The National tribune., 1899-12-28
Widow Pensioners.

EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: / spent
several hours to-day with the Board OF
Pension Examiners. While waiting my
turn, l picked up a copy of Harper's
Weekly to read and copied from it the fol.
lowing:
"The National pension roll is less by
few thousand names than it was a
year ago, and more than a million and q
half dollars were left over at the end of the
fiscal year out of the eappropriation of S14O,-
100000. Pensioners of the Spanish war
will cause some increase in the number of
names; but it is worth recording that.
leaving out of mind this comparatively
small addition, the list is becoming smaller.
although II now contains nearly "a million
names. In spite of abuses, some of them
fiagrant, and in spite OF the amazing at
tractiveness of old soldiers TO young women,
whose widowhood may have the consola-
ton of pensions-in spite of all the waste
and unworthy bestOwal of help the ex-
penditure of the colossal sum of nearly two
billions and half dollars since 1866 in
pensions, is a monumental piece of graft
tIde that the generation that has paid it
has hardly yet comprehended A histori-
cal parallel it would be hard to find. The
long agitation against abuses has borne
fruit III the recommendation of the Com
missioner that a commission be appointed
to report desirable revision of the laws. a
plan that ought not to meet with serious
opposition"
To me nearly every statement comes as an
insult, but l call attention to one only, that
referring to the attractiveness of old sol
diers 10 young women, etc. The insulting
language implies that very large numbe
OF soldiers become widoWers, and when
old marry very young women, who will
soon be widows, and for long period
he a burden on the Government for pen
SiOnS.
The groundlesSneSS of such an impIta-
ton may readily be seen by the following:
1. The great ma jority of soldiers widows.
probably 30 i'll every 100, are of an average
age of the soldiers. | have come in con
tact with very large number, and do not
remember one who was not old enough to
have been a soldier.
2. know of none who Is a second wife.
i. e., married to an old widower
,. That the average age of soldiers
widows should be less than the age of SOL
diers is TO be expected. l have married
several hundred couples in my long pas
torate, and have the record of all, with their
ages. 1t is very Ts.re that the woman is
older than the man, or if so, only wear
or two, while it is very common thing for
man TO marry woman from five to Is
years younger than himself. The ma jority
of the soldiers were unmarried until after
the war; it would not be an unusual thing
for the returned veteran of 25 to 30 wears
of age to marry girl from 18 to % wears
old. l have married girls Of 16, IT or l8
to men 30 years Of age in some instances,
Hence, when these men Of broken, dis
eased bodies die at 45 or SIS years Of
age (whO but for their exposure and
wounds might have lived to the age of 20 |
or 8O), is it strange that there are many
widows who were only 30 or 40 years Of |
age, or even less, when they became widows?
l drew to-day my pension, the sum OF Sc |
per month for entire inability to perform
manual labor rheumatism heart fro,,hIo
hernia, piles, etc. The Examiners remarked
to-day, You are entitled to more pension
than you will get" Several widows were
present for the purpose Of making out their
vouchers, and every one was over So years
old, some older, all poorly clad and evil
IDENTIFY hard-working women.--J. N. LIS
COMB, 1904 Brooklyn Avenue, Los An
geles Cal