure of fragrant frauds against the
pension laws, and bent upon the per-
secution of any man daring to inves-
tigate such frauds.
We have no means of ascertaining
the exact state OF mind of the people
OF Howard county, Iowa, but we think
we risk little in assuming that in that
region our pension legislation has
produced substantially the same NOR
al effects as elsewhere, and that in
Howard county, Iowa, these effects
have only manifested themselves in
an unusually striking way. Let us
say at the start that we arSAieartily in
favor of . just pension system secur-
ing generous allowance to every SOL
der or sailor who was disabled ky
wounds or other injury received in the
line of his duty. Such system, hon.
estly carried out, would have made
the pension-roll, in the truest mean
ing, roll of honor, and its, effects
upon the imagination and the moral
sense OF the people would in every re-