The National tribune., 1896-04-02
AN OPEN LETTER
To the Members Of the
House of Representa-
tiVeS.

economy is being strongly pressed upon
you, as against the Service Pension Bill
as well as against other measures Of great
merit
No one is more earnestly in favor o.
true economy that we are. But you will
admit that there is a specious false
economy which frequently masquerades
as the true article, to the infinite and
general injury. You are in great dam
ger now of making this grave mistake,
not only as to the Service Pension Bill,
but in other directions.
That source of all true wisdom-tbe
Bible-says proverbs, Xf:2D:
"There is that scattereth yet in
creaseth; and there is that withholdeth
more than is meet, but it tendeth to
poverty"
We wish that that good, blind CON-
rade, whom You elected as your Chap
lain, would take this verse as a pregnant
text, and preach you such sermon as
could be properly drawn from it.
The first consideration is that it is
never economy to evade or shirk just
debts. The man who does SO never be-
comes rich, but remains a slave to
poverty all his DAYS. What is true
of an individual is eyen more so of a
Nation, which is but collection Of in
dividuals. The Service Pension is pre-
eminently just debt of this Nation. 1t
has been made so by prescription and
usage. Before this Government was
formed the Colonies, which afterward
created it, gave Service Pensions to tie
men who fought their battles. Ever
since IFS formation the Government has
given Service Pensions, and the time and
other conditions are now such as to make
this eminently due the men who fought
in the late war;
Certainly thew are no less deserving
than their predecessors. In point of
service there is no comparison between
that rendered by them and those who
went before them. The Mexican war
was merely military picnic in COM
parison with the war of the rebellion.
The average three-months man in the
latter saw much more service than the
average man who enlisted for the Next
can war. Yet every Mexican volun-
teer who served 60 days was given
pension of IS a month, or the same to
his widows.
There was still less comparison with
those who served in the war of 1912.
While a relatively few of those saw
hard service and did good fighting, the
great majority made but brief excur-
sions from their homes, and never saw
either an Indian or red-coat. Yet all
those who could show that they served
so much as two weeks were given PEN
sion Of IS month, and the same was
given their widows.
The present size of the pension-roll is
made strong argument to you why it
should not be increased. This, like all
other arguments against the Service
Pension Bill, is fallacious in the ex-
IRENE. Size is always relative. A pen
sion expenditure of s140,000,000 year
is not, all things considered, SO large as
pension expenditure of s3,20S,376
was in 1920, or 81, $50, 152 was in 1888.
The main and only question is:
What IS rightutLy due the men acho
soued the Nations life!
We say that, according to National
precedent and according to
usage never departed from in our his
tory-tbere is due each and every one
of them a Service Pension of at least
IS month.
If this be true, and we think it unas-
sailable, then the question of how much
it will cost does not enter in. 1t PLAYS
no more part than did the size of the
amount TO be paid the bondholders.
The only thing to do is to acknowledge
the debt and provide for its payment.
No matter how many may be on the
pension-roll, and how much may be paid
them, the stern, sorrowful fact remains
that There are about 900 600 who ourbt