Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1898-09-15
G. A. r. Encampment COn'
cludeS Its LabOrs.
THE PENSION QUESTION.
Resolutions Censuring Official
Methods are Adopted.
WAS LAID ON THE TABLE.
Proposition to Make Eligible to Member
ship in the Grand Army Those Soldiers
Who Fought Against spain Dies Nat
ural Death.


Who Fought Against spain Dies a Matt
uraI Death,
Cincinnati, Sept. 1O.-The work of
the annual encampment of the Grand
| Army of the Republic was happily con-
| cluded late Friday afternoon.
Resolutions indorsing the conduct
| of the war by President Mckinley and
| compIimenting Secretary Alger for his
administration Of the war department.
| We're adopted by unanimous vote.
The following report of the commit
| tee on pensions was adopted:
Resolved, That the repeated COM
| plants of the unfair construction of
| the pension law and Of the making
| and enforcement of rules which are in
violation of the law and inimical to the
| interests of applicants impels this en-
campment to call upon Comrade Will
| liam Mckinley, president of the United
| States, to exercise his authority and to
| see that the law is executed in a spirit
of fairness, justice and liberaIity.
"Resolved. That all rules which tend
| to hinder the allowance Of honest PEN
| sion claims should he repealed. and we
| ask the president that he use his au-
| thOrity to cause those whose duty it
| is TO execute the laws to 50 perform
| their duty as to do justice to the sol
| diers and administer the law so as not
| to obstruct the prosecution of pen
sions by technical requirements not
within the province of the law, and
which are only calculated TO hinder
and obstruct i'm the effort to obtain
| lawful pensions.
Your committee calls attention to
| the fact that two years ago the coun-
| try was stirred to its depths by com
! plants of the injustice of the then adj
| miniStration of the pension bureau.
| These complaints were so specific that
| they furnished the basis of political
efforts. They were the subject of en-
| phatic utterances by the national en-
campment Beyond doubt the political
campaign of 1896 was largely influence
| ed by the hope of ameliorating the
| harsh conditions then obtaining in
| the pension bureau. We submit that
| this expected ameIiorauon has not
| taken place; that, in no substantial
| instance has one of those harsh rules
| been abrogated. but every one of them
remains in full force and effect as
| under the previous administration.
Every day bIn@s the veterans near
er the grave in increasing ratio. Their
needs cry out more vOciferOusly with
every changing of the moon, yet the
number of weekly allowances steadily
diminishes. while the pension commits
sioner officially states that he has 625,-
600 claims pending in his bureau, of
which he says $4,000 so far have receiv-
ed nothing at all. Elsewhere he states
that about 100000 survivors received
no pensions. and yet very recently the
commissioner recommended and car
ried through q reduction of 100 in his
force of clerks, on the ground that ha
had more than he needed. This in the
face of the fact that hardly day
passes but that somewhere or another
in this broad land the pension certifi-
cate arrives only in time to be laid
on the coffin of the applicant.
"Recolved. That the rule of the pen:
sion office by which a widow is de-
barred from pension if she has an in7
come of 500 per year is unjust and wa
ask the president that the order he alb
ro@ated and the minimum income de-
barring from pensions be fixed at not
less than $500 per annum.
1--WE ask for the re-eSta blShing OF
order 1914 which was enforced under
the Harrison regime. This order took
cogniZanCe in rating a mans pension
of all the disabilities he suffered un-
der. 1t was abrogated by the last add
miniStration and it. was held that 10
be entitled to the lowest rate of $6 per
month comrade must have some one
disa bility which is rated at that
amount. If he has thre disabilities
rated at 81 each he gets no pension a
all. This iniquitous rule is maintain.
ed up to this hour, and we submit is
not such treatment as we had a right
to expect from Comrade William Nc.
Kinley."
1t was resolved that unless the rail
roads gave a satisfactory guarantee ia
make the rates to the next encamD-
ment not exceeding one cent per mile,
and the hotels of Philadelphia gave u
guarantee not to increase their regular
rates at the time of the encampmenT,
then the national council of adminiS-
tration be authorized to select such
other city as would make these guar
antecs. These guarantees must be
made not later than February /.
The proposition to make eligible to
membership in the Grand Army sol
diers who have served in the war with
Spain was laid ON the table. The ma
tional council of administration was
then appointed
The ceremony of installing newly
elected officers was performed by Com
rade Wagner, of Pennsylvania. The
last action of the encampment was the
adoption of a vote of thanks to the re-
firing commander-in-ch Gen. Goblin,
who briefly returned his thanks.
Daughters of Veterans Elect OGicers.
Cincinnati, Sept. 10.-The daugh-
.