The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-11-13
FOR PENSIONS.
mander-in-Ch shaw Makes an
Argument

New York, November 1.-THE qurs-
tion OF pensions, was the subject Ct an
address by Gen. Albert ID. shaw, Com
mander-in- Chief of the Grand Army of
the Republic In the list regiment armory
tonight The address. In part, follows:
Again and again have declared my
belief that every needy and worthy vet
eran Of THE Great War who Is entitled
to pension under present laws. should
be granted one without vexing delays,
caused by unnecs ssrry and illiberal tech
nicalities or something worse. Herce.
forth veterans should demand equal and
exact justice A-inder present en- actments
along the lines OF peus ons. The war
pi cd ced two classes, In q repse. the cred
itor class. who loaned money and goods
to the nation, end the bravo defenders
who loaned their bodies and lives to save
the Union. One has been amply and
grandly paid In the full measure of gold
values of the world; the other has hardly
been half paid. measured by the same
standard. After peace blessed the land
with plenty on every hand. thu volunteer
citizen soldiers and sailors voted to save
the credit of the nation in u battls Of the
ballots of unprecedented bitterness and
Importance, without allowing amp ques-
ton of retribution or well.merited re-
oc mpsnse to themselves to enter the CON-
test. There can be no doubt that the cry
OF pension frauds pension agent
sharks and the like, has brought down
upon the veterans and pensioners Of the
Union, feros cr.ticism--as undsssrved
as they have been cruel and even brutal
In q great number OF cases. This organi-
cation plan OF defamation recalls the
masked batteries Of war days-thoss who
shot from the rear, the copper-hsa1s OF
that time. 1t has been the cold FLOODED
calcu iation of men who have placed po-
litical expectancy In the patriotic scales
CT J2stice for mers partisan and selfish
ends. Under President Cleveland this
cry against 'pension frauds to which
have referred, reached Its climax. Az
ter the expenditure OF nsariy q million
Of dollars appropriated by Congress and
spent In Investigation, 1t was proved
that the pension roll was
the purest roll In the world.
"Ihere has never been q period when
deeper feeling Of unrest and dissatis-
faction existed among veterans than at
the Irssent time, upon the question Of
pensions. 1t is widely telieved that
large numbers Of applications for PEN
sions are purposelv delayed In allowance
and even many worthy cases are REJECT
cd, though the claim 10 clearly established
as Just one, so as to keep down pension
regardless OF the clear In
tent OF laws passed by grateful people
for the benefit Of needy and deserving
veterans and the allowances ara seldom
what the examining boards recommend
They are nearly always pared down.
l feel this belief Is all too we'll founded.
My evidence on this point seems iucon-
A soldisr's widow should
not be permitted to suffer In this land Of
plenty and we stoutly insist that rule
No. 225 should be abrogated aud rule No.
1874 re-estsblished.
"What Is needed and what Ia not now
enforced, is to have the present pension
laws administered In their plain, SIM
pie, constructive intsnt-without any at.
tempt to linlit expenditures plainly au-
thorizsd in their enactment; and let all
financial responsibility therefore rss
upon Congress. where 1t properly belongs.