The Louisiana populist., 1898-02-04
TO THE PENSIONERS.
PROF. CHlTTENDEN TALKS
ABOUT MONEY.
The Old Soldiers Should Not Close
Their Eyes to the Conditions That
4 Cause Haggard and Discouraged
Poverty to Stare on Every Side.


pension bureau gives us an aggregate
OF nearly one hundred and fifty mil
lions or dollars paid from that Office
last year.
The distribution of that amount of
money is widely isbursed-falling into
the little rills and pools of commerce
reaching the hamlets, the home
town, the home store, office, school
mouse, church-all this fertilizing of
the very roots of the social tree and
the industrial is an incalculable bless
Ing. IN that aspect of the public well
fare we are pleased; and by that single
aspect OF the case we are deceived.
What might be blessing pure and un-
qualified, is, under the present none
tary system, great evil and hard to
bear.
we will not make an indiscriminate
complaint against the soldier. Let him
nave care and honor according to his
deserts; but we wish they might al
be willing to confer with the reformer
and learn of better way of provid-
Ing pensions-a way more just to their
nelghbors ten years younger and the
children Of their neighbors as we'll AS
their own-none of whom were eligi-
Die as soldiers, and who have with
himself equal rights to a living.
In my somewhat extended acquaint-
ance with the little rural towns of this
section of the country, l observe a
very interesting fact-tbat the ones
who are doing" we'll are nearly all
drawing either interest money or
soldier pensions.
These pensioners are good people,
but they are like other people made
up according to human nature, and are
not beyond the reach of very handy
aud subtle temptation to "let we'll
enough alone" when we attempt to
talk with them about our monetary
sufferings. That the well enough"
for them is very bad for the rest of
the people does not seem to be visi-
BILE thing to their eyes. "Why should
we not be satisfied with our dollars
which have been nearly doubled in
value by the legislation of our rival
parties?"
So says the Republican ex-soldier to
the Democratic ex-soldier, or perhaps
only to themselves very privately. My
soldier friend, that is not fair. Why
Is 1t so difficult to get your attention
and your assent to certain plain none
tary principles when l talk with you
as neighbor? Your children are in
heriting curse along with mine, and
the day will come when they will WON
der that your eyes were so easily be-
fogged.
l. II your pensions have been very
much enlarged by the appreciation Of
dollar values, then you are receiving
so much more than the law intended
2. II the process of increasing the
value of pension has crippled the
industries and increased the difficult
ties of obtaining a living by labor,
then your advantage is obtained at
your neighbors' disadvantage.
Now there is better way of doing
all that is right and avoiding the part
that is not right-and very wrong.
When the greenback circulated in full
volume, at the close of the war and
after, no soldier complained that he
did not have full commercial value in
every one of those currency pieces.
Then also his neighbor who depended
entirely upon the labor of his hands
found ready employment or ready sale
of his products. You soldiers remen-
Der that distinctly. Your neighbor was
willing to see you favored with a pen
sion. He did not covet your reward
OF merit, because he also and his chill
dren had a chance to live. The large
increase in the volume of money made
the war tax and the after war tax easy
to carry-so easy that he became care
less and did not watch the doings Of
his agent in congress. What a mon
strous wrong was being Matched under
the specious phrase Of guarding the
public credit" by returning to specie
payment-frst coin redemption, then
gold redemption!
Three hundred soldiers met In Den
yer a year or two ago and denounced
these scoundrel acts of legislators. Il
was grand declaration they made and
did honor to the veterans of the whole
nation.
Now we are willing to make our tale
of bricks for the old soldiers and their
families; but it is just exactly too bad
to be Obliged to make the bricks with
out straw. We are willing to divide
with them to the last morsel; but we
do think they ought to lend a hand
politically and help to tighten the COM
mon burden. This is the simple way to
do 1t. First, don't say that the pen
sion money comes through the tariff
revenue and hurts nobody. It does
hurt in that very fact. The trade tax
revenue is vicious substitute for an
equitable system which we almost
adopted (thanks to Mr.. Cleveland for
that one good endeavor).
"But we must raise revenue"
Very true: we must. And how yery
simple a thing Il would he To do Il IN