Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-11-01
DEMOCRATIC CLAIMS REGARDING PEN
SIONS.


sIoNs.
They say, however, in another planI
of their platform, that they commend
Mr.. Ferguson because he has secured
a large number of pensions for the ole
soldiers in this territory. I defy any
mar in this territory to show me a sin.
gle pension that Ferguson obtained
during his entire term of office. There
have been a number of pensions issued
three or four times as many as when
WAS there, but is he entitled to the
credit? Remember, my fellow citizens
that the Democratic party, which was
in power when | was there, passed al
order suspending nearly all pensions
during that term, and of course no pen
sions were issued of any consequence al
that time, and remember that McKin-
ley had hardly taken his seat till he
repealed those infamous Democratic
orders, and placed an extra force of
clerks in the pension bureau, and di-
rected them to proceed to issue pen
sions and carry out the law. Mr.. Fer
gusson claims credit for that. He evil
der stopping the pensions and for Nc
kinley's order in directing their issu-
ance. A delegate cannot secure a sin
gle pension unless he introduces a bill
in congress specially for that particu-
lar individual, to give him a pension
when he does not come under any one
of the pension lists. l defy our oppo-
nents to show mi a single act which
MR.. FERGUSON HAS NOT OUT
PENSIONS.
Mr.. Ferguson has had passed, or to
show me a single act which he has had
favorably reported. l do not believe he
copy of all his acts, but 1 find about five
or six special acts introduced by him,
and some of these l know are not in re-
gard to pensions. One was in regard to
yours, with reference to certain money
stolen from the postoffice, another for
Serapio Romero for a like thing, |
think; another one for the relief of a
man named Hugo, discharged from the
army at Fort Cummings, and two or
three others, and | do not believe they
refer to pensions. A pension applica-
ton goes to Washington and is placed
upon a list in the order in which it is
received. 1t receives a number and
takes it's order with the others. The
delegate has, if the facts justify it, the
power to help in n single instance,
and that is when the applicant for the
pension is so old and infirm that he can
not rise from his bed or help himself,
and needs some one to take care of him
and is too poor to employ help and it il
shown to the government that unless
the government will pension him soon
er than is likely if he awaits his turn,
he is liable to die before it can issue;
then they advance that application on
the roll and the delegate can assist in
that way and that is the only assist
ance hat he can give. They even at
tempt to throw dust in your eyes be-
cause they say a great many letters
have been sent out to pension claimants
saying that at the request of Mr.. Fer
that their claims stood so and so; that
is what is done with every member of
congress. These applications for pen
sions take care of themselves; each
member of congress and delegate is
furnished with blanks, and when wish
ing information with regard to pen
sion of so and so, all he has to do is to
fill in the name Of the applicant, the
number of his application and the COM
pany and regiment to which he be-
longed, and say he would like to know
the status of this claim. On the reverse
side of that blank the department in
dorses the status of the claim and
writes a special letter to the claimant
himself, stating the same thing that
they have Endorsed on the back of this
paper. They put that in an envelope,
franked, directed to the pension claim
ant, and send it to the delegate, open,
so that he can insert in it, if he desires,
any letter Of his own to hat pension
claimant, and it is sent off, telling that
poor man exactly the condition of his
pension. But this is not obtained by
any particular work of the delegate. 1t
is obtained by application to the de-
partment, and the department charita-
bly, furnishes the information, and al
lows the delegate or member to send it
to the claimant in his own name so as
to gain credit if he may seek it with his
fellow citizens. But not one of these
yer secured a pension for any claim
ant. 1t merely gives the applicant an
opportunity to know what defect there
is in his proofs, so that he car send
them up, but he could get the informa-
ton by an inquiry from the department
himself just as well. l defy Mr.. Fer
susson to show that he has advanced a
single pension; so much, then, for his
claim as to what he has done for pen
%sioners, and his claiming all the gener-
osity of the Republican party restoring
the pensions as his own act, and ignor-
ing the acts of his own party. If l were
in congress and had any gratitude, l
would stand by the acts Of my party. l
would never condemn it in a convention
when I sought the votes of the people.
Let him show the word of a single
member of congress who has raised his
voice in behalf of New Mexico or in be-
half of the people, or a single individual
H LAND GRANT ACT.
at his solicitation. He says he obtained
the passage of an act giving a great
amount of land to your educational in
situations. If we were a state that