The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-09-10

under the previous administration. The
best illustration of this is the odious Rule
225,' which was substituted for the just
Rule 1884, to the infinite injury of tens of
thousands of notwithstanding men and
women. 1t SENS unnecessary to enlarge on
the fact that the veterans had the right to
expect very different treatment from the
present commissioner of pensions than they
received from his predecessor.
Another fact that it seems unnecessary
to enlarge on Is that time is highly
important to the veterans. The passing
years have direful acceleration for them;
every day brings them nearer the grave in
increasing ratio Their needs cry out more
vociferously with every changing of the
moon, yet the number of weekly allow
ances steadily diminishes, while the pension
commissioner officially states that he has
OOO claims pending in his bureau, of
which he says $1,000, so far, have received
nothing at all. Elsewhere he states about
100000 survivors received no pensions. and
yet very recently the commissioner recon-
mended and carried through a reduction of
one hundred in his force of clerks on the
ground that he had more force than he
needed; this in face of the fact that hardly
a day passes but that somewhere or an
tifcate arrives only in time to be laid on
the coffin of the applicant In the mean
while the sixteen hundred employees of the
Pension Bureau continue the dreary round
of circumlocuton of pulling out the yell
lowing papers, adding note to the fading
Endorsements and replacing them in the
pigeon holes 1t has been estimated by
mathematician Tond CT curious calculations,
that more physical labor is employed in
these futile landings than would have
been sufficient to have picked up the Army
of the Potomac in its proudest strength
and carried it bodily from Washington to
Richmond.
Resolved, That the rule of the Pension
Office by which a widow is debarred from
pension if she has an income of $10O a
year is unjust, and we ask the President
that the order be abrogated and the mini
mum income debarring from pensions be
fixed at not less than $500 per annum. In
this connection we desire to inform the
President that very early in his admins
tration it was announced by high official
in the Pension Office that the widows limit
would be raised to $500, but it never ma
terialized.
THE HARRISON REGIME.
"Resolved. That we ask for the re-estab-
fishing of Order 164, which was enforced
under the Harrison regime. This order, in
simple terms, took cognizance, in rating
mans pension, of all the disabilities he suf-
fered under. 1t was abrogated by the last
administration, and 1t was held that to be
entitled to the lowest rate of Sc per month
a comrade must have one disability which
is rated at that amount. If he has three
disabilities rated at 81 each he gets no pen
.-;o f,,to rt11n &c aft1-
tanned up to- this hour. and we submit it is
not such treatment as we had right to
expect from Comrade William Mckinley.
Resolved. That in constituting the phrase
inability to perform manual labor it be
construed to mean inability to perform un-
professional, unskilled labor, labor requiring
muscular effort alone. Your committee fur
ther respectfully states that it is wise to
receive the official statement of the commits
sioner of pensions with several large grains
of allowance. He states in one place that
there are $1,000 comrades who never received
a pension. In another place he fixes the
figures at 10000. WeNre aware that from
time to time he issues glowing statements
as to the great work he is doing for the
comrades in comparison to what was for
merly done, but most of his comparisons
are with the administrations of President
Grant and President Hayes. Prior to the
act of 1890 granting pension, after ninety
days service. for disability honorably in
CURED even after the war, he compares
with the period when the sum total of
claims was only $4,000, and when, owing to
the small force in the adjutant generals
Office, it took two years to get report on
the claimants record where now it takes
only five days. He compares work with
the work dOna when fha clarLxS in tha Pom
sion Office numbered only three hundred.
while he has sixteen hundred He discreet
ly refrains from giving prominence to the
number of his reflections. Our comrades liv-
ing and the widows of the comrades dead
cry aloud for justice. We voice their cry,
and bring it to the ear of that comrade in
chief authority over all the land, confident
that he will do justice"
The report was adopted without discus
sion. AS an indication of the high regard
of the encampment for President Mckinley
it may be stated that some time after the
adoption of the report of the committee on
pensions a fear seemed to have come into
the minds of some of the comrades that
some degree of blame had been attributed
to him, and Judge Torrance, of Minnesota,
moved to expunge from the report the SEN
tence, this iniquitous rule is maintained up
W ILLS uOuIs anu We IL ID HOL SuCu
treatment as we had right to expect from
Comrade William Mckinley.
Corporal Tanner Immediately got the floor
and stated that his high regard for Presi-
dent Mckinley was not exceeded by any
member of the encampment; that in pre-
pairing the report it had been far from his
purpose to cast any imputation upon the
President, and he begged permission to have
the unanimous consent of the encampment
to add to the sentence which it was sought
to have expunged, "and we are confident
that when he is once relieved from the
mighty matters of national and worldwide
Importance which now command his atten~
ton he will see that justice is done.'
The encampment unanimously gave per-
mission to make this addition to the report,
and the motion to expunge was withdrawn.
INDORSED THE PRESIDENT.
Resolutions Also Passed Backing Up
Secretary Alger.
CINCINNATI, o., Sept. 9.-This was the