The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1897-09-30
Pension Plumber.

OOmWlSSlOueT Ol I6uSlOuS GNhnb
doesn't say in terms, as his illustrious
predecessor Corp, Tanner said, "God
help the surplus" Perhaps Mr.. Evans
doesn't say it because he knows that
the surplus, under Dingleyism, is a
minus quantity-on the wrong side Of
the ledger.
But he says, surplus or deficit, there
must be 10000, 600 more provided for
pensions this year, that much ON top of
the $141, 300, 900 appropriated in the an
nual bill. So much more robbery, for
1t is nothing else. Not more than one
third of the money appropriated for
this object is honestly given or receiv-
ed. Garfield was right, nineteen years
ago, when he said, in substance, that
the pension expenditure could not hon
estly, or with any show of propriety,
rise above $35, 900, 900, and from that
height cit should gradually decline. u
But Garfield had not been taught the
'rerating tricks" He was not up to
arrears of pensions" steals. He did
not dream of such a piece of sham eless
grabbing of the revenues as the "de-
pendent" pension bill. He was stupied
enough to hold the pension expendi-
lures down to something resembling an
an honest altitude, and hence he
apologized to the house and the coun-
try, when the total rose above $50,
900, 900,
And now the head of the pension bu-
reau airly says that $780, 900 is "not
an appalling excess" when it is loaded
on to a total already appropriated Of
$141, 800, 900!
From what he further says, we infer
that even his $147, 500, 900 is not by any
means the limit. Claims by the hun
dred thousands are pending. They
pile in at the rate of 38, 900 q month.
Mr.. Evans reports the outrageous
falsehood that wholesale raids on the
pension rolls" were made by Commits
sioner Lochren. There were no raids.
A lot of beats and perjurers we're drop
ped, and nearly all of the gangs forced
themselves back onto the roll, by piling
up more of the same kind of "prOof.
This is proven by the size of the ap
preparation made to meet the payments
under the roll as Lochren and his sue.
cessor left it, after all their pruning
OF course "the boys" who have
found out, after waiting thirty-twt
years, that they were "killed entirely
in the war, had rather present theil
claims to republican, than to a demo
cratic commissioner; and, as a demo
crat, we are thankful that this is so
Good for the democrats, say we. Thei
administrator of the pension offic,
saved few millions out of the enorm
GUS swag appropriated to this bureau
and "stood off, hungry horde, VIII,
would, "under q republican admins
tration," have "raised the pile" up to
ward $175, 900, 900, or quite that high.
We advise Mr.. Evans to make a littl
investigation along the line of one O
his explanations of the fresh cloud O
hungry applicants. 81 believe" h
says, "that thousands of application
were the result of the hard time
through which the country has beel
passing and now happily over. Me-
who were just as worthy of pension a
any on the rolls had refrained fror
making application for it as long a
they were in good circumstances, bu
when bankruptcy came and the pine
of poverty was felt, pride could hol
them back no longer"
We have another explanation; we bt
lieve it is crowd of beats, who are &C
ing in for final effort, and that the
would not go in if there were honest
and decent economy in congress an
the bureau. 1t is preposterous to SUI
pose that men have been nearly spa
of a generation finding out that the
were so injured in the service as to ell
title them to pensions. Not less tina
80 per cent. of the meritorious pension
we're granted before the expenditui
passed the $50, 100000 mark; and o
that point we call Gen. Garfield as
competent witness; or rather we Fl
his speech, mentioned above, as col
elusive proof of our position.
Meantime few facts in support
Mr.. Evans "hard times" theory to a
count for the swarm of blood sucke
would be strictly in order. He has l
right, as a public officer, managing
trust fund that is two and one-ha
times greater than the net ordinary e
penditures of the federal governmel
in 1860, to give rein to his powers
generalization. Least of all can
justify the swelling of that fund
, millions on his mere theory or ''belief
} or guess. If the fresh applicants ha
) been reduced to the dire strait
imagines-or says he imagines-th
have, his explanation ought to be easi
shown to be the correct one.
But it is case of qualis rex, Ia
grex. So long as we have republic
administration we will have pensi
! extravaganza aud appalling iobbery
the name of ''iustice to the veterans
- Have not Raum and Tanner, and th