The broad ax., 1896-05-30
Pension Bin safe"

1 EeusiOu biu SAIes
Chicago Chronicle: Pension bill Il
safe. Anxiety Of thousands Of Ole
soldiers is relieved" 4 Chicago re-
publican organ Is delighted to make
this announcement in a very loud type
The implication is that the enemy has
been in hot pursuit Of the old soldiers
and that, thanks to a patriotic republi-
can house, he has been intercepted and
repulsed.
The purport Of the bill Is sufficiently
explained by the remark OF Represen-
tative Picker that 1t will relieve the
anxieties Of old soldiers all over the
country who have seen their fellow
pensioners deprived OF their pensions
unjustly and arbitrarily by the officials
Of the pension bureau" That explains
sufficiently the animus OF the bill and
the motive for introducing and pushing
1t at this time. The purpose is to make
people believe that pensioners are de
prived Of their pensions unjustly and
arbitrarily" by the officials OF the
administration and so injure the demo-
cratic party. And democrats in the
house are weak enough to vote for the
bill knowing this to be the purpose.
Every man Of sense knows that there
is not a word OF truth in the charge
that men are unjustly and arbitrarily
deprived Of their pensions. Some effort
has been made to purge the rolls of
frauds who never did a thing to earn
a pension. This effort has not been
made arbitrarily, but lawfully. 1t is a
wanton insult to the head of the pen
sion bureau, who was a faithful soldier
and Is an honest man, to insinuate that
he has ever dropped a name arbitrarily
from the pension rolls or wilIfully ex-
plunged one that ought TO be there or
had a right to be there under the
laws.
The republicans In congress know
this perfectly. They are al the old
game. which has been worked repeat
eddy since the people began to get tired
OF the republican party in 1874, of loot
Ing the treasury in the name of patriot
ISL AOA party duNduIdRe.
AS long ago as 1871, when the pen-
sion charge was s3S.O77. 1884, General
Garfield, whose committee had charge
OF the subject, declared that the maxi
mum had been. reached and that from
that time forward a progressive de- /
crease in the charge was TO be expect
ed Other ex-army officers In congress. /,
and General Grant. who was then
president, expressed themselves to the
same effect Garfield and Grant de-
clared that the laws were liberal and at
the time no dissent from this view was
expressed by any one. By 1873 the
charge had fallen below ;27.OOO.Ooo.
But the republicans were losing their
grip and set about making themselves
solid with the ex-soldiers. The year
following 1873 the charge increased To
'S3, SOO, 900, round figures; next year II
Jumped to $4,000, 900. BY and by It
was discovered that political fences
'ould be mended by voting more money
or pensions-pensions 70 men who left
he service sounder than they entered
md the charge mounted In 1899 to
'l5s.155.O 900. That year the total was
Iwollen by the payment Of arrears to
large amount, and the charge has
iropped back to about $40, OOO. 900 a
ear. or enough TO cover the entire cost
Il the United States standing army for
learly or quite six years.
There is no reasonable excuse for
his. but once more congress is finding
to do for the ex-soldier and
more to do for the republican party,
nd democrats are assisting In the
usiness from cowardly fear OF being
Misunderstood IL they do what they
now ought to be done and take a firm
tand against any further raiding of
he treasury upon the false pretense of
atriotism.